Royal Challengers Bangalore's batting woes continued Tuesday as their top order collapsed while chasing 182 runs against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Mahipal Lomror's 33-run cameo off just 13 balls briefly revived the hosts, but they ultimately fell short.
Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Cameron Green all departed cheaply, leaving the responsibility on inexperienced players like Anuj Rawat and Lomror. While Rawat impressed with a cameo on the opening night against Chennai Super Kings, he struggled against the pace of Mayank Yadav on Tuesday, managing only 11 runs off 21 balls.
"Look at who bats in pressure situations for them? Young Indian batters and Dinesh Karthik," six-time IPL champion Ambati Rayudu said critically of RCB while commentating on Star Sports.
Rayudu pointed out the team's reliance on young players in high-pressure situations. "Where are your big-name players, the international stars who are supposed to handle pressure? They're all in the dressing room. This has been happening for over 16 years for this team."
He continued, "This has been their story. When there's pressure, we can't find any big-name players. All the young players come down the order. Your big names go to the top of the order and bat when it's easy. A team like this will never win. This is why they haven't won the IPL so far."
RCB's win percentage at Chinnaswamy Stadium stands at 46.51% before the season. In comparison, Chennai has a win percentage of 70.96% at Chepauk, Mumbai 62.33% at Wankhede, Sunrisers Hyderabad 62% at Uppal, and Kolkata Knight Riders 57.31% at Eden Gardens. This year, they've had another poor start at home, winning only one out of three games and languishing at the bottom of the table.
