“Except for Virat, the top five aren’t in sparkling form” – Andy Flower calls for “aggression” from RCB following their third straight defeat

Andy Flower, the head coach of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), stated that his team had to learn how to put the opposition under pressure and that he wants their “level of aggression above a certain threshold.” His remarks came after RCB’s six-wicket loss against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their IPL 2024 match, which was their fourth straight loss in the competition.

Flower acknowledged the lack of effort in the batting department and said that, other than Virat Kohli, none of the top-order batsmen were in strong form. The former skipper had to score most of the runs to meet the 184-run goal after he hit his ninth IPL century at a time when no other batsman performed particularly well. Thanks to captain Sanju Samson’s fifty and Jos Buttler’s perfect century, RR impressively reached the goal with relative ease.

As part of comprehending the T20 game, we do talk about strike rates and aggression. You must always apply pressure to the opposition and maintain an aggressiveness level that is above a particular threshold. Definitely going for the aggressive route, particularly on pitches such as these. All of our top five players, with the exception of Virat, are just not playing at their best right now. Being there is difficult. They’re working hard and giving it their all, so it’s not for lack of effort. simply not operating at the moment. At the news conference following the game, Flower stated, “We need to fire them if we’re going to turn this around.

Also read: IPL 2024: In a graceful century against RR, Virat Kohli of RCB equals an unwelcome record

Flower, however, was pleased with the performance of the bowlers, who had forced the game to go into the last over of the second inning. “We were a little light (on runs), in my opinion. Considering our starting lineup, we should have scored more than 200 while facing a weak pitch. We were at 107/0 in the twelfth over. However, we had a strong start with the puck, thanks to Topley and Yash. Siraj was outstanding up front, but the final over of the powerplay cost us a lot of momentum.”

None of the sides wants to be in our situation, which is one out of five: Andy Flower

With just two points from five games, RCB is presently in eighth in the IPL 2024 points standings. Flower said that no player ever intended to be in their current situation and that they should at least somewhat get their act together.

“We’re one out of five, and neither side wants to be in that situation. We do indeed have a few problems with our batting. Though other players are having trouble with form and confidence, Virat is in excellent form. We’re doing everything we can to give them a sense of strength and self-assurance. Scores and team antagonism are only heading in one direction, as this competition has shown. To put the opposition under pressure, the lads must have all of their form and confidence. That form hasn’t been found yet,” the 55-year-old stated.