Pioneer in short

RCB look to tame solid GT IN IPL final

In a fascinating battle of ideologies, the well-balanced and bold Royal Challengers Bengaluru will have to subdue a phlegmatic Gujarat Titans to lift their second consecutive IPL title here on Sunday. On the paper, the reigning champions are the overwhelming favourites against the 2022 winners because of the fearless, high-risk game that they have been playing in this tournament so far. It had landed them in trouble occasionally but Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Tim David, skipper Rajat Patidar, Phil Salt, when available, and Venkatesh Iyer have relentlessly pounded the opposition with single-gear batting. The nature of pitches or oppositions’ bowling strategies have had little effect on their battering ram approach, and no other team has managed to go past 200 as often as they did in this edition of the IPL. Patidar’s calm approach to captaincy too has added to Royal Challengers’ stability as a team across the last two seasons.

He is not as evocative as former leaders Kohli or Faf du Plessis but there is a certain assuredness about the way the 32-year-old does his job, keeping both the superstars and greenhorns in side at ease. The RCB also have a stingy bowling unit, stifling the rival batters from the power play phase. But the Bhuvneshwar Kumar-led attack will have to be at their absolute best against the in-form Gujarat top-order.