Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have now won both their matches in IPL 2026 more than comprehensively and “are setting great standards for themselves,” in Ambati Rayudu‘s words. Chennai Super Kings (CSK), on the other hand, have lost all their three games so far. Two by a distance. One slightly less so. And, as Aaron Finch put it, “that’s worrying signs”.
On Sunday night in Bengaluru, CSK were in the game for three-fourths of the first innings. And then they were battered into submission by Tim David. Their bowling plans for the death overs were not in evidence.
Was the problem with the plan then? Or was it down to execution?
“For me, as a captain, you can always understand poor execution. If the plan is right and the bowler has bought into it, and they mis-execute, that’s okay. because you know that that’s something they have practiced over and over and that’s going to happen,” Finch said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show after CSK went down by 43 runs.
“[But] was the planning right? I don’t think it was. Was the execution right? No, it absolutely wasn’t. So when you’re missing both of them, that’s worrying signs.”
Where Finch blamed the planning, Rayudu went a step further.
“More than a bad plan, they just stuck to that bad plan,” he said. “There was nobody to intervene and to just take some time off, take those 20-30 seconds, just make it slightly more slow and then guide the bowler with a message. I think they should have slowed it down a little bit.”
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Ambati Rayudu decodes CSK’s death-bowling problems against RCB
Ambati Rayudu and Gaurav Sundararaman on CSK’s bowling problems against RCB
The 16th over started with RCB on 153 for 3. The next few went for 19 (Khaleel Ahmed), 21 (Noor Ahmad), 14 (Anshul Kamboj), 30 (Jamie Overton) and 13 (Kamboj again). Kamboj held his own. Did brilliantly under the circumstances. The others didn’t.
“[Overton bowled] everything was around the wicket. Around the wicket, six, six, six. At no point was there anyone go up to the bowler and say, ‘okay, maybe this plan is not working, let’s think of something else ‘,” Finch said. “What it is, is your head starts spinning in a situation like that.
“I’ve been in that situation as a captain where you’re thinking: what’s happening? And before you know it, that over’s gone and you’ve forgot to rejig your plans.”
Rayudu put it down to “lack of experience” in the bowling line-up, though numbers suggest that isn’t the case, not entirely.
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Rayudu – RCB setting great standards for themselves
Ambati Rayudu and Aaron Finch on RCB’s start to the season
“Their follow-up balls after a boundary or a six aren’t great,” Rayudu added. “Generally, as a bowler, you need to be aware that, okay, I have been hit for a six, but it’s the next ball that matters. Whenever you see good death bowlers, they always follow up with a very good ball. But their powerplay bowling and middle-overs bowling was much better than what it was last game.”
On the subject of the around-the-wicket line of attack, analyst Gaurav Sundararaman pointed out that it was something the Super Kings franchise has focused on even in other leagues (MLC, SA20) for the past couple of seasons, but CSK hadn’t done it because, as Rayudu said, “MSD didn’t approve of that sort of an angle at the death”.
RCB, meanwhile, are not “letting anything just pass by; they just want to control every scenario, every over,” Rayudu said.
“Yeah, they’re a team that’s making the right decision at the right time,” Finch agreed. “They are a team that’s been really flexible, and not just being rigid with their preparation and their planning and sticking only to that. They’re going beautifully.”
