A new chapter unfolds as RCB’s campaign begins against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. After a glorifying last year, RCB now face a daunting task of defending their title. Amongst pressure, expectations and responsibility, the captain of RCB, Rajat Patidar has made up his mind.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru kick start their campaign against SRH with clear mindset and determination. They are moving forward with clarity and determination. Rajat Patidar chose to bowl first in the opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad and made the team’s mindset clear. He clearly stated that they will not be just defending the title, rather, they will be chasing for glory one more time as was stated by Rajat.
Their ambition however will be faced with hurdles. Their bowling spearhead Josh Hazlewood misses out on a few games which would be a massive setback. His experience during the powerplay overs alongside the death overs will be a clear miss for RCB. However, he’ll be replaced by New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy, which was a significant buy for RCB at the mini-auction. Margin of error would also be thin for his bowling partner Abhinandan Singh who will be on debut.
Meanwhile, the batting unit remains RCB’s strongest pillar. Virat Kohli and Philip Salt are expected to provide quick starts again. The middle order, led by Patidar, with support from Jitesh Sharma and Tim David, offers flexibility and power. The presence of Krunal Pandya adds balance, especially with spin playing a key role alongside Suyash Sharma.
On the other side, Hyderabad have arrived with a batting-heavy setup. Names like Ishan Kishan, Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen underline their firepower. But bowling remains an area of concern for SRH, due to unavailability of Pat Cummins.
Thus, the season might be long but a promise has already been made by the team of RCB. They are not just holding onto the past, rather, they are in search of their 2nd star.
