IPL 2025: RCB look to crack home winning code against RR

Bengaluru: Bearded by Punjab Kings in their own den, Royal Challengers Bengaluru exacted revenge on Shreyas Iyer’s men in less than 48 hours. It was a quick turnaround. The good news: After eight matches, RCB are unbeaten in five away games. The bad news: They are yet to crack the winning code at home.
Before the start of the season, their winning percentage at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium was less than 50% and it went south after three losses on the trot this season. Adding insult to their injury has been the performance of their ‘home boys’. KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj and Yuzvendra Chahal, RCB heroes not long ago, have found success against their former team.

On Thursday, when RCB host Rajasthan Royals, the only solace they will probably find is the four-match losing streak of the former champions and their inability to close out matches from winning positions. The absence of injured captain Sanju Samson and the inability of stand-in skipper Riyan Parag to deliver has added to Rajasthan’s woes.

That said, Rajasthan also have some former RCBians in the line-up: leggie Wanindu Hasaranga and the big-hitting southpaw Shimron Hetmyer. Not forgetting Rajasthan’s orchestrator and one of Karnataka’s most-loved public figures, Rahul Dravid.
Nobody in the IPL probably knows the pitches at Chinnaswamy better than Dravid, who is still getting round in a wheelchair or crutches following an injury he picked up during the KSCA Group III league last month, understands that the Royals can ill afford any more slip-ups.
Dravid admitted, “We know we must play well to be still alive in this tournament. You need to play well in critical moments, and it hasn’t happened to us. Every game from here on is very important and we’ve got to try and play the best cricket we possibly can and hopefully get the result.”