PBKS-RCB Keep Date With Destiny

Fresh from confidence-boosting win vs MI, Shreyas-led team ready for Royal challenge in final

- GOMESH S @ Ahmedabad

EVEN before one enters the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday evening, the mood on the Motera road reveals what's to be expected. Scores of Royal Challengers Bengaluru fans had already gathered in front of Gate 2 chanting RCB, RCB, RCB. The franchise from Bengaluru is already in the venue gearing up for what will be their first final in nine years.

Their captain Rajat Patidar sat quietly in the ground-floor press conference room alongside his counterpart watching most of the questions being directed at Shreyas Iyer of Punjab Kings. It seemed ironic that outside the venue all the attention and the buzz had been around RCB and on whether they would be able to finally get their hands on the trophy. Yet inside the room, Shreyas was bombarded with a flurry of questions.