RCB lost to DC after scoring just 163 runs batting first in Bengaluru ground.
This IPL 2025, several franchises have shown reserve against the curators of their home grounds for not listening to their request of assisting pitches.
Earlier, it was KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane and LSG mentor Zaheer Khan criticizing the curator of their respective home grounds, and now RCB mentor Dinesh Karthik has done the same with the M. Chinnaswamy pitch curator.
Dinesh Karthik, the coach of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, admitted that his team has received a "challenging" pitch at the Chinnaswamy Stadium this season despite requests for a batting-friendly surface, adding that the management will speak with the curator shortly.
RCB's power-packed batting lineup was proved useless on a sluggish wicket in their two home games, with scores of 169/8 and 163/7 against the Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals, respectively, as they lost both games.
Karthik believes the 22-yard strip has denied RCB their home edge at a stadium where matches have usually been high-scoring.
"In the first two games, we have asked for good pitches. But it's turned out in this way where it's been challenging to bat on. So, we try to do the best with whatever we get. But we will obviously have a chat with him (the curator). We trust him to do his job," said Karthik in the post-match press conference.
"So, definitely, this is not a pitch that's helping the batters too much. It's a challenging pitch. So, that has been the case so far in both the games that we have played," he added.
Karthik said big hits and boundaries are an essential part of T20s, palatable to all stakeholders.
"I think the way T20 cricket is, the more runs there are, the better it is for the broadcaster, the better it is for the fans. They all like to see boundaries. And we will try and do the best of what we can," he said.
The former India wicketkeeper batter stated that while they try not to follow a specific blueprint in a match, grounds like the one at Chinnaswamy make it difficult for batters to even rotate the strike.
"I think with every pitch, we'll try and understand what's the best way to play. I don't think we have one set template for how we want to go out there and play. It's important to adapt and understand what the pitch is. But it's been hard to, at times, rotate strikes. And the big shot has been really hard as well. But in the end, it's a T20. You have to play some shots, and that has gotten the wicket of a few batters," he detailed.
Karthik explained that the brief drizzle midway through DC's innings helped the surface calm down, making the visitors' work easier.
"It was a bit sticky, the pitch. After the first four overs and up until the 13th over, we were very much in the game. With the bat, we did have a wobble, but we found a way to get to a very decent score. They were struggling at 50 for 4.
In the first game (vs. GT), there was dew. So, it got a lot better to bat in the second innings. Today, there was not as much dew. Then, unluckily for us, a little bit of rain came. And then you could see the difference in the pitch. The shots that they played definitely weren't possible in the first innings," he explained.
(PTI inputs)