New Delhi, May 1 (IANS) Former England captain Eoin Morgan believes that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have ticked big boxes in IPL 2025 through their aggressive batting mentality from top to middle order and bringing ace Australia fast-bowler Josh Hazlewood in the set-up.
RCB are sitting on top of the points table with 14 points and are very much ahead in contention for making it to the playoffs. It also helps that an in-form RCB can look to garner two points at home when they will be up against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who are already out of the competition, in a southern derby clash on Saturday.
“I think they’ve done a lot of things right. The one thing I actually really enjoy watching them play this year has been Phil Salt (239 runs) at the top of the order and Virat Kohli (433 runs), the way they’ve gone about their business.”
“I know Phil has missed out and Jacob (Bethell) has come in the last couple of games (against Delhi Capitals), but just the pure aggression that they’ve showed at the top of the order has, I think, allowed them to continue that same mentality in the middle order with the bat.”
“Also, it’s not always a focus on volume of runs that they’re scoring. I thought that was where they built nice momentum away from home and then went back to the Chinnaswamy and got their first win. I suppose apart from that, their bowling has been very impressive, and Josh Hazlewood in particular,” said Morgan, a JioStar Expert, to IANS in a virtual interaction on Thursday.
Hazlewood, with his impeccable lines and lengths, has been in lethal form to be the tournament’s current leading wicket-taker by picking 18 scalps in ten games at an average of 17.27 and economy rate of 8.44. The tall pacer has also been a standout bowler in the back end of an innings, as he took six wickets in overs 17-20 at an economy rate of 8.2.
“I know people make the joke and have done for every game that he’s planted more trees in Bengaluru than a lot of gardeners with the amount of balls that he bowled. But it’s very impressive that one of the best Test bowlers in the world is able to apply himself and become a brilliant multi-format player like he has done previously at CSK as well during their successful campaign in 2021.”
“So things are shaping up nicely. I think if you’re an RCB fan, you have a lot to cheer about and to look forward to, particularly with the cricket that they’ve been playing and when they would have come to the playoffs,” added Morgan, who had a stint with RCB way back in 2010 IPL.
Another aspect which has been a standout from an RCB perspective has been how buying experienced Indian players in last year’s mega auction has worked out brilliantly in this season. Players like Devdutt Padikkal, Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, apart from the talismanic Kohli and skipper Rajat Patidar, have stepped up on various occasions to make RCB victorious.
Morgan further lauded the experienced Indian players’ pivotal role in RCB winning six out of six away matches, which stands in stark contrast to just one win in their four home games so far. “As of now it’s working and possibly the biggest surprise for me has been how they’ve gone and adapted on the road.”
“I mean, it’s not an easy thing to do, particularly when a lot of the success of IPL winning teams over the years has been built on their home ground and how they apply themselves. So that’s possibly been the most impressive thing.”
“When you get into a position like they find themselves in at the moment, the first step is after you get off to a good start and in around the halfway stage or past it like we are now is getting into those playoffs, which is pretty much something badly needs to go wrong in order for them not to do that.”
“Then you get to the pointy end of things where that experience that you talk about, that investment should really come through and shine. I think the first step, which is the hardest most of the time, is qualifying for that playoff stage. The next is delivering your skill game on game in which there could only be two or there might only be one, depending on how you go in the playoffs,” he concluded.
Catch Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Chennai Super Kings at 7:30 PM on May 3, live and exclusive on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network.
–IANS
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