What is the way forward for RCB after small hiccups?
Even in 2026, a bedtime story from a bygone era echoes in the mind several times. And that is about how a slow-moving tortoise edged past an overconfident hare in a race. The narrative surrounding Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s 2026 IPL season seems to paint a similar picture. It doesn’t mean that RCB became overconfident after winning four out of their first five games. But the fact remains that they have now stumbled to two consecutive losses.
At RevSportz, we list out the possible reasons for RCB slipping up in their last couple of games and the way forward.
Jacob Bethell’s run of low scores/Phil Salt’s injury: It is unfair to put the blame on one player. But Jacob Bethell not being able to find his mojo at the top of the order has affected RCB’s plans to some extent. The promising batter has notched up just 43 runs across four matches in this IPL.
Interestingly, in three of those four games, Bethell looked in fine touch. Unfortunately for RCB and Bethell, he found the fielders to perfection in two matches, both against Gujarat Titans. Meanwhile, there is still no clarity on when their incumbent opener, Phil Salt, will return to action.
Curiously, at the start of the IPL season, Bethell was in pretty good form, having smashed a masterful hundred against India in the T20 World Cup semifinal, while Salt was going through a rough patch. A few weeks later, the tables have turned upside down, with RCB fans hoping for Salt to return as soon as possible.
Jitesh Sharma looks out of sorts: The RCB vice-captain has aggregated a mere 64 runs at an average of eight this season. His strike rate of 108.47 does not make for good reading either. As one of the vital cogs in the middle order, he was expected to shore up the batting unit. But that has not been the case so far.
Hazlewood not striking upfront in helpful conditions: At the Narendra Modi Stadium, when Gujarat Titans took on RCB, the curator had left a good covering of grass. In RCB’s next game, Lucknow Super Giants’ pacers found movement with the new ball and extracted some bounce. Hazlewood, renowned for utilising such conditions to the fullest, took just one wicket and conceded 105 runs in eight overs. On the other hand, the in-form Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled incisively in Ahmedabad, but he too could not make an impact in Lucknow.
Playing a slew of away games: RCB’s schedule is such that they ended up playing five of their first seven matches at the Chinnaswamy. This year, with a powerful batting engine at their disposal, RCB also seemed to have built the right kind of template for home conditions.
Now, RCB are set to play seven matches away from the Chinnaswamy. One of those matches was played in Ahmedabad, where on a surface that assisted fast bowlers, RCB’s ultra-aggressive approach upfront perhaps did not help their cause. By the time the conditions seemed to ease out, RCB had already lost too many wickets.
It is true that, on paper, the venue in Raipur is said to be their second home. But for many RCB players, it would still be unfamiliar territory. Moreover, they will not get the chance to play in front of a boisterous and passionate Chinnaswamy crowd.
What is the way forward? RCB’s next two matches are in Raipur, against MI and KKR respectively. So what can we expect in Raipur? Generally, we have seen a variety of tracks at the venue, ranging from flat decks to pitches with a few small cracks. At this point of the year, dew may not play spoilsport. From RCB’s point of view, they would be hoping for conditions that suit their formidable batting unit. At a macro level, RCB will eye playoff qualification by winning both games. Otherwise, the hare-and-tortoise fable could very well come back to haunt them.
The post What is the way forward for RCB after small hiccups? appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.
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