Local boys relish their RCB journey

Bengaluru: In less than two days time, Royal Challengers Bangalore, in their third attempt, will be vying to clinch the coveted, maiden IPL crown, at home on Sunday.

While skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have remarkably led from the front, the Karnataka troika of Stuart Binny, KL Rahul and Sreenath Arvind made small, yet valuable contributions in their run to the final.

On playing at their home turf — M. Chinnaswamy Stadium — and relishing their journey, senior pro Binny said, “Credit must go to the whole setup. Where we were and where we are today — shows the character that we have. It’s exciting, obviously.”

Even spearhead Arvind believes the roller coaster ride has been phenomenal. “We’re feeling good. From where we were in the initial stages, to be here now...we are in the right place,” said the soft-spoken left-arm seamer.

Having been assigned different roles in the line-up, the Karnataka stars have lived up to expectations of the franchise and fans. “To play for your home team — there’s nothing more satisfying, nothing that gives you extra motivation than when you walk into the Chinnaswamy. We’ve grown up playing cricket here. To come back here and help the team get into the final is a great moment for all of us,” admitted Rahul even as the others echoed the thoughts.

In his fifth season with RCB, Arvind added, “As a local guy, I’m proud and happy to be here.” Be it home or away, fans have flocked in huge numbers and a full house will get behind RCB on Sunday. “It always has been so. Whenever any team has come to Bangalore, they’ve seen how the crowds turn up, how they love their cricket here. Not just in Bangalore, but when we go away as well, the kind of support we get has been brilliant,” explained Rahul.

Under Kohli’s leadership, RCB clawed their way back into contention before storming into the playoffs and final. “It was very simple. We knew exactly where we were and what we had to do. At that time, talk was not going to be enough. We spoke about going out and expressing ourselves. Virat was very clear with how he wanted us to play our cricket: go out and express ourselves,” asserted Binny.

“We knew what we had to do. We got our strategies and combinations right,” added the 31-year-old. With the tickets all but sold out, there is tremendous expectation. “I wouldn’t call it pressure, but, yes, everyone wants to win. That was the motive when we started the season; to go out and reach the final and win,” claimed Binny.

With momentum on their side from the last entertaining seven games, a confident Binny said, “We are just going to try and carry the momentum. Look, we have an upper hand playing here at home for sure. We know the conditions; we know exactly what needs to be done.”