Former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar has opined that Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s pace duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood would look to get the ball into Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill. The right-hander has been found wanting against the incoming deliveries from the fast bowlers in the past.
Meanwhile, Kumar and Hazlewood had wreaked havoc against Delhi Capitals, bagging three and four wickets respectively.
On the other hand, Gill has been in good form as he has scored 330 runs in seven matches at an average of 47.14 and a strike rate of 148.64.
Sanjay Bangar said on Star Sports, “The key thing is that RCB’s bowling is happening according to a plan, and they seem to be coming in well prepared. That’s how it appears. There’s an opportunity here. Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood would have noticed this issue (incoming deliveries to Shubman Gill), which has been there with this batter in T20 cricket. In Test cricket, he has tightened his defense a lot, but in T20s, in the eagerness to score runs, he tends to push his bat out in front a bit. That creates a gap, and Bhuvi and Hazlewood will definitely look to exploit that.”
Bangar noted that RCB veteran batter Virat Kohli has looked in fine touch, and he has delivered more consistently against Shubman Gill.
“Virat is having a very good season. Shubman isn’t far behind, but he hasn’t shown the same consistency. In the last match when they played together, Sai Sudharsan didn’t give him much strike, and there were complaints about that. But Virat Kohli doesn’t have any such problem because he has taken his game to another level and shifted into a higher gear.”
Kohli has scored 351 runs in eight matches at an average of 58.50 and a strike rate of 162.50 in the ongoing season.
On the other hand, India’s pacer Umesh Yadav said batting second suits RCB’s batting style with Virat Kohli in their side.
“If the match is at night, the toss becomes important. And I feel that the way Bangalore is playing, they believe more in chasing. Considering how their batting has been and the depth they have in their lineup, batting second always suits them. They also prefer it that way, whenever they step onto the field, they try to chase the target because they have a ‘chase machine’ in their side. So, chasing runs feels easier for them.”
RCB had registered a five-wicket win against GT in the reverse fixture recently.
