Skipper Rajat Patidar lauded his bowling unit and fielding effort after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) secured a convincing five-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Match 23 of the Indian Premier League 2026 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.
RCB produced a clinical all-round performance, first restricting LSG to 146 and then chasing down the target comfortably in 15.1 overs to climb to the top of the points table.
Reflecting on the bowling performance, Patidar was full of praise for his attack.
“It was fantastic with the ball. I think the good thing was that we won the toss. The way the fast bowlers hit the deck was nice to watch. Even I don’t know what he’s going to bowl next, but I would say he is a very courageous bowler,” he said about Krunal Pandya. “At the same time, Suyash’s stump-to-stump bowling was tremendous to watch,” he added during the post-match presentation.
RCB’s new-ball pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood once again set the tone with disciplined spells, and Patidar highlighted the value of having experienced bowlers in a T20 setup.
“Of course, for a captain, if you have specialist bowlers in T20 leagues, it makes the job easier because you don’t have to tell them what to do next. Their experience and ideas are helping the other bowlers as well.”
He also credited the team’s improved fielding standards, which have been a focus area throughout the tournament.
“The team has been working on fielding intensity since the start of the IPL. Phil Salt took a brilliant catch — he usually takes those one-handed, flying catches. It was a great effort from him.”
Despite RCB’s strong start to the season and their return to the top of the table, Patidar remained grounded about their title prospects.
“No, it’s a long way to go in terms of title hopes. Right now, we are just taking it one game at a time.”
With this win, RCB are back at the top of the points table with eight points from five games. They will now face Delhi Capitals (DC) at the same venue on Saturday.
-IANS
