Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have lost all their three games at home in IPL 2025, but unlike some players and coaches, who have complained about not getting the kind of pitches they want, Devdutt Padikkal puts it down to "coincidence". RCB, though, have been spectacular on the road, winning all their five games so far and moving up to No.3 on the points table.
After playing his part with a 35-ball 61 in RCB's seven-wicket win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in New Chandigarh on Sunday, Padikkal said in the press conference, "To be honest, I think it's just coincidence that our [five] wins have come away from home. But we have played some really good cricket throughout the tournament.
"I feel we have really gelled well as a unit and that shows, you know. Each time we suffer a loss, we're immediately back up and we're winning games. It's important that we continue this momentum and find a way to win at home as well. The Chinnaswamy deserves some wins as well."
This year, run-scoring hasn't been as easy at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru as it has been traditionally. RCB have batted first each time they have played there, and scored 169 for 8, 163 for 7 and, in a 14-overs-a-side game, 95 for 9.
"I don't think that's anything to do with the pitch, to be honest," Padikkal said. "It's important as a batting unit to read the pitch quick enough - I feel that's something we have not done as well as possible. We've not been up to the mark. But that's part of the tournament that the IPL is. It always has challenges. This is a challenge for us as a team - it's important that we find a way.
"Definitely we have some experienced and talented cricketers in the side and we'll put our heads together and come up with a plan for the next home game."
PBKS, meanwhile, have had a mixed run of results in New Chandigarh, where first-innings scores have ranged from 219 for 6, which PBKS scored in a win over Rajasthan Royals (RR), and 111 all out against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), which PBKS managed to defend to win a thriller. They are 2-2 in New Chandigarh this season, and will play their remaining home games in Dharamsala.
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"I think it was a consistent pitch today. One thing we know about it, it doesn't offer a lot of pace and it doesn't offer a lot of bounce, and we talk about that," Ricky Ponting, the PBKS head coach, said. "The four games we have played here, each wicket has been slightly different. It just takes you a little bit of time to adjust."
In Sunday's day game, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh gave PBKS a solid powerplay after they were asked to bat, getting to 62 for 1. The slowdown came after that, as PBKS lost wickets and stuttered to 157 for 6, before going down by seven wickets with seven balls left in the game.
"When we batted first today, at the end of the powerplay, I was pretty comfortable at 1 for 62," Ponting said. "We expected that the wicket would slow down a bit through the middle of the innings, but the fact that we lost wickets consistently - we had a run out there as well, which never helps - so our middle order… the openers went pretty quickly together [but after the wickets] all the momentum was lost.
"And then you need to put some partnerships back together to give yourself a good enough score. We were a chance there, after 16 overs [at 129 for 6], we were hoping to get around 180, which would have been a very good score looking at that chase - it wasn't an easy chase. But we weren't good enough to do it."