Quietly steering clear of the turbulence and distractions surrounding the league, defending champion Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the first side to secure a playoff berth.

Despite the team’s impressive run, RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat dismissed suggestions that the franchise had somehow “cracked the code” of the tournament, sticking to the ‘taking-it-one-day-at-a-time’ cliche.

The Englishman, however, lavished praise on Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who returns to the venue he called home for 11 seasons.

“He knows this surface and ground well, so we’ve been picking his brains a little bit over the last few days just to understand things.

“And as always, he’s trying to help everyone around him. He has a calming influence on the whole team. We get huge value out of him,” he said.

Bobat also felt that Bhuvneshwar has unlocked another gear this season.

“Everybody knows his skills, he swings the ball both ways, he’s got incredible control and accuracy. I think he’s gone up a level this year even compared to last year. He’s a very calm and composed figure at the death, a bit like Josh Hazelwood and Rasikh Salam Dar have been.”

Sunrisers Hyderabad may have turned a corner with its bowling, but Bobat reiterated that they remain stronger with the willow.

“They’ve got a reputation, and rightly so, as a dangerous batting unit. I really enjoy the way they go about their batting, it kind of aligns with how I like teams to play, so it’s always fun watching them play. They’ve got some high-calibre players”.

Comfort has eluded Delhi Capitals at home in IPL’s 19th edition. The Axar Patel-led franchise has won just one out of five matches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. On its visits to other venues, it has fared much better, notching up three wins in five games.

Contributing to the travails at home has been the large deviation in the nature of surfaces, hindering DC from cultivating a consistent style of play in its backyard.

The last three matches in the national capital make for pertinent examples. Having engaged in a run-fest against Punjab Kings on a featherbed where Shreyas Iyer’s side chased down a record 265 on April 25, 2026, Capitals’ duel against Royal Challengers Bengaluru just two days later swung to the other extreme.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood extracted swing and seam movement, reducing the host to eight for six inside four overs. DC folded up for 75 and lost by nine wickets.

On Tuesday (May 5, 2026) night, the strip in use was on the slower side. DC’s batters couldn’t adapt quickly enough, allowing Chennai Super Kings to register an eight-wicket victory.

DC head coach Hemang Badani conceded that the lack of homogeneity with the pitches at home wasn’t ideal. At the same time, the 49-year-old explicitly stated that the franchises didn’t have a role in the preparation of pitches.

“We don’t have any control over the surfaces. There is a clear mandate from the BCCI that it looks after the surfaces and it is the one which ensures that no local side benefits. You play on what is presented to you,” Badani told reporters.

“Yes, it’s been a bit of an up-and-down curve for us to understand what we are going to get in Delhi. I think the whole competition is quite neutral that way. But ideally, yes, you want to have some consistency.”

Seasoned Royal Challengers Bengaluru pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar said he has reached a stage in his career where team success takes precedence over individual milestones.

The 36-year-old, who is currently the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, returned figures of 3 for 28, his fifth three-wicket haul of the season, in RCB’s four-wicket loss to Gujarat Titans, taking him to the top of the bowling chart.