Bangalore need a strategy rejig

Sunday May 11, 01:03 AM

Mohali, May 11: The difference between the two sides couldn’t be more telling. While Kings XI Punjab are oozing confidence, even given the fact that they went down to Chennai Super Kings on Saturday night, the Royal Challengers are a struggling, stuttering unit.

While one unit is running on pure adrenalin, the other is in a state of shock. If Yuvraj Singh’s men are in a healthy position, having lost just their third match in eight games after five straight wins, Rahul Dravid’s ‘experienced’ team are yet to piece together two successive wins.

Just two victories from eight games is indeed unflattering and the figures tell their own tale. Having been at the receiving end and now even out of excuses, Dravid’s outfit, it appears, are merely here to make up the numbers. A volatile combination of factors, on-field and off-field, has worked against the Challengers and it will be huge ask for the bumbling Bangalore team to reinvent themselves in the second stage of the Indian Premier League.

Having said that, in a long-drawn event as the IPL where players crisscross states and boundaries fuse, it will be foolhardy to totally write them off, even given the unfortunate circumstances that have enveloped the team. T20 is a funny game, more so than the 50-over format; the pressure is such that one big over or conversely, one miserly over can change the equation so much that the game is gone before you realise it.

The Challengers have tried their hand at everything; new permutations and different combinations have been put out for every match but sadly, nothing has worked.

They may boast of an experienced team but the ‘X-factor’ has been missing. On most occasions they have looked like a unit devoid of any purpose and plan. They have neither been able to set a target nor give chase purposefully. Then again, even the best have their slip-ups and Dravid will be desperately hoping that the end of Kings XI’s winning streak is a sign of good times to come.

V.R.V. Singh and Piyush Chawla and though the skipper himself hasn’t fired with his exploits, he has marshalled his resources admirably. True, their batting came a cropper in Chennai the previous night but with each teams playing 14 games, there will be the odd blip or two on the radar.

For sure, the reverse wouldn’t have sent the Mohali team into a state of panic; Yuvraj realises that with 10 points from eight games, he, at the best, needs two more wins to seal a semifinal berth and backed by a raucous, partisan crowd at home, the Kings XI sure have their prey in their sights.

The Challengers may boast of an experienced team but the ‘X-factor’ has been missing. On most occasions they have looked like a unit devoid of any purpose and plan. They have neither been able to set a target nor give chase purposefully. Then again, even the best have their slip-ups and Dravid will be desperately hoping that the end of Kings XI’s winning streak is a sign of good times to come.

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