Bengaluru, April 16 (IANS) 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 on the bowling. I think the good thing was that we won the toss. And 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’s a very courageous bowler on Krunal Pandya. And at the same time, Suyash’s stump-to-stump bowling was tremendous to watch,” He said in 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. The experience and ideas are helping all 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. That was followed by Phil Salt, and he usually takes those one-handed and flying catches. It was a great catch for 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 on the title hopes. Right now, we are just looking one game at a time.”

With this win, RCB are back at the top of the points table with 8 points in five games. They will now face the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the same venue on Saturday.

–IANS

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