New Delhi, March 12 (IANS) Former India cricketer Abhinav Mukund believes defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) could face a tough examination at home in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), describing their early fixtures against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as a 'trial by fire'.

Last year. RCB 's performances away from home were better than those at their home venue M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The Bengaluru-based franchise managed to win only two matches at home during the season and lost three matches, while one match was abandoned due to rain, highlighting their struggle to establish a stronghold at their own ground.

Mukund noted that the conditions at the Chinnaswamy Stadium could be difficult to read initially, as there has been no competitive cricket played there for nearly eight to nine months after the stampede that happened during the RCB's victory march in the city.

“It’s almost a bit of an unknown for RCB because it is a stadium where they don’t have the best record. Their away record last year was one of those anomalies in the IPL winners’ list itself, where your home record wasn’t as good as the away one,” Mukund told Jio Hotstar.

“They need to get in sync very quickly. The bigger picture for RCB is that they need to understand and assess the conditions a lot quicker than the other sides because there has been no cricket played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium for the last 8-9 months,” he added.

Mukund further pointed out that the defending champions will face strong opponents at home, including SRH in the tournament opener on March 28 and a revamped CSK on April 4, making the challenge even tougher.

“Their biggest problem was the lack of home advantage last year. And they are playing some high-flying teams, Sunrisers Hyderabad and the revamped Chennai Super Kings, at home. So, it's going to be a trial by fire for the defending champions. I am sure they have already started preparing for it,” he said.

RCB has played a total of 96 IPL matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Of those, they have won 46 times and lost on 47 occasions. Four matches did not produce any result, although one of RCB's wins in 2013 came via a Super Over. That means that they have a win percentage of 47.91 per cent on their home ground.

--IANS

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