Image Credit- BCCI
After losing their sixth straight match, Sunrisers Hyderabad outhit them at the Chinnaswamy, smashing a record 287 for 3, the captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Faf du Plessis, acknowledged that such outcomes could be mentally taxing.
The runs lost in the first innings were just too many to overcome, despite the fact that RCB responded with an outstanding 262 for 7, and he attributed it to a lack of faith in the bowling unit. Despite starting the game with just five bowlers, including Mohammed Siraj on the bench, RCB entered the game having just conceded 199 in 15.3 overs against the Mumbai Indians in their last match.
“It’s tough, we tried quite a few things, a few different things, and they weren’t quite working,” du Plessis said after the match. “So it’s a sign of confidence in the other group. When your confidence is low, there’s nowhere to hide in the game.
“The game is moving forward and so fast these days from the batters, so when you are not on top of your game [as a bowler], it’s hard. Obviously, with five bowlers, it’s tough on a wicket like that. We are going to keep trying different things.”
Du Plessis stated that his team’s next game, on Sunday against the Kolkata Knight Riders, could be best served by taking a vacation to regroup. RCB now has extremely little chance of qualifying; even if they win all seven of their remaining games, it might not be enough.
“One thing really important is you need to go away and freshen your mind, it’s such a mental game,” he said. “Sometimes when we have a couple of back-to-back defeats, it feels like your mind is going to explode.
“It’s important to stay away from it and make sure that we do get back to the next challenge – which is obviously a little bit of an uphill task for us at the moment – but when we do get back to the contest, we show full commitment 100%.”