Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting coach Dinesh Karthik hinted that the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch has not delivered what the team management desires.
Karthik’s explanation came after RCB succumbed to a second straight home defeat on Thursday. RCB batted first against Delhi Capitals on a sticky wicket and finished on a sub-par 163 for seven.
In the first outing at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, against Gujarat Titans, RCB similarly struggled and made 169 for eight when taking first strike. On both occasions, the chasing side had an easier time of it.
Pitch conditions have been a recurring talking point in IPL 2025. There have been murmurs around the Eden Gardens surface and whether it plays to the strengths of the home side. Likewise, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) was also unhappy with the pitch it got for its first home game in Lucknow.
At the post-match press conference, Karthik was asked if RCB would have preferred batting-friendly conditions, as seen at this venue in seasons past. “The way T20 cricket is, the more runs there are, the better it is for the broadcaster and the fans. They all like to see boundaries,” he said.
“In the first two games, we have asked for good pitches. But it’s turned out in this way where it’s been challenging to bat on for sure. So we try and do the best with whatever we get,” Karthik added.
When asked if the RCB team management will follow up with the curator, Karthik replied, “We will obviously have a chat with him, and we trust him to do his job.”
On the nature of the pitch, Karthik said, “This is not a pitch that’s helping the batters too much. It’s a challenging pitch. That has been the case in both the games that we have played. In the first game, there was dew. So it got a lot better to bat on in the second innings. Today (On Thursday), it was really hard. Then, unluckily for us, a little bit of rain came. And then you could see the difference in the pitch. The shots that they (DC) played definitely weren’t possible in the first innings.”
