Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat, has said that captain Rajat Patidar is ‘good to go’ for the team’s final league game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, adding that the team was
just cautious about his fitness and hence didn’t field him during RCB’s last match against Punjab Kings.
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru have once again enjoyed a brilliant campaign under Patidar, combining explosive batting with disciplined bowling to establish themselves as title contenders for the second straight season.
But in the last game against PBKS, Patidar was rested and Jitesh Sharma led RCB, with the team sealing a playoff spot with a 23-run win.
“Rajat is good to go. We were cautious and did not take any risks with him. We thought we would give him a little bit longer to recover and rest, but he is here, he is practising and he is good to go,” Bobat said while speaking at the pre-match press conference.
The experienced pace pair of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood has also been instrumental in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s success this season. Bhuvneshwar has been among the leading wicket-takers, making an impact with the new ball, while Hazlewood has produced crucial spells at key moments.
“Bhuvi has been brilliant. His outcomes have been excellent; he has taken a lot of wickets, but also he has bowled with excellent rhythm. He has been effective at the front end of the innings and also the back end, so we are very pleased with how he is going,” Bobat said.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will start as favourites against an inconsistent Sunrisers Hyderabad team, which seemed to have regained momentum with five successive victories before slipping to two losses in their last four games.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru are on top of the points table with 18 points and the best net run rate among all 10 teams. A win against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday would seal a first-place finish for RCB and hand them two chances to qualify for the final.
