Batsmen let the Royal Challengers down again

It was the same story yet again for Rahul Dravid's Royal Challengers. After being asked to take first strike on a bowler-friendly wicket, the Challengers' batsmen just had no answers to the questions asked by Sreesanth and Co.

Bangalore tried yet another opening combination in this game; Wasim Jaffer was accompanied by Virat Kohli, but the change in the batting order didn't bring about any change in fortunes for Dr Vijay Mallya's team. They lost two wickets in the very first over, and the batsmen went into a shell; runs came in at a trickle and the first six overs, when the fielding restrictions were in force, produced only 26 runs, studded with just four hits to the fence. One would imagine teams to go all out in the first six overs, when only two men are permitted to guard the boundaries - but in this case, none of the Royal Challengers' batsmen seemed capable of finding the gaps in the infield.

Pathetic calling (five run-outs in the innings) and some injudicious strokes contributed to their downfall.

While, the bowling seems capable of dismissing or even restricting opposition teams, the batting just hasn't posted a decent score on the board for the bowlers to defend. Zaheer Khan, the spearhead of the Royal Challengers' bowling attack is among the top wicket-takers in the tournament, while Dale Steyn is one of the most economical bowlers to feature in the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL).

Just one quick look at the table above; every single team barring the Royal Challengers Bangalore have a representation in the top 10 leading run scorers in the IPL. That clearly indicates where the problem lies, doesn't it?

Some of the dubious records that the Royal Challengers hold at the moment:
- Only team to be bowled out in three matches in the tournament.
- Bowled out for 82 - the lowest total in the tournament
- Five of its batsmen were dismissed without scoring in the match against Kings XI Punjab - that's the most in an innings in the IPL.