🏏 MUMBAI: For Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS), there have been more disappointments than highs in the 18 seasons of the Indian Premier League.
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📜 From the original eight sides when IPL was launched in 2008, along with Delhi Capitals (earlier Delhi Daredevils), they are in a group of three who are yet to lay their hands on the winners' trophy.
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🔥 IPL 2025 though is proving to be a season to remember for the red outfits.
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🎯 With a series of impressive displays, they have raised expectations of their fans that the wait for a title is about to end.
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🥇 Having finished top two in the league table, they are genuine title contenders as they lock horns in Qualifier 1 on Thursday.
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🏟️ Punjab are banking on home advantage at the new PCA Stadium, Mullanpur, but playing away suits RCB perfectly.
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🚀 It is where RCB have been the most dangerous, having become the first team to go through an IPL group stage without losing a designated away game.
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💪 The tag of road warriors fits them perfectly as Tuesday's win over LSG in Lucknow marked RCB's seventh away win this season.
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🤔 Often in the past, they assembled teams that had the makings of a champion, but flattered to deceive.
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✅ So, what's changed this time for RCB and PBKS?
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👥 Finding the right leadership group by the franchises to start with.
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🧠 RCB's punt on making Rajat Patidar the captain and PBKS uniting coach Ricky Ponting and skipper Shreyas Iyer have been spot on.
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🧩 The right combination comes next. Different players put up their hand at different times to set up and finish games, not relying on individual brilliance.
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💥 RCB's Jitesh Sharma was a fine example of that with Tuesday's brilliant batting.
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🧨 Save a couple of cameos, including a 19-ball 40* versus Mumbai Indians, Jitesh had not done much this campaign but the stand-in captain delivered in the last league tie to ensure his team had the momentum going into the big game against PBKS.
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🚀 He blasted 85* off 33 balls to seal IPL's third highest chase.
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✅ Unlike their earlier sides, RCB this time have all the bases covered.
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⭐ Earlier they had a few stars, and were largely dependent on the top three of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle, backed by an odd teammate chipping in.
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⚠️ Their bowling and the middle-order used to be suspect.
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♟️ When everyone clicked they would make it to the play-offs, but they were not consistent.
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💡 The team management's auction strategy has now changed.
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🔄 They have picked good players, not the stars—selecting Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh and Yash Dayal.
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🏏 In batting, they have a solid opening pair—Kohli and Phil Salt (247 runs in 10 games); Tim David, Krunal Pandya and Jitesh lend depth.
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🎯 Skilful swing bowlers Josh Hazlewood (18 wickets) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (14 wickets) with left-arm seamer Dayal (10 wickets) have clicked as a unit with Krunal (15 wickets) doing well as the spin weapon.
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🧑✈️ When Patidar was named captain, most had doubts whether the soft-spoken player could handle the job.
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🤝 The key had to be Kohli's support.
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🔥 Patidar couldn't have hoped for more from Kohli, who has carried the batting with a blockbuster season of 602 runs with eight fifties, at a strike rate of 147.91.
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🛣️ Kohli has been the key to the historic run with six fifties in away games.
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🌟 Patidar has been a revelation as captain.
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🧱 As a batter he gives RCB the edge in the middle overs when it is the toughest to force the pace against spinners.
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📊 In 12 innings, he has got 271 runs (SR 140.41).
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🎬 Jitesh was the finisher in the last game, but it is Tim David who has given RCB the edge (187 runs, SR 185.15).
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🧨 He is performing the role Kieron Pollard did for MI during their domination from 2013-2020.
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💥 David is helping finish games that had felt out of RCB's reach – there was a five-ball 19*, and a 20-ball 37* versus Delhi Capitals, and a 8-ball 22* against Chennai Super Kings.
- 🏏 PBKS's domestic power
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🧠 Ponting's picks at the auction table, going all out for Iyer and forming the nucleus with some unfancied domestic players has paid rich dividends.
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🧢 Iyer has led by example, being their top run-getter with 514 (Avg 51.40, SR 171.90).
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🗣️ "I feel that every individual stepped up at the right time." Iyer said in his post-match interview on Monday.
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🇮🇳 PBKS faith in a young batting group predominantly Indian—stands vindicated.
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🧪 IPL teams rarely opt for two uncapped Indians at the top of the order and PBKS have reaped the reward of that experiment with Prabhsimran Singh (499 runs, avg 35.64, SR 165.78, four 50s) and Priyansh Arya (424 runs, Avg 30.29, SR 183.54, one century and fifty each), forming a potent pair.
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🧱 Southpaw Nehal Wadhera (298 runs, avg 35, SR 152.04) has delivered in the middle order and the explosive Shashank Singh (284 runs, Avg 56.80, SR 149.47) has been remarkably consistent as a finisher.
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🎯 Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has led the attack with 18 wickets, combining superbly with South African Marco Jansen (16 wkts); leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (14) has made his presence felt and left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar (10) has been impressive when he has got a chance.
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