RCB mentor Dinesh Karthik expresses concerns over Chinnaswamy pitch
What's the story
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting coach and former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik has raised concerns over the pitch conditions at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
He said that despite RCB's request for good pitches in their home games, they were given challenging ones.
The issue came to light after Bengaluru's two home matches against Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals saw them restricted to scores of 169/8 and 163/7 respectively.
They lost both games.
Home disadvantage
Karthik highlights impact of pitch on home advantage
Karthik stressed that the present pitch conditions have robbed RCB of their home advantage, a ground famous for its high-scoring matches.
"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," said Karthik in the post-match press conference.
He was confident of the curator's capabilities and said a discussion would be held with him on these issues.
Need for runs
Karthik stresses on importance of runs in T20 cricket
Karthik also stressed on the importance of boundaries in T20 cricket, saying high scores help broadcasters and fans alike.
He said the pitch at Chinnaswamy Stadium made it difficult for batters to even rotate the strike.
This was evident when Kuldeep Yadav's 17th over gave only four runs, further complicating RCB's batting strategy.
Karthik concluded by saying they'd adapt their gameplay according to each pitch's unique conditions.
Summary
How did the RCB-DC game pan out?
RCB were off to a strong start handed by Phil Salt before seeing their innings get stalled.
Tim David's finesse in the death overs helped them post 163/7.
In response, DC were 30/3 at one stage before KL Rahul's magnificent 93*-run knock helped them steal the show.
Interestingly, RCB have won each of their three away games while losing both at home.