'This is not a pitch that's helping the batters too much. It's a challenging pitch.'
Royal Challengers Bengaluru mentor Dinesh Karthik conceded that his side has received a 'challenging' pitch at the Chinnaswamy Stadium this season despite asking for a batting friendly surface, adding that the management will have a chat with the curator soon.
RCB's power-packed batting line-up were rendered ineffective on a sluggish deck in their two home games while getting restricted to 169/8 and 163/7 against Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals respectively, losing both the fixtures.
Karthik thinks the 22-yard strip has deprived RCB of the home advantage at a venue where matches have traditionally been high-scoring.
"In the first two games, we have asked for good pitches. But it's turned out in this way where it's been challenging to bat on. So, we try to do the best with whatever we get. But we will obviously have a chat with him (curator). We trust him to do his job," said Karthik in the post-match press conference on Thursday.
"So, definitely, this is not a pitch that's helping the batters too much. It's a challenging pitch. So, that has been the case so far in both the games that we have played," he added.
Karthik said big hits and boundaries are an essential part of T20s, palatable to all stakeholders.
"I think the way T20 cricket is, the more runs there are, the better it is for the broadcaster, the better it is for the fans. They all like to see boundaries. And we will try and do the best of what we can," he said.
The former India wicketkeeper-batter said while they try not to follow any particular template in a match, pitches such as the one at the Chinnaswamy Stadium made it tough for batters to even rotate the strike.
"I think with every pitch, we'll try and understand what's the best way to play. I don't think we have one set template that is how we want to go out there and play. It's important to adapt and understand what the pitch is.
"But it's been hard to, at times, rotate strike. And the big shot has been really hard as well. But in the end, it's a T20. You have to play some shots and that has gotten the wicket of a few batters," he detailed.
Karthik said the slight drizzle mid-way during DC's innings helped the pitch settle down, which made the visitors' job that much easier.
"It was a bit sticky, the pitch. After the first four overs, and up until the 13th over, we were very much in the game. With the bat, we did have a wobble, but we found a way to get to a very decent score. They were struggling at 50 for 4.
"In the first game (against Gujarat Titans), there was dew. So, it got a lot better to bat in the second innings. Today, there was not as much dew. Then, unluckily for us, a little bit of rain came.
"And then you could see the difference in the pitch. The shots that they played definitely weren't possible in the first innings," he explained.
Thus Karthik joins the likes of Lucknow Super Giants and Chennai Super Kings coaches Zaheer Khan and Stephen Fleming in expressing displeasure over the nature of pitches at their home stadiums.
After LSG's defeat to Punjab Kings, Zaheer had said the curator could have been from Punjab, while Fleming said CSK have not been able to read the pitch correctly for the last two seasons and his side has lost the home advantage.
Young leg-spinner Suyansh Sharma had a good 4-0-25-1 spell, and Karthik saw a bright future for him.
"Suyash, obviously, his average speed is probably slightly higher. But it has helped the wrist spinners in both the innings today.
"Suyash is one that is bound to play some higher cricket very soon with the skill sets that he possesses. I also feel the more revolutions you've given on this pitch, the better it has been for the bowlers," he said.
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