RCB are the only team yet to register a win at home this season; a sharp contrast to their flawless away record, with five wins in five games on the road. Their struggles in Bengaluru have followed a familiar script: losing the toss, being asked to bat first on tough pitches, losing early wickets, posting below-par scores, and then finding it hard to defend as dew made chasing easier for the opposition.

The stats paint a clear picture. Only Liam Livingstone and Tim David have managed to score a half-century at home, while the team has produced nine 50-plus scores in away matches. At the Chinnaswamy, RCB’s top six has averaged just 13.94—the lowest of any team this season—and their combined strike rate of 117.28 is the second worst. What has been an explosive batting lineup on the road has completely lost its spark at home.

RCB's top order has struggled to cope with the extra bounce at home, especially early in the innings. Of the seven wickets they've lost to pace in the powerplay at the Chinnaswamy, five have come from good-length deliveries and two from back-of-a-length balls. Against the latter, their batters have managed a strike rate of just 58.06. In stark contrast, they haven’t lost a single wicket to these lengths in the powerplay during away games.

"Absolutely, you are right, the shot selection matters," Patidar said, when asked about RCB's approach at home. "Because this time the wickets are two-paced wickets and the bounce is varying, so I think the bowlers are getting a lot of help, the way their ball is dipping, the way they are getting the bounce, so I think the more we focus on hitting [behind] square of the wicket, the better it will be."