Even the fondness of physio Shankar Basu, Patidar was not left untouched. Even Jitesh had to ‘savor’ some cake on his face. Amidst all this, Liam Livingstone, accompanied by Virat Kohli, requested Jitesh Sharma to put some cake on the face of the erstwhile RCB skipper. Anushka Sharma watched as the request was being placed. But Jitesh Sharma rejected the request with folded hands.
Dinesh Karthik Lauds Coaching Staff’s Role in Player Development
Before Royal Challengers Bengaluru played the IPL 2025 final against Punjab Kings, batting coach Dinesh Karthik feels the coaching staff, headed by Andy Flower, has gotten the procedure right in making players better cricketers while they are playing their stint.
𝗔𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁! 😂🎂
DK and Rajat’s birthday celebrations started sweet, but ended in a cake crime scene. 🤣
Enjoy, this is @bigbasket_com presents RCB Bold Diaries. 🎥#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2025 pic.twitter.com/TgfFkVOxl4
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) June 2, 2025
RCB Eyes First Title in Fourth Final Appearance
By Tuesday, RCB will be contesting an IPL final for the fourth time at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, having been runners-up in the 2009, 2011 and 2016 seasons. They face PBKS, who are contesting an IPL final for only the second time.
Motivation, Consistency and Growth: Karthik Breaks Down the RCB Strategy
PBKS and RCB had finished in first and second spots in the league stage, with the latter winning over the former in Qualifier 1 at Mullanpur. “When you have a team doing well like we did in the first half, you’re almost assured of playing the same 12 for most games unless there’s an injury. So you have a group of players, at least eight to ten, who know they might not start or play in that game.
“Keeping their motivation levels up, keeping them hungry, and making sure that when the opportunity comes, they’re ready for it is one of the biggest challenges. I must admit, Andy and the group have tried really hard, and they have nailed the process which has kept players not only hungry but also improving.
“Because when they improve, they feel they’ll get back better cricketers, either for the domestic sides or for the international sides. That has been a feature of what we’ve tried to achieve in this short two-month period. I would like to think, and this is feedback only the players can give, that we have genuinely made them slightly better than where they were when we came in,” said Karthik in a video posted by the franchise on their YouTube account on Monday.
