“Even when we were losing…”: Yash Dayal explains how RCB changed the fate of IPL 2024

After a fifth consecutive win that not only put Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in contention for a place in the IPL 2024 playoffs but also took them to fifth place in the points table, RCB pacer Yash Dayal said that The team’s remarkable turnaround was fueled by a positive team environment and attacking play. RCB is ahead of Delhi Capitals (DC), who have the same points as RCB but a worse net run rate. Just a month ago, RCB’s post-season aspirations were bleak with just one win in eight games. However, they demonstrated great tenacity, drastically changing their fortunes with a series of victories.

RCB went into the game knowing that a defeat would knock them out of the competition. They even lost captain Faf du Plessis and batsman Virat Kohli cheaply after being batted first. Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar, however, launched an 88-run counter-attack for the third wicket. In the end, they finished with 187 for 9.

Dayal revealed that a strong sense of team unity is a key factor in his team’s dramatic turnaround in the ongoing IPL.

“There has been a positive change. Even when we were losing, no one was pointing out anyone’s name. This supportive atmosphere, coupled with a new aggressive approach, seems to be the winning formula for RCB,” Dayal said in a post-match statement. Press conference.

“There has been a positive change. Even when we were losing, no one was pointing anyone out, so it’s a big positive. And throughout the season we have been positive. And now we have become more offensive,” he added.

RCB took control of the chase, reducing Capitals to 30 for 4 in four overs. Left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh removed David Warner in the opening over before Mohammed Siraj and Yash Dayal took control with difficult lines and lengths. Lockie Ferguson’s 2 for 23 helped them keep the score under control midway through the game to guide RCB to victory by 47 runs.

Talking about his bowling, Dayal said, “The credit for this goes to our coaches. Whenever I start bowling, my aim is to just remove the batsman from in front of me so that I can save some runs. So this is a very positive for the team.”

Coming into the match, DC chose to bowl first after winning the toss. Knocks from Patidar (52 off 32 balls, with five fours and three sixes), Will Jacks (41 off 29 balls, with three fours and two sixes), Cameron Green (32* off 24 balls, with one four and two sixes) and Virat Kohli (27* off 13 balls, with fours and three sixes) took RCB to 187/9 in his 20 overs.

In the 188-run chase, Delhi were restricted to 30/4 at one point. A 56-run partnership between Shai Hope (29 off 23 balls, with four boundaries) and Axar Patel helped DC get back into the game. Stand-in captain, Axar scored his second half-century of the season, hitting 57 off 39 balls, with five fours and three sixes to keep his team alive. However, the RCB bowlers kept the run flow under control and bundled DC for 140 runs in 19.1 overs, winning by 47 runs.

RCB are now on 12 points, with a chance of reaching 14 when they face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday.

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