He was the one bright spot in RCB’s batting display against PBKS, but even his 26-ball 50* was insufficient to keep them from losing at home for the third time in a row.
On Friday night, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their IPL 2025 home match, scoring 95 for 9 in 14 overs. Of those runs, Tim David scored 50 off of just 26 balls. from the seventh number.
As Cheteshwar Pujara stated, “from ball one, he was on top of his game,” despite the circumstances, the context, and the reality that RCB was facing a third straight home loss, which ultimately occurred. David just stated that he is still endeavouring to “figure out a method” in order to perform effectively at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
“It didn’t feel so easy [to score quickly in those circumstances],” David stated on the post-match broadcast following the RCB thrashing. “I get a chance to observe what the pitch is doing and try to play according to that strategy because the boys who bat on top definitely hand the [information on] the conditions back down.” I’m attempting to determine the ideal way to bat in those situations because the practice pitches here have been somewhat comparable to the major surfaces.”
“It seemed like he was aware of the lengths the bowlers were going to bowl and he had a clear game plan – what kind of shots he wanted to play on that pitch,” Pujara said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show. It’s easier when you have clarity. However, he made the most of this chance, and I have no doubt that this will increase his confidence.”
David smacked his first ball off Marco Jansen for four with a swipe in front of square leg and walked out at 33 for 5 after one ball of the seventh over. In Harpreet Brar’s penultimate over, he struck five fours and three sixes in a row, but he had very little assistance; the only bright light was the 21 he contributed with Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the ninth wicket.
“Under pressure,” Ambati Rayudu remarked, “he played a brilliant knock.” “He was slow. He paced the innings so beautifully. If he had someone to partner with, it would have been 120 or 130 for RCB. But some amazing batting.”
“It was challenging to communicate [about] the strategy for batting in the middle tonight and to gain some clarity since the innings would have ended if we had lost the final wicket. Therefore, you must somewhat manage the danger.
David is no stranger to being single; he has frequently left with a few balls left. Due to the top-order collapse, he faced 26 balls on Friday, which was more than he has ever faced in an IPL innings. He had previously faced 24 balls in 2024 when playing for the Mumbai Indians (MI) against the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
“Our coaching staff and management have built the squad for a certain reason, with guys that bat in certain positions,” David explained. “I am happy because I think I am contributing and hitting good right now. However, I have faith in the coach to place me where I can succeed. It’s crucial to score runs if I get the chance to face more balls, as I did today when the team needed me to. I’m not going to ask the coaches a lot of those questions.
There were still 13 balls in the innings when the ninth wicket went at 11.5 overs. After Josh Hazlewood faced the final ball of that over, David farmed the strike and significantly increased his pace, saving him from having to face another ball. At the time Hazlewood left, David was on 19 instead of 13. From the final 12 balls he faced, he hit 31 more.
“I believe I feel really at ease doing it. Sometimes it doesn’t come off when you’re trying too hard. attempting to bat with some balls at the finish and attempting to form a partnership has, in my opinion, been the problem a few times here in Bangalore,” David said. “It was challenging to communicate [about] the strategy for batting in the middle tonight and to gain some clarity since the innings would have ended if we had lost the final wicket. Therefore, you must somewhat manage the danger. I’m happy with my performance thus far, but after a good victory, I’d prefer to be sitting outside enjoying a drink.”
David finished with a record, surpassing Virat Kohli’s 29-ball 56 in a total of 106 for 2 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), also in Bengaluru, in an eight-overs-a-side match in 2013, and it was the lowest IPL first-innings total to have a half-century.
Despite RCB’s defeat, David had a successful day and was named Player-of-the-Match, but the team’s home performance remained dismal.
“I think it’s been tough because we’ve been facing different conditions each match we’ve played so far,” David stated. It’s hard to predict how it will play because of the rain that fell tonight and the fact that the surface was covered. We haven’t performed well on our home pitch thus far, so we don’t really understand. In order to win a few games here, we must identify a blueprint to follow.”
