Rahul Dravid exhorts RR to be consistent before their match against RCB.

Match 42 of the 2025 IPL will take place on April 24 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium between the RR and RCB. Rahul Dravid, the head coach of RR, praised the team’s previous performances prior to the match, acknowledging that they have lost a few close games while playing some excellent cricket.

The renowned cricket player also emphasised the need of stepping up when things become close and the necessity of returning to the game.

“Is there an RCB player from the previous game? Put him in the starting lineup right away. No, man, not at all. To be honest, I don’t think of it that way. We know we need to play well to stay in this tournament, so we’re just trying to play good cricket. We have played some excellent cricket, but I am aware that we have lost a few close games before this. ESPNcricinfo cited Rahul Dravid as stating, “It’s one of those tournaments where a few balls go here or there and we might have been in a slightly different position, but you need to play well in those critical moments.”

Anticipate a contest with high scores: Rahul Dravid

Although teams must strive regardless of the circumstances, the former Indian cricket player pointed out that every pitch has a unique way of playing. According to the right-handed batter, the current wicket looks promising for a high-scoring game, although he acknowledged that it was not perfect for judgement. Given RR’s current standing, the former RCB player highlighted the significance of winning consistently.

“I suppose every surface will be different, but you just have to go for it regardless, that much is certain. The last one—just talking to the groundskeeper—was perhaps not a good one to evaluate it by because it was, in my opinion, under cover for a very long time. “I can’t really say how those wickets looked in earlier games, but from what I can tell, the wicket I’m seeing here looks like a really good wicket,” the Indore native stated.

However, I believe it will be a fairly high-scoring match since the track that has been created for this one actually looks to be a very nice cricket wicket. As I mentioned before, this game is crucial for us. Given our current situation, we cannot afford to make a lot of mistakes in any of the games going forward. There are no longer options or opportunities to make a mistake, therefore we must start moving up the table and winning games as soon as possible,” he continued.

Due to the mega auction, there is limited home advantage: David

The RR coach continued by expressing doubt about the precise expectations that franchisees had for curators or pitch conditions. The cricket player from Bengaluru pointed out that since this is the first year following a huge auction, home advantage would not be as important this season. He also underlined that many players, even those on home teams, are unfamiliar with their own stadiums and settings.

“Although I’m not entirely sure what particular franchises could have desired from their curators or pitches, I do believe that home advantage is often present because the teams are new as well, correct? Regarding the playing conditions at Chinnaswamy, Rahul Dravid stated, “A lot of the players, even though they may be your home players, are playing for those teams or those grounds for the first time because it’s the first year of a big auction cycle.”

For instance, Phil Salt is making his first appearance at RCB after previously playing for KKR. Jaipur is also somewhat of a fresh ground for someone like Nitish Rana, who was not with us but is playing for us this year. Therefore, I believe that the home edge might not always be so important when there is merely a major auction and a squad and team change. However, as the cycle progresses, you might begin to recognise their importance a bit more because your players will have more opportunities to practise and play on that than the opposing team’, he continued.