Follow UsFormer Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player Ambati Rayudu believes Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have a set combination for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 and could very well lift their first trophy this season. RCB have won three of their first four encounters and are currently placed at No.3 on the IPL 2025 points table.
"If you look at their team, they have a pretty set combination. If you see the teams that are not doing well in the IPL, they are still trying their combinations. But RCB is one team, along with Delhi (Capitals) and Punjab (Kings) to some extent, who have got their combinations well set for the season,” Rayudu said on ESPNcricinfo's TimeOut show.
"I have always enjoyed their (RCB's) cricket. We have fun at their expense, only because nobody talks about DC or Punjab. Only because RCB always has a team that can win the IPL. But somehow, they come short because of their own shortcomings. Nobody else defeats them, it's them. But this year, with (Rajat) Patidar (as captain), ee sala cup RCB de (this year the cup is RCB's)."
Rayudu has also been very impressed with Patidar’s captaincy. When Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma were going berserk in the 222-run chase, Patidar got Yash Dayal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood to bowl the 17th, 18th and 19th over respectively. MI needed 52 off 24 but the trio got the equation down to 19 off 6 for Krunal Pandya. The left-arm spinner got the job done, and RCB won the game by 12 runs.
"For me, the biggest takeaway in that captaincy during those 20 overs is getting Bhuvi early. Because you generally associate Bhuvi to bowling either 19th or 20th. But getting Bhuvi early when they really needed experience, when they needed to get the game back into their control, I felt was a brilliant move,” said Rayudu.
"Because he could have gone to Krunal again, thinking that we have Hazlewood and Bhuvi. But even the execution from Bhuvi and Hazlewood was amazing. And this also shows this IPL is different, because there is no dew. Bowling yorkers even in the second innings has become slightly more easier. And also with the use of saliva."
RCB used only five bowlers against MI and former India player Sanjay Bangar feels that worked in their favour. “I just guess that also the type of batsmen that were there at No. 3 and No. 4 allowed Rajat to bowl those spinners (Krunal and Suyash Sharma) in tandem. Which wasn't the case with MI. Because MI always had this at the back of their mind. That they don't have to bowl spin to Rajat Patidar. And that played in RCB's hands. So he was pretty smart with that particular thing.
"And to hold back Krunal for the 20th over made absolute sense. Because you don't really want him to be bowling the 19th over, with Josh Hazlewood only having 10 or 12 to defend. So all in all, a very good day out for Rajat.
“For all you know, before the season began, everybody was talking about RCB not really having the depth in the spin department but here you have eight overs of spin (were) bowled at Wankhede and quite effectively, which was probably the difference between winning and losing."