RCB Bold diaries: What happened at RCB’s first match scenario simulation practice?

The nets around the players were brought down, the outfield at the Dadoji Konddev stadium in Thane looked green and ready for the players to have a hit out in the middle. It was a day of match scenario simulation at the RCB camp.

The first scenario saw Anuj Rawat and Faf du Plessis opening the batting. The target set for them? To score 80-90 runs in the first 10 overs on a track that had grass on it which could get the ball to nip around. The left-right opening combo easily went past the set target, scoring a massive 117 in the allotted 10 overs.

But what exactly does a match scenario simulation help with? RCB head coach Sanjay Bangar answers, “What we are trying to do is, it’s like a rehearsal. Because there are new players entering into our setup, it also helps in giving familiarity with each other. So, for instance, in the first scenario, we have Faf(du Plessis) and Anuj(Rawat) batting together. They haven’t batted together ever. So, this is going to be the first chance for both of them to understand each other’s body language, how they call, which are the areas they want to score off, or what are the preferences. All that communication tends to kick in now.”

Now, that was about the batsmen. What about the bowlers? “Also, now from a bowler’s perspective, the bowlers who are going to bowl, they are going to be their own captains and set their own fields,” explained Bangar.

After he was done with his simulation, Faf du Plessis was also seen donning the captain’s hat, walking around the field, talking to his bowlers about how to bowl to the batsmen in the middle. Credit to Siddharth Kaul and CV Milind over the last 2 overs, in the Head coach Sanjay Bangar’s words, “Plan barobar daala, aur execute bhi accha kiya(Bowled perfectly to the plan, and executed them well too.)”