Every IPL season, the chant echoes louder: Ee sala cup namde, 'this year the cup is ours'. And every season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru fans have returned heartbroken. Great players, passionate fans, powerful line-ups, and yet no title since 2008. But 2025 feels different. It looks different.

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Ambati Rayudu thinks so too. “I’ve always enjoyed their cricket,” he said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut. “We joke about them because RCB always has a team that can win  but somehow, they fall short. This year, with Rajat Patidar, it could finally be Ee sala cup RCB de.”

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RCB have won all three big away games - at Eden Gardens, Chepauk, and now, Wankhede. They are currently third in the points table, only behind DC and GT on net run rate. Against Mumbai Indians, defending 222, RCB’s tactics stood out. When MI needed 52 off 24 with six wickets in hand, most thought the game was gone.

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Krunal, the star performer

But Patidar’s bowling changes turned the match. Bhuvneshwar Kumar came in early instead of being saved for the 19th or 20th over. Hazlewood bowled the 19th. And then, surprisingly, Krunal Pandya was given the final over and he delivered, taking three wickets and sealing the win.

Rayudu called Bhuvi’s early entry a brilliant move, and Bangar agreed, praising how RCB didn’t just plan well but  they executed perfectly.

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What makes it interesting? This season, there’s no dew factor, allowing bowlers to go hard even in the second innings. Eight overs of spin at Wankhede proved that. Smart captaincy. Clear roles. Calm under pressure. For the first time, it’s not the opposition beating RCB , it’s RCB beating expectations.