Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag slammed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batters for playing terrible shots and throwing away their wickets against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 18 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, losing their third game at home in a row.
The Bengaluru-based franchise could manage to reach only 95/9 after the contest was reduced to 14 overs per side due to rain interruptions. The visitors won the toss and chose to field as chasing is relatively easier in Bengaluru.
RCB lost opener Phil Salt on just the fourth ball of the first over and Virat Kohli followed suit as he went back to the pavilion cheaply. The wickets continued to fall, with more than half of the team’s total coming from Tim David’s (50 off 26) bat. Sehwag bashed the batters for not using “common sense”.
“RCB batted poorly. All of them played reckless shots to get out. Not a single batter was out to a good ball. At least one batter should’ve used common sense. If they had wickets in hand, they could have reached 110 or 120 in 14 overs, which would have given them a chance to fight,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
Punjab Kings were also stuck at one stage during their innings despite having a low score to chase as the pitch and outfield conditions were not as usual following the rain. However, Nehal Wadhera (33* off 19) stayed till the end, taking the team home. Josh Hazlewood (3/14) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/26) tested Punjab Kings but the small target could not challenge the opposition for too long.
Meanwhile, Sehwag also said that RCB skipper Rajat Patidar will have to come up with a solution to tackle the home woes. Notably, RCB have a historically poor home record, with the loss against Punjab Kings being their 46th at the venue.
“Patidar has to think and come up with a solution. They have not been winning at home. Their bowlers are doing well but why are their batters faltering regularly? It’s not alright if your batters continuously fail at home. Who is going to rectify that?” he added.
