Follow UsRoyal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have made a good start to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, with four wins in their six matches. However, all four of those wins have come away from home. They welcome Punjab Kings (PBKS) next on April 18 (Friday) in a bid to get their first win at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
RCB are under a new skipper in Rajat Patidar this season, and senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar believes that the batter has been calm, which is the need of the hour.
"He's been very good. The best thing is that he's been calm. That's what he needed, especially in this format. Because when you lose a match, the easy thing is to get panicked," Bhuvneshwar said ahead of the PBKS tie.
"We lost two matches, but he's been the same whether we won or we lost. So he's been handling everything very well. With the bowling changes and everything, he's been superb."
Bhuvneshwar, who was bought for INR 10.75 crore at the IPL auction, believes that the pitch at Chinnaswamy is different and not the batting paradise it once was.
“Our preparation is as usual, nothing different. What we do for any opposition on any ground, it is going to be the same. We know the Chinnaswamy is known for batting, but if you look at the wicket, it is not the same as what it used to be. I don’t know the reason, but yes, whether we bowl or bat first, we’ll look at the first few overs and then see how the wicket plays, and then we will decide how to approach things accordingly," the 35-year-old bowler said.
Bhuvneshwar has strung a good partnership with the ball with Josh Hazlewood. Bhuvneshwar is keen on making it count and pick up early wickets for the team.
“The role cannot be defined before the match. Normally, if you look at our bowling, Hazlewood and I both bowl with the new ball, and both bowl at the death. So it's a pretty standard role we have, but it keeps changing from match to match. It depends on how we bowl in the first few overs, how the team is batting, and so on. But yes, being experienced bowlers, we both want to take wickets and want to do well for the team," Bhuvneshwar said, speaking of their role.
A win for either side could potentially take them to the top of the IPL 2025 points table, currently occupied by Delhi Capitals (DC), having won five of their six games.