RCB Bold Diaries: Bowling simulation: The secret to RCB’s bowling turnaround vs KKR

The second game against KKR saw the Royal Challengers Bangalore make an incredible turnaround with the ball after the disappointment of the first game against Punjab Kings. One of the key aspects that was identified as an area of improvement was the ability to execute plans under pressure. So how did the RCB bowlers manage to do a complete 180, dismissing KKR for 128 after conceding 205 in a run-chase in the season opener?

The team underwent an exercise called Bowling simulation to help plan and execute with clarity under pressure. In the words of Captain Faf du Plessis, the purpose of the exercise was to “Work on two basic things. One is the field setting, and one is the different options you will bowl with that field setting.”

Director of Cricket Operations, Mike Hesson further explained the need for such an exercise. “When the game is on the line, whether we are batting or bowling, it’s about how we deal with the game under pressure - the last 5 overs. So, a lot of what we do today is all of the bowlers sitting with the captain, going through the fieldsets in terms of different options. Obviously, no matter what option you have, what field you have, you have to have at least 3 options in terms of deliveries you can bowl. And then when you’re under pressure, how are you going to get out of that - whether you’re gonna split the over up, maybe change the field?”

One of the bright sparks for RCB against KKR was the emergence of Akash Deep as a wicket-taking option. Speaking about the exercise, the Bengal and RCB pacer said, “The best thing is we got to bowl in open nets, and it was fun. We were given a plan to bowl to. It was made clear that we have to bowl to that plan, irrespective of whether we concede runs or not. It was fun because I had to bowl to a plan and a field that was given. I could execute a few balls well, and some not so much. But I was told not to think about whether or not runs are being conceded, but our job is to bowl to a plan and if we are conceding runs, it’s not an issue.”

So, what does such an exercise result in for bowlers?  “We get plenty of confidence - ‘Whether or not it goes well’, it gives you confidence. It felt quite good,” said Akash who picked up 3 wickets against KKR.