A top-of-the-table spot with 14 points from 10 matches suggest that Royal Challengers Bangalore have one foot in the play-offs – the onus will now be on them to try and finish among the top two for a better chance to make it to the final. has turned the clock in this edition of IPL as he leads the Orange Cap race with 443 runs while his teammate, Josh Hazlewood, is the Purple Cap holder at the moment with 18 wickets.

Can the RCB fans, one of the most loyal bunch despite the title remaining elusive in 17 years, hope that they can buck the trend this time? For too long, the franchise had regaled on some of the biggest stars, made finals on three occasions but the so called luck factor has also deserted them at crucial juncture.

This time around, the race for play-offs wears a rather open look with some of the underachievers punching above their weight and RCB are certainly looking well poised to give their title-hopes a push.

A word of praise for Rajat Patidar, almost an accidental captain this season, will not be out of place to begin with. There were enough doubters when the management announced him as the skipper as Kohli was not interested and Faf du Plessis was released and it’s a pleasant surprise to see both the first timers – Patidar and Axar Patel (Delhi Capitals) are growing with the job.

While Rajat has not exactly set the house on fire with his contribution with the bat at the number three position (228 runs with a strike rate of 147), the Madhya Pradesh captain has never really looked under pressure in marshalling his troops.     

While RCB’s auction policy may have been criticised by many, a number of their new recruits have proved to be good value for money. The overseas buys like Phil Salt, Will Jacks and Tim David have raised their hands time and again – while England allrounder Jacks’ matchwinning century against Gujarat Titans must be counted as one of their best batting efforts.

It’s true that their middle order may not have the depth of some other teams, which makes for a Krunal Pandya to come up at number five.

However, the responsibility of being the main allrounder of the team seems to be bringing out the best in Krunal – as was evident in a mature 119-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Kohli and him at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.  

His 73 off 47 deliveries was his first fifty in IPL in years while the feisty allrounder’s tight left-arm spin proved rather difficult for the Delhi batters to get them away.

After being initially criticised for not having enough quality spinners, the combination of Krunal along with young leggie Suyash Sharma has proved to be an useful combination for RCB. However, it’s their pace troika of Hazlewood, old warhorse Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the left-arm Yash Dayal which had acquitted themselves to be the best in the league so far – even keeping Mumbai Indians in mind.

Suresh Raina, TV pundit “He (Bhuvneshwar) is IPL GOAT for me. He is now the second highest wicket-taker after surpassing our very own Piyush. His yorkers and back-of-the hand deliveries are not easy to play. He is calm and deliveres under pressure. Meerut Express runs differently and has a lot of experience”

The Australian fast bowler looked every inch worth the investment of Rs 12.50 crores,while  an ageing Bhuvi (10.75 cr) has 12 wickets at an average of 23.66 and an economy of 8.35. The match against Delhi Capitals on Super Sunday also saw 'Bhuvi' becoming the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament’s history, surpassing Piyush Chawla’s tally of 192 scalps. The out-of-favour Indian international has taken 193 wickets from 185 matches at an average of 27.01 and an economy of 7.60.

 A self-effacing character, Bhuvi attracted huge words of praise from Suresh Raina, an erstwhile national teammate as well as in the UP team in domestic cricket.

“He is IPL GOAT for me. He is now the second highest wicket-taker after surpassing our very own Piyush. His yorkers and back-of-the hand deliveries are not easy to play. He is calm and deliveres under pressure. Meerut Express runs differently and has a lot of experience,” Raina told the broadcasters.

And then, there is Virat Kohli whose six fifties in 10 matches shows the kind of form he is in this year. One only hopes he finally keeps his date with the IPL – but let’s wait and watch!