Bengaluru, April 24 (IANS) Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) all-rounder Romario Shepherd said he is hopeful of Thursday being the day when the side gets its first win on their home turf in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday.

RCB have lost all three home matches so far and are aiming to get their first victory of the season at the Chinnaswany when they face Rajasthan Royals on Thursday.

“I haven’t played on this ground as yet, it is a special night for me. We are still disappointed that we haven’t got a win in front of our home fans, hopefully, tonight is the night. Tonight we will try to bat better. It’s a good challenge for us against RR tonight, hopefully, we can come out with a win no matter what,” said Shepherd in a pre-match chat with the broadcasters.

Despite the woeful home record, RCB are in fourth place with 10 points coming from wins in away games. This is also the first time Shepherd, the West Indies all-rounder, will play for RCB at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

“I have been raring to go. I have had the opportunity, and I have been fairly decent, so hopefully in this game, I can do better and contribute to the win tonight. My role is to enforce with the bat and with the ball, try and get wickets and go for as less runs as possible. Hopefully, I can get his (Hetmyer) wicket. He was my first wicket in cricket, and hopefully I can get him again tonight,” he added.

RR, on the other hand, are seeking to end their four-match losing streak and leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who previously played for RCB, said the side is looking to take it one game at a time to put themselves on track for a spot in the playoffs.

“I played for RCB for three years, and it is going to be fun. The last two games were tough as a team, but we played good cricket throughout the tournament, and we need one good start to keep going. We have six more games left, and as a team, we want to finish well and see where we are in the points table,” he added.

“We will try to play one game at a time. This is a smaller ground and we want to bowl good areas, especially in the middle overs. We all know that RCB is a good side, want to do the basics right, and is looking forward to it,” he concluded.

–IANS

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