Former India all-rounder Ajay Jadeja believes Royal Challengers Bengaluru bowlers have started clicking to take their side “off the fan” but the team is still “in the ICU” after their nervous win over Gujarat Titans. RCB crossed the line with four wickets and 38 balls in hand, chasing a paltry 148 against GT on Saturday, a victory engineered by the bowlers. Faf du Plessis (64) and Virat Kohli (42) shared 92 runs in the powerplay, but RCB lost on a bunch of wickets – from 92/0 to 117/6 – giving Gujarat real hope of an unlikely victory.
“The chinks in the armor are visible, what ultimately happened. But the opportunity is there. They are not on ventilator support but are still in intensive care,” Jadeja told Jio Cinema.
“We are excited about today's match after seeing Virat and Faf. But the real work that was done was done by the bowlers, an aspect that RCB has historically struggled with.
“The bowling department is starting to click now, and we are talking about the business end of the season. This is the point where realistic chances of winning come from momentum…” Jadeja said that after their win, RCB might have the momentum has taken them to seventh spot in the IPL points table, but qualification for the play-offs remains a “very difficult question”.
“More than momentum, it's about the mentality of the team, where you know that if you are in a bad situation, someone will get you out… Today it seemed like RCB chose the right path, while Gujarat was on the other side . side. Who will achieve his goal? It is still a very difficult question,” he said.
However, the former Indian cricketer was impressed with RCB's aggressive approach with the bat in a tight chase.
“They came into the game differently from the start. I haven't checked the stats, but I've never seen them start a match with a six. Not one, but two, in the first over, when it wasn't necessary,” he said.
“What Faf did, he operated at a different pace. Later there was some excitement in the race, but at no point did it look like this (GT win) was going to be successful,”
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