On Sunday, April 21, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by a single run, marking their sixth consecutive loss in the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024). After being asked to bat first, KKR amassed an enormous 222/6 in the 20 overs permitted, thanks to a half-century from skipper Shreyas Iyer (50 off 36) and a rapid fire strike from Philip Salt (48 off 14).
With half-centuries from Will Jacks (55 off 32) and Rajat Patidar (52 off 23), the RCB in response nearly reached the mark. After being dismissed, Dinesh Karthik (25 off 18) and Karn Sharma (20 off 7) gave it their hardest to get their side over the finish line, but they were ultimately unsuccessful by one run.
The Faf du Plessis-led team is still struggling at the bottom of the points table after their loss, having only one victory out of eight games and two points overall. The three-time runners-up have an even harder road ahead of them in the tournament as they take on the formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their next match on April 25. Then, on April 28 and May 4, respectively, they play the runners-up from the previous season, the Gujarat Titans (GT).
Also read: IPL 2024: Match 36 features highlights from Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s second innings versus KKR
In their next two games, on May 9 and May 12, respectively, RCB will square off against the struggling Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Delhi Capitals (DC). On May 18, they will play the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), their southern rivals, to eventually conclude the league stage. Since they still have a remote chance of qualifying for the playoffs, RCB cannot afford to lose even one game moving forward.
If Royal Challengers Bengaluru wins its remaining games, it can score up to 14 points.
If they win all of their remaining games, the Bengaluru-based team can still finish with 14 points on the points table. As the second-worst net run rate among the ten teams, their chances of making the playoffs would be greatly influenced by the performance of other teams, which they would also need to defeat in the run differential category.
So, in order to avoid being eliminated entirely from the competition, RCB cannot afford to suffer any more defeats in the IPL 2024. With one of the largest fan bases in the league, the team is in greater need of the backing of its supporters than ever as they attempt to write a history in the IPL.
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