Despite being one of the most consistent sides in IPL 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are yet to register a win at home so far, and on Thursday, Rajat Patidar’s men will have the best chance to end the jinx when they take on a struggling Rajasthan Royals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Having lost all their last four games, including two last over heartbreaks against Delhi Capitals (DC) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), the Royals have been further weakened by the loss of their skipper Sanju Samson, who is nursing an abdominal injury back in Jaipur, with Riyan Parag most likely to continue leading the side without much success.
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On the other hand, while RCB’s home form has been a concern, they have had a blemish free run on the road this season, which speaks of the team’s balance and belief, with settled players perfectly chipping in to their roles.
With chances of making it to the playoffs fading rapidly, the visitors would be desperate to break their losing streak, while RCB would be eager to finally get over the line in front of their loyalists.
RCB’s struggles at the M Chinnaswamy track has been their batting failing to negotiate the slowness of the wicket, resulting in team totals of 169/8, 163/7 and 95/9 (14 overs) in their three home matches so far. They have scored over 9-10 runs an over in other venues, but the rate has slipped to 7-8 runs an over in Bengaluru.
Heading into Thursday’s contest, RCB will expect the settled opening combo of Virat Kohli and Phil Salt to get them to a explosive start. While Kohli has been in decent form this season, averaging 64, the team would expect more from the likes of Salt, Devdutt Padikkal and skipper Rajat Patidar.
The bowling attack faces a similar struggle at the venue. Despite the deck offering some assistance they have not been able to fully utilise the conditions here, unable to find the right spots.
RCB currently have 10 points to be placed at third on the table but Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants also have 10 points. Mumbai Indians are quietly sneaking up the ladder with eight points. If they win against Sunrisers Hyderabad then MI too will have 10 points and can displace RCB (4.7) from the third slot on account of better net run rate (4.8).
Coming to the Royals, they are currently at the eighth position with four points, and can’t afford any more slip-ups. While their top order consisting the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Parag, Shimron Hetmyer and Nitish Rana appear in decent touch, and the start made by young Vaibhav Suryavanshi is also encouraging, they haven’t been able to complete run-chases in the manner they would have wanted.
A part of the blame also goes to the bowling unit that has blown hot and cold with Wanindu Hasaranga (6 matches: 9 wickets) being their lead wicket-taker, although the Sri Lankan took four of those nine wickets in one match before struggling in the rest. Jofra Archer (8 matches, 8 wickets), Maheesh Theekshana (8 matches, 7 wickets) and Sandeep Sharma (8 matches, 6 wins) have also a similar story.
Squads:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (capt), Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Yash Dayal, Devdutt Padikkal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Lungi Ngidi, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh.
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag (capt), Nitish Rana, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Kumar Kartikeya, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Kunal Singh Rathore, Akash Madhwal, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Ashok Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson (injured).
