[NPV]

KKR's chase against CSK last evening was very enthralling. Shubman Gill definitely seems like a great prospect, his batting was awesome. And Dinesh Karthik was great too, just hope he gets another stint in the national side before he bids adieu.

[msdivy]

A timely piece - Time for Virat to step down as RCB captain?

Kohli is successfully leading the Indian cricket team built by Dhoni and previous captains & coaches. In RCB, he is unable to lift the team. His team selection, batting lineup has been poor, field placements not adequate and bowling changes ineffective. His batsmen play as if there is no team goal or plan. At a personal level, he is unable to carry forward his ODI greatness into T20s.

Like mentioned in the article, other teams are able to perform better with much lesser resources.

[hemanth.anand]

So RCB practically out of the event. Hard to see Kohli's interview after the match. If we fans feel like this, it'll be Devastating indeed for him.

[Eddy]

Yes, I think he should give up the RCB captaincy and move on. Sad as it is, he has failed as a leader for most of his tenure.

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Yes, I think he should give up the RCB captaincy and move on. Sad as it is, he has failed as a leader for most of his tenure.

Failed as a leader? He leads India, and I suppose he does it fairly well.

Yes, he should give up captaincy but that for me is for entirely different reasons. He simply has too much on his plate. His players have not supported him.

RCB's selection wasn't great - just expecting one fast bowler (who breaks down quite often, and did before the IPL) was not a great strategy, retaining Sarfaraz, especially with that fitness They could have not retained his and used the RTM for someone else. (I am not a 100% on the rules here)

I hope he gives up captaincy and RCB find an experienced international skipper for the next year and a couple of bowlers. Let Kohli just play his game, he has too much on his plate all around the year, this 2 months, just let him bat.

[PPS]

What a superlative last over by Bhuvi last night! Just shows he's the most important player after Kohli for India in all 3 formats. Also not to forget the second last over by Kaul which made it slightly easier for Bhuvi. Kaul should perhaps get a look-in to the Indian T20 side ahead of Shardul Thakur who has been very expensive in the IPL.

[Nonstop-driver]

I don't think it is just about VK. Something is very wrong with the RCB management including its selectors and coaches. Players who have been written off entirely have been a gem with other franchises. VK, on his part, has led by example with his batting and fielding but his team has failed him on every occasion. Even last night should have been RCB's. How many teams have failed to score 12 from the last over with 2 set batsman on the crease?

[vamsi.kona]

Originally Posted by PPS

What a superlative last over by Bhuvi last night! Just shows he's the most important player after Kohli for India in all 3 formats. Also not to forget the second last over by Kaul which made it slightly easier for Bhuvi. Kaul should perhaps get a look-in to the Indian T20 side ahead of Shardul Thakur who has been very expensive in the IPL.

I think the quicks of SRH, especially domestic players, have been excellent this season. Every one grabbed the opportunities they got. Its hard on Thampi to give such good performances but still be benched. But when you have Bhuvi back from injury it is inevitable. It seems Bhuvi is the best 20th over bowler in IPL going at a rate of 8.03 runs while everyone else is going at 10+ rate since 2015. I especially like his calm and composed nature, whatever the situation may be.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by pratyush6

Failed as a leader? He leads India, and I suppose he does it fairly well.

Failed as a leader in IPL is what I meant. And that includes the auction where I assume his inputs on retention etc would have been important.

[srishiva]

I think Kohli's strike rate in IPL is also not that great. He is not able to win while chasing which is very strange. His strike rate is good for ODI where he also bats longer. We havent seen him bat like a Dhoni or Sharma and lead to a win.
Its exposed some thing in him in addition to what it has about the team.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by srishiva

I think Kohli's strike rate in IPL is also not that great. He is not able to win while chasing which is very strange. His strike rate is good for ODI where he also bats longer. We havent seen him bat like a Dhoni or Sharma and lead to a win.
Its exposed some thing in him in addition to what it has about the team.

I agree with your assessment here. Kohli is not like Dhoni, Sharma or Gayle, where they can get their strike rate from under 60 to 150 in no time. Kohli has always been a great player in rotating the strike and at the same time his strike rate in hitting 4's has been pretty good. But, in this IPL, he is just not able to impose himself and for some reason he is getting out even after scoring 30+/40+, which is very much unlike Kohli. Something is not right with him.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by kavensri

I agree with your assessment here. Kohli is not like Dhoni, Sharma or Gayle, where they can get their strike rate from under 60 to 150 in no time. Kohli has always been a great player in rotating the strike and at the same time his strike rate in hitting 4's has been pretty good. But, in this IPL, he is just not able to impose himself and for some reason he is getting out even after scoring 30+/40+, which is very much unlike Kohli. Something is not right with him.

I don't think its anything to do with ability. He is as good as anyone there. What is holding him back is that there is nobody to back him up in the batting order IF he gets out.

As someone said, too many things on your plate. It is not easy to captain a side that loses much more than it wins. And I am sure the money angle brings its own share of pressures !

[PPS]

Originally Posted by kavensri

I agree with your assessment here. Kohli is not like Dhoni, Sharma or Gayle, where they can get their strike rate from under 60 to 150 in no time.

RCB are over dependent on Kohli & AB. Their bowling in death overs has been insipid in most games. The Captain is only as good as his team!
Most people had a problem with Dhoni's strike rate before the IPL, now suddenly he's got his mojo back. After the auction, everyone was ridiculing the ageing CSK team but look now, they're at the top of the table.
Ultimately, the team has to perform on the ground.

[kavensri]

Originally Posted by PPS

RCB are over dependent on Kohli & AB. Their bowling in death overs has been insipid in most games. The Captain is only as good as his team!
Most people had a problem with Dhoni's strike rate before the IPL, now suddenly he's got his mojo back. After the auction, everyone was ridiculing the ageing CSK team but look now, they're at the top of the table.
Ultimately, the team has to perform on the ground.

Agree that RCB is completely depending on VK and ABD for batting. But i think they have sorted out their bowling options with the current bowling unit, with Southee coming in.
Their problems started from the auction itself and now nothing can be done till next auction.
As far as VK's captaincy, he has been excellent captain for the national team. So I still feel that there is something which is bothering him. This has affected his batting and also his captaincy in this IPL.
On the other hand, Williamson and Ashwin seemed to have excelled in their role of 'captaining' their side.

[RoadGlide]

What a fantastic innings yesterday by Kishan and today by Pant. Finally someone took the SRH bowlers to the cleaners! Let's see if SRH can chase it down.