The Royal Challengers Bengaluru faced a third defeat in their IPL 2024 campaign on Tuesday, conceding a 28-run loss to Lucknow Super Giants. It was a poor all-round performance from the side; after inviting the Super Giants to bat in Bengaluru, they conceded 181/5 in 20 overs but were folded for just 153 despite boasting a solid batting lineup.
None of the RCB’s top-6 could reach the 30-run mark in the innings, with their star Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell (0) enduring another failure. After a promising start in IPL 2024, Anuj Rawat, too, endured a forgettable outing, playing 21 balls for just 11 runs in his innings.
Former India batter Manoj Tiwary was particularly disappointed from the two batters and didn’t mince his words in his critique of Maxwell, who was one of the players retained by the franchise before the mega auction in 2022.
“RCB is a batting-heavy team but right now, neither their batters are performing nor their bowlers. You look in the middle order… Anuj Rawat, he played brilliantly in the first game, but he’s not been able to pace his innings since then. I understand that you are a young player but you are also surrounded by some of the top players in your team,” Tiwary told Cricbuzz.
“If you can’t get that clarity on how to go about the game, then I think you are not focused. I would say that management is also showing so much faith… khaas kar bade ballebaazon ko jab team retain karti hain, jaise ki Glenn Maxwell, salary toh inki time to time jaati hai lekin performance nahi aati hai. (You retain players like Maxwell but he is only getting paid from time to time and not giving a match-winning performance for the team),” he added.
Maxwell endured a poor start to his IPL 2024 campaign with the bat, registering scores of 0, 3, 28, and 0 across four games. With the ball, he has picked four wickets — two each against the Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants.
9th in table
With only two points from four matches, the Royal Challengers are reeling at the ninth spot in the IPL 2024 table. The side will face the high-flying Rajasthan Royals in its next game, which takes place on April 6.
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