Ahmedabad: Skipper Rajat Patidar on Saturday, May 30, placed trust on his robust bowling unit led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar to help Royal Challengers Bengaluru land their second consecutive IPL title.
The Royal Challengers will take on hosts Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 final here on Sunday.
“If you want to win the competition, you need a good bowling attack. It’s important to take wickets because on this track, it’s easy to score 220-200. But defending 200-220 is more difficult. So, you need a better bowling side,” Patidar said during the pre-match press conference.
Patidar lavished praise on senior pacer Bhuvneshwar for leading the RCB bowling unit, as the latter has taken 26 wickets from 15 matches.
“I think he bowled superbly. He’s an experienced bowler. It’s not easy for the bowlers in this high-class competition. I think he has a lot of clarity. His planning and strategies are very clear, and it is playing a big role.”
But the 32-year-old did not forget to touch upon the importance of having sufficient backup to the new ball pair of Bhuvneshwar and Josh Hazlewood.
“Definitely, when you have top bowlers like Bhuvi and Hazlewood, you also need support from other bowlers. The way Rasik came in and did for the team, giving those breakthroughs, is important because you cannot win the competition with only one or two bowlers.”
Rasik has taken 16 wickets from 11 matches, ensuring that the early strikes of Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood would not go in vain.
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“So, I think the way Rasik has bowled throughout the tournament, it was superb and it’s helping the team. There’s no particular load on one or two bowlers. So, I think it’s overall a good team effort,” he noted.
On the fitness status of Phil Salt, who suffered a finger injury last month, Patidar said: “Right now, he’s there at the nets, doing some sort of drills and batting. And again, we have not decided yet. We’ll see how the doctor and all the management will look at it.”
By defeating the Gujarat Titans on May 26, the Royal Challengers earned a direct ticket to the final and a four-day break before the title clash on May 31. In contrast, GT had a much tighter schedule because they had to take the longer route.
About RCB getting a few days break after Qualifier 1 ahead of final, Patidar said, “Yes, because after the Qualifier 1, we got enough time to rest, recover.
“And at the same time, GT is coming straight after the Qualifier 2. So there will be some sort of advantage, but not that much. Because both the teams are pretty good and played really good cricket.”
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