Harbhajan Singh opens up on RCB bowlers' poor outing against Sunrisers

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) poor performance continued in IPL 2024 as they suffered a humiliating 25-run defeat at the hands of the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Monday, April 15th. After being put in to bat first, SRH posted a mammoth total of 287/3, the highest ever in IPL history, leaving RCB's bowlers utterly exposed.

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh was ruthless in his critique of RCB's bowling unit after the match. “RCB difficulties are increasing. There were talks about their bowling line-up after the auction and they must be realising it now. They conceded the highest-ever score in the IPL,” he said on his YouTube channel.

SRH opener Travis Head spearheaded the onslaught, smashing a blistering 102 off just 41 balls. Heinrich Klaasen (67 off 31) and Aiden Markram (32 off 17) provided able support as RCB's bowlers were taken to the cleaners. Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, and Reece Topley all conceded over 50 runs in their four-over spells.

Also read: We will come back stronger, it's knockout time for us: RCB head coach Andy Flower

Someone needs to raise their hand: Harbhajan Singh

The lack of a bowler willing to take responsibility and make inroads into the opposition's batting was evident, as per Harbhajan. "I agree that the surface was meant for batters but someone needs to raise their hand and say, I will get you two or three wickets," he added.

Despite Dinesh Karthik's brilliant effort of 83 off 35 balls in the chase, RCB ultimately fell short by 25 runs, finishing on 262/7. Karthik's efforts were in vain as the asking rate proved too steep for the rest of the batting unit.

Also read: RCB made some good strides against SRH, let ourselves down with the ball: Glenn Maxwell

Harbhajan acknowledged Karthik's consistently impressive performances, saying, “The biggest positive about RCB batting is Dinesh Karthik. He has scored runs in every match." However, the former India spinner emphasised that RCB's bowling woes need to be addressed urgently if they are to turn their season around.

With five consecutive losses, RCB's playoff hopes are hanging by a thread. As Harbhajan pointed out, the players will need to step up and take responsibility in the bowling unit, or else their IPL 2024 campaign could end in disappointment yet again.