Bengaluru, 28 April, 2025:
Led by Rajat Patidar, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru side notched up yet another handsome away win, as they stormed past the Delhi Capitals, in the national capital. For RCB, the win at the Arun Jaitley stadium was even more special, as it makes it 6 away wins in as many games – a feat that has never been achieved before. The icing on the cake being that the 6-wicket win propelled RCB to the top of the points table in IPL 2025.
“Every game is important for from here, because we are not aiming for qualification for the playoffs, but want to finish in the top 2. Initially, we were under pressure as we lost early wickets in the chase, but the way Virat Kohli and Krunal Pandya calculated their innings, it was very nice to see,” said Rajat Patidar, Captain, RCB.
It was a total team performance. The way the bowlers executed their plans, was nice to see. We are always looking to play good cricket and it feels great when you lead RCB,” he added.
Reflecting on the bowling performance, coach Andy Flower was all praise for his skipper, and the RCB bowling unit. Among the bowlers, the very experienced duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood, along with Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma restricted Delhi Capitals to their lowest total this season while batting first.
Andy Flower said, “Rajat, a lot of your bowling changes worked today, it brought a few wickets straight away, and there was a real sense of control. I thought it was probably the best bowling performance for us so far this season.”
After the bowlers had completed their act, Virat Kohli took centre stage, and along with Krunal Pandya guided the team to the brink of a win. The 119-run partnership between Virat and Krunal is the highest ever in IPL history for the fourth or lower wicket against Delhi capitals. Eventually Krunal, who was named Player of the Match, and Tim David put the seal on a record-breaking win.
Incidentally, this season, Virat Kohli has scored four half-centuries so far during run-chases away from home, and RCB have won them all, and what is even more incredible is that the ace batter has been dismissed only once in those innings.
“It’s been a long wait for me to get my rhythm in my batting, but it is quite satisfying and overwhelming as well because I have been searching for something like this. I always knew I have it in me. For me, I used to tell myself, that wait, don’t give up, it will come. I am glad that I was able to contribute to the team and when you keep the team first, God also will bless you in the right way,” Krunal Pandya said.
“It was a lot of fun to bat with Virat Kohli, his energy and how he bats, it is unbelievable. Virat being at the other end giving me his point of view and backing me with his energy, it did help me, and it was good to win, because otherwise these runs would not have mattered,” the all-rounder added.
