What’s Different For RCB in IPL 2025? Former India Opener Breaks Down Reason Behind Great Season

Sandip Pawar

Last updated: April 30, 2025 - 3 min read

RCB have won six out of six away matches in IPL 2025.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are having arguably their best ever season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history. They are sitting at the top of the points table, having won seven games and lost just three.

RCB’s excellence in IPL 2025 can be highlighted by how good they have been at adapting to different conditions. They have won all of their six matches away from home so far, and can achieve a rare feat if they beat Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow.

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar is thoroughly impressed with the team that has been a topic of ridicule over the years. In his Hindustan Times column, Manjrekar penned down his thoughts on what makes RCB a different beast in IPL 2025.

Sanjay Manjrekar Credits RCB Bowlers For A Great Season

One of the best analysts among the IPL commentary panel, Manjrekar is known to be objective. He believes RCB’s success in IPL 2025 is largely down to their bowlers.

“Like it’s in other formats, it’s the bowling attack that sets a team apart. Almost 50% of the Player-of-the-Match awards have gone to their bowlers,” wrote Manjrekar.

He also pointed out that the RCB bowling attack – comprising Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal Pandya, Yash Dayal, and Suyash Sharma – has often won them matches at the halfway stage while bowling first.

Four of their seven wins came while chasing. In those games, RCB bowlers had restricted the opponents to 173, 174, 156 and 161.

“As you can see, RCB had won the game at the halfway stage thanks to their bowlers. Any decent batting line-up can chase such targets in batting conditions under lights, with eight pure batters in the line-up,” he added.

Manjrekar is spot on in his assessment as bowling has been a massive headache for RCB over the years. Their death overs bowling, in particular, has caused them and their fans countless heartbreaks. In their current attack, they have multiple options who are adept at defensive bowling, and the results are there to see.

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Different Heroes Key For RCB Success

Royal Challengers Bengaluru have been guilty of relying heavily on their superstars to get the job done. That was often the major reason for their downfall in the past. But that’s not the case with this Rajat Patidar-led side.

In IPL 2025, RCB have had six different players winning the ‘Player of the Match’ award. Krunal Pandya is the only player to receive the honour twice. Manjrekar thinks this has been the hallmark of their success in the ongoing tournament.

“RCB have had many different heroes through the season and this is always a great sign to look for in a team; a team that’s not dependent on a couple of players to win matches,” he stated.

RCB have a golden chance to finish in the top two in the group stage for the first time since 2016 – the closest they have been to an IPL trophy in the past 14 years.

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