Sanjay Manjrekar, a former cricket player and broadcaster, made a mathematical discovery following the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match No. 65 between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) regarding how to succeed in the game’s shortest format.
RCB entered the match determined to win and get one step closer to finishing in the top two. But the Orange Army prevailed thanks to an outstanding session from Eshan Malinga and an undefeated 94-run knock from Ishan Kishan of SRH. Even though Phil Salt and Virat Kohli got off to a strong start, RCB faltered in the closing overs, scoring just 189 and losing by 42 runs.
After that defeat, RCB dropped from second to third place in the standings, jeopardising their chances of finishing in the top two. According to him, a team must have several match winners and not rely solely on one or two heroes if they want to succeed consistently.
Sanjay Manjrekar made the point that it was about a regular pattern in the game’s shortest format, not simply this particular match.
“You need several heroes, not just one or two, to be a reliable T20 squad. Let’s examine the number of players that have been POTM for each of the four playoff clubs. PBKS – 5, MI – 7, RCB – 7, GT – 5. He remarked, “Hmm,” in a post on X.
To be a consistent T20 team you need many heroes not one or two. Let’s have a look at how many different players have been POTM for the 4 playoff teams.
GT – 5
RCB – 7
PBKS – 5
MI – 7
Hmm…😊— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) May 24, 2025
In the meantime, RCB’s performance was a prime illustration of how one or two individuals can shoulder the burden of accountability. The Bengaluru-based team was unable to complete the game as they would have liked despite a great powerplay from Salt and Kohli. The team crumbled in the final overs, managing only 22 runs against SRH’s 63.
The mini-collapse was masterminded by pacer Eshan Malinga, who eliminated Romario Shepherd and Krunal Pandya to finish with figures of 2/37. Notably, he ran out Rajat Patidar, the designated captain of the RCB, thanks to his excellent fielding abilities.
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