‘Ee Sala Cup Namdu’ is the most famous slogan used by Royal Challengers Bengaluru fans for their franchise in the Indian Premier League. RCB, a team that has been there since the inception of the event, has failed to win a single title so far. The viral Kannada chant means “This year the cup will be ours”. The RCB fans use this slogan every year but their team fails to live up to the expectations. Out of the 17 concluded editions of IPL, RCB have made it to the final thrice but won none.
While reflecting on the team’s trophyless run in the tournament, former Chennai Super Kings players Subramaniam Badrinath and Ambati Rayudu mocked the side.
The interaction between the duo took place in a video on Badrinath’s YouTube channel – Cric It with Badri. Badrinath interviewed Rayudu and asked him “will RCB jinx be broken this year?”. Just after the question was completed, both the players shared a laugh at it.
Rayudu then said, “Purely as a fan, and as someone who had really good laughter at them over the years because of what they do to themselves, I would want them to win sometime, but not this year, maybe. We want CSK to do well and win it this year. In the end, we need someone like RCB in the IPL (laughs).”
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s hopes of exorcising a 17-year jinx hinge on their experienced batting unit finding its range when they face familiar foes Chennai Super Kings in their IPL match in Chennai on Friday.
The Royal Challengers have beaten the Super Kings only once at Chepauk – in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2008. In the current RCB squad, only star batter Virat Kohli was part of that moment and now he will like to breach the CSK’s fortress for a second time.
But that’s easy to dream. As ever, the Chennai outfit is constructed to win their home matches on a pitch that offers considerable help to spinners.
They have the ever-familiar Ravindra Jadeja and have brought back ‘old boy’ Ravichandran Ashwin through last year’s players’ auction.
The Chennai side has also added Afghanistan left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad too to the squad, and the troika did well against fellow five-time champions Mumbai Indians a few days back.
The triumvirate bowled 11 overs against Mumbai, conceding an appreciable 70 runs for five wickets.
The pitch is expected to retain its character for this match as well, and the RCB batters, led by Kohli, will have to lift their game several notches to outwit an experienced bowling unit.
(With PTI Inputs)
