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IPL 2025: Krunal Pandya’s Sparkling Debut Helps RCB Break Eden Gardens Jinx
Follow UsRCB got off to a seven-wicket victory in the Rajat Patidar era
After losing four in a row against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finally beat them in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In fact, this is RCB's first-ever victory at the Eden Gardens since 2019. Safe to say, their seven-wicket victory marks a superb start to the Rajat Patidar era.
Here are some of the talking points from the match:
Krunal Pandya off to a flier
Krunal Pandya had a terrific RCB debut, finishing with figures of 3/29 in his four years. Known to be more of a defensive bowler, his wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh broke KKR's back. In fact, the latter two wickets triggered a collapse and as a result, KKR managed just 49 runs runs in the last eight overs, losing five wickets.
Narine and Quinton de Kock cause more trouble for KKR
Have KKR put themselves in deep trouble?
Why, you may ask? Given that they have two overseas wicketkeepers - Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz - KKR are forced to play one of them. But what that has done is pushed everyone down the order, pushing Venkatesh Iyer at No.4, and making Rinku Singh bat at No.6.
Unless they play Luvnith Sisodia, there’s really no solution, which once again questions whether KKR did well at the auction.
Kohli, Salt here to stay?
Over the years, RCB's opening partnership has been key to its success. Be it Virat Kohli-Chris Gayle or Virat Kohli-Faf du Plessis, they have always been vital.
Similarly, the Kohli-Phil Salt partnership at the top has gotten off to a superb start, putting on 95 runs in just 8.3 overs. Perhaps this is just the start of things to come.
Suyash Sharma, one-off or just ineffective?
Suyash Sharma bowled just four overs in IPL 2024, where he ended up conceding 51 runs. The consensus was that the leg spinner would find a new lease of life in the RCB red and gold. However, as it turned out, the leg spinner was just continuing his troubled time, conceding 47 runs in his spell and picking up just one wicket.
Across his spell, the leg spinner ended up giving away eight boundaries. Is that a one-off incident, or is he just ineffective? Time will tell.
