IPL 2022 RCB Review: Royal Challengers Bangalore's Hot-and-Cold Season Continues

  • May 30, 2022, 1:02 p.m.

15 years. That’s how long Royal Challengers Bangalore have now waited for an IPL trophy. The never-ending wait has extended for another year after yet another underwhelming season. Underwhelming why? They finished third – an improvement upon the previous two seasons when they were shown the exit door in the Eliminators. So isn’t that an improvement?

Well, for academic purposes, IPL 2022 was better – slightly – than IPL 2021. But is RCB a team that should be satisfied with a consolation prize? Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood – these stars were at the franchise’s disposal who are some of the biggest names in the world of T20 cricket. They have had a squad that could and should be winning titles. And not just in 2022. They have had the likes of Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Shane Watson, Yuzvendra Chahal in the past. Still, their trophy cabinet is empty.

IPL 2022 began on a similar note to those of the seasons gone by. They were impressive at the start. The fans were elated - Ee Sala Cup Namde – again became a common clarion call. A mid-season slump followed. The form of few deserted them. A mad-dash for a playoffs spot and thanks to Mumbai Indians, RCB managed to finish among the top-four. They even bested Lucknow Super Giants – a team that finished third in the league stage. But then they suffered a one-sided thrashing in the Qualifier 2.

IPL 2022 Record: Played: 16; Won: 9; Lost: 7; Standing: 3rd

High Point of the Season

Inclusion of Rajat Patidar. RCB’s top-order was in dire need of a dependable batter. Faf du Plessis was the key and he did well but Virat Kohli struggled for most parts and Anuj Rawat failed to live up to the expectations.  In came Patidar and he cemented a spot. He was included midway through the season and scored fifty in his first innings. Few decent knocks later, came his moment in the sun. In the Eliminator against LSG, Patidar single-handedly drove them to a 200-plus total with a little help from Dinesh Karthik. Patidar scored a sparkling century - his first in IPL and remained unbeaten on 112 - an innings studded with 12 fours and seven sixes. In just seven innings, he scored 333 runs and was the only RCB batter apart from Karthik to average in excess of 50.

Low point of the Season

Being shot out for 68. RCB have the dubious record for having the lowest innings’ total in RCB history. They ended up posting the sixth lowest total in the tournament’s history when Sunrisers Hyderabad pacers knocked them over with Marco Jansen taking three wickets in the second over of the match. The highest individual score from RCB innings was 15 with nine players registering scores in a single digit. SRH overhauled the target in 8 overs for the loss of a wicket.

Captaincy Verdict

Faf gave a good account of himself. He was on point with his bowling changes and didn’t shy away from speaking his mind. In Kohli’s word - the South African would reject the suggestion from the former RCB captain if he didn’t agree with them. Faf though was a little off track in the second qualifier when he held back Josh Hazlewood by not bowling him upfront considering he was their best bowler on the night. RCB had posted a low score and they needed wickets at the start. Hazlewood bowled the second and sixth over and then later in the middle-overs but by then it was too late.

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Most Valuable Player

Wanindu Hasaranga finished with 26 wickets which was the joint-most when RCB exited the tournament. He was economical and controlled the innings in the middle-overs with his array of variations, especially googly which fetched him wickets more often than not. 19 of his wickets came in the middle overs. And he also took a hat-trick against SRH playing a starring role in exacting revenge for the humiliation they faced against them earlier.

Major Disappointment

Mohammed Siraj has now the unwanted record of having conceded the most sixes in a single season of IPL. The pacer, one of the three players retained by RCB, was hit for a whopping 31 sixes. He manage 9 wickets from 15 matches and went for plenty of runs in the Powerplay and the death overs. He finished with an economy of 10.07.

Season Verdict

A slight improvement upon the previous two seasons when they kept losing in the Eliminators. This time, they progressed into the second qualifier. However, the wealth of talent they had this time around, anything less than a final appearance wouldn’t count as a success.

Author : Rajdhani Delhi Representative

Rajdhani delhi representative

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