Royal Challengers Bangalore had a painful end to their IPL 2023 season as RCB missed out on qualifying for the playoffs by a whisker. Despite having their fate in their own hands, a 6-wicket defeat at the hands of Gujarat Titans in their final league game saw the Bengaluru-based franchise finish on 14 points, while Mumbai Indians pipped them for the final remaining playoffs berth.
With Virat Kohli, skipper Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell doing the bulk of the scoring, the rest of the batting lineup failed to rise to the occasion. They were too reliant on their top three, while the rest of the middle order couldn’t make any meaningful contributions as RCB appeared like a ‘team of individuals’.
Mohammed Siraj consistently picked up wickets in the powerplay but he didn’t get the support from other bowlers. Wayne Parnell shone in phases but the injuries to Rajat Patidar, Will Jacks, Reece Topley and Josh Hazlewood meant that the Bengaluru-based franchise had a tough job at hand but they did well and certainly that their moments in IPL 2023.
Virat Kohli returning to his peak form was a major positive for the team, while Dinesh Karthik’s struggles would have definitely hurt the side. They suffered some close defeats, including the last ball loss against Lucknow Super Giants which came back to haunt the RCB players.
IPL 2023 Record:
Played: 14; Won: 7; Lost: 7; Standing: 6th
High Point of the Season:
The massive 112-run victory over Rajasthan Royals has to be the high of the season for RCB. Not only did the win knock the stuffing out of last season’s runners-up it also helped the Bengaluru-based franchise pick up momentum ahead of the last couple of games during the league stage.
The 8-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their penultimate match of the season meant that going into the last game Du Plessis’ side had their fate in their own hands and they even had a positive net run rate but the defeat to Gujarat Titans made all of it irrelevant.
Low Point of the Season:
While there was no particular low point for RCB given their season had its own ebbs and flows, the last-ball defeat against Lucknow would have definitely hurt them.
Had the Bengaluru-based franchise won that game they could have pipped Mumbai Indians to the last-remaining playoffs berth.
Also, the defeat to Gujarat Titans would have been painful as well, coming ever so close to reaching the playoffs and then losing on the final day was hardly the ideal ending to a season that definitely had its highs and lows for the franchise.
Captaincy verdict
Faf du Plessis performed admirably well as an individual, his performances with the bat saw him finish second in the IPL 2023 Orange cap race behind Shubman Gill but his captaincy wasn’t certainly flawless.
While injuries forced his hand to make multiple changes to his playing XI, one of their key players from last season Wanindu Hasaranga played just 8 games being overtaken by Michael Bracewell in the pecking order towards the end of the season, a move which had mixed results. Therefore, the Proteas legend did ever so well as a batter but as a captain, there were some flaws.
Most valuable player
Despite having sustained plenty of injuries to their star-studded bowling unit, Mohammed Siraj did ever so well to carry the burden and lead the pace battery. He was the joint-second highest wicket-taker in the powerplay with 10 scalps, level with the likes of Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar, while Mohammed Shami claimed 15 wickets.
Siraj finished the season with a career-high 19 wickets. Virat Kohli’s purple patch in IPL 2023 was also a crucial factor in RCB reaching the cusp of qualifying for playoffs, the 34-year-old finished the season as the fourth-highest run-getter and did the major heavy lifting alongside Du Plessis. Therefore, both Kohli and Siraj deserve a mention here.
Major disappointment
Dinesh Karthik was one the reasons why RCB qualified for the playoffs last season, the veteran Tamil Nadu batter smashed 330 runs in 16 matches last season, a far cry from the 140 runs in 13 matches that DK could muster up this year.
He averaged 11.67 and the highest score he managed in IPL 2023 was 30. Without his big hitting, the Bengaluru-based franchise lacked a finisher and the 37-year-old was also guilty of costing his team some high-profile run-outs.
Season verdict
It was a season where a lot of things went RCB’s way, while some things didn’t. They choked in some close games which ultimately cost them a place in the IPL 2023 playoffs but that being said, there were plenty of promising signs as well.
The top three worked in tandem and the Bengaluru-based franchise needs to re-work their middle order woes, which has been an Achilles heel for them in the past as well. The bowling department also showed plenty of promise, Siraj needs a partner to work alongside him and the rise of Vijaykumar Vyshak means RCB need a few tweaks here and there to be up and running next season, but they are still someway away from realising the ‘Ee Sala Cup Namde’ dream.
Statistics
Most Runs: Faf du Plessis (730 runs)
Most Wickets: Mohammed Siraj (19 wickets)
Highest Individual Score: Virat Kohli (101* vs Gujarat Titans)
Best Bowling Figures: Mohammed Siraj (4/21 vs Punjab Kings)
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