Despite being one of the most successful franchises in the IPL over the last few seasons, the RCB has a tendency to experience off days. They have suffered some of the most significant losses in terms of the margin of runs or balls remaining in a run chase, which often affects their Net Run Rate (NRR), an important factor as the season approaches its crucial stages.
On Thursday night, RCB experienced another such defeat against the KKR,as Shardul Thakur’s batting heroics and the spin-bowling masterclass of Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, and debutant Suyash Sharma led to an 81-run loss for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
This is not the first time RCB’s NRR has been impacted by a defeat, and here we examine three such instances when their NRR suffered a significant blow in the IPL.
1) 97-run defeat vs KXIP, IPL 2020
RCB’s start to the 2020 IPL season held in UAE was not ideal. Although they managed to win a thrilling season opener against SRH by 10 runs, Virat Kohli’s team faced a severe setback when KL Rahul’s Kings XI Punjab dealt them a massive 97-run defeat.
Chasing a score in excess of 200 was always going to be challenging, and the pressure got to the RCB batters. KXIP exploited Kohli and AB de Villiers’ weakness against leg-spinners, with Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin picking up three wickets each, and Royal Challengers Bangalore was bowled out for a paltry 109, resulting in a 97-run defeat.
This defeat had a severe impact on RCB’s NRR, which remained negative throughout the group stage. Despite this, RCB deserves credit for their resilience, as they recovered from this setback and qualified for the playoffs, finishing fourth with 14 points.
2) 9-wicket defeat with 72 balls to spare vs SRH, IPL 2022
Despite having a successful season where they made the playoffs for a third consecutive time, RCB would like to forget one of their contests. In the group stage, they had 16 points on the board, but their negative NRR was a cause for concern, with their poor result against SRH being one of the main factors.
Playing on a decent batting surface at the Brabourne Stadium, Royal Challengers Bangalore was asked to bat first by Kane Williamson, but his bowlers dominated. Marco Jansen took three crucial wickets, including those of Virat Kohli, Faf Du Plessis, and Anuj Rawat, in the second over, setting the tone for RCB’s collapse. T Natarajan and Jagadeesha Suchith also applied pressure later, and RCB struggled to recover from the early blows. No batter looked comfortable at the crease, and RCB was bundled out for a meager 68 in just 16.1 overs.
In response, SRH showed that there were no demons on the pitch, easily chasing down the target in just eight overs, with Abhishek Sharma scoring a quickfire 47 off 28 balls. This defeat was a significant blow to RCB’s NRR and confidence, but they deserve credit for their resilience, as they recovered from this setback and made the playoffs, despite their negative NRR.
3) 118-run defeat vs SRH, IPL 2019
RCB’s IPL 2019 campaign was forgettable as they finished at the bottom of the points table. They had a poor start to the season after getting bowled out for just 70 in their first match against CSK, and losing narrowly to MI in their second match. However, the third defeat was the most damaging as it shattered their confidence.
In the game against SRH, Jonny Bairstow and David Warner returned to the team and dominated RCB’s bowling attack. They scored 231/2 in their 20 overs, with both openers scoring a century. RCB’s reply was disappointing, as Mohammad Nabi took four wickets and gave away only 11 runs.
Despite Colin de Grandhomme’s late innings contribution, RCB lost by a margin of 118 runs, which further hit their NRR. This was another game where Royal Challengers suffered a huge blow to their NRR, and they couldn’t recover from it.
