BENGALURU: That teams crave for home advantage is a given. The lack of it, though, has been the flavour of this IPL season across 13 venues — in the first 32 matches, host teams have been on the losing side as many as 17 times.
One of the teams struggling to get going at home are Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who lost both home games so far. But they are unbeaten in away matches, having won all four.
The Rajat Patidar-led side will be keen to arrest the slide when they host Punjab Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Friday. Depth in their batting lineup notwithstanding, RCB have failed to strike it rich on their turf. Scores of 163/7 (vs Delhi Capitals) and 169/8 (vs Gujarat Titans), while batting first, outline their struggle.
“We know Chinnaswamy (pitch) is known for batting, but the wicket is not the same it used to be. I don’t know the reason (behind it),” said RCB pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Irrespective of how the surface plays against Punjab, senior RCB batters, including Virat Kohli, Patidar and Phil Salt will have to bring their best game to make an impact.
It’s not going to be easy, especially with Punjab coming into this fixture on the back of a miracle win against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
On a day when their batters failed, Punjab defended the lowest total in IPL history, skittling KKR for 95 after scoring 111 runs.
Poll
Will RCB break their home losing streak against Punjab Kings?
Punjab leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who scripted many wins at the venue during his time (2014-21) with RCB, is all too familiar with the conditions and will be keen to carry forward his form from the match against KKR, in which he claimed a four-wicket haul.
For Bengaluru too, With Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya in the mix for Bengaluru, spinners could play a very important role. With both teams top heavy in the batting, bowlers will have their task cut out on a ground known for its short boundaries. Watch out for Punjab’s Priyansh Arya (216 runs), who has been in peak form.
