How Royal Challengers Bangalore can qualify for Indian Premier League playoffs?
RCB are currently placed fourth in the points table
|IPL
Royal Challengers Bangalore have blown hot and cold this season under the new leadership of Faf du Plessis and are looking in a comfortable position to make it to playoffs. With seven wins and five defeats, RCB now needs to win at least one game from the remaining two to reach playoffs.
Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) have been always a strong unit in the Indian Premier League but they have failed to deliver with consistency. Several star players like AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Kevin Pietersen, Jacques Kallis, and Mitchell Starc have played for the franchise in the past but still, they haven’t been able to lift the trophy. RCB didn’t have much success to boast about but they were finalists on three occasions in 2009, 2011, and 2016.
The current crop of team members also includes T20 stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, and Glenn Maxwell. The team will be hoping for these three to deliver for them and guide them to a title win. RCB suffered a blow before the commencement of IPL 2022 as Virat Kohli stepped down from the captaincy. The team needed a new leader for the squad and so they acquired the services of Du Plessis for INR 7 Crores.
RCB played their first game against Punjab Kings(PBKS) and started with a loss. However, they performed better and won three games in a row against Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR), Rajasthan Royals(RR), and Mumbai Indians(MI) respectively. The next match was against out of form Chennai Super Kings(CSK) but RCB lost the game by 23 runs producing poor performance.
RCB again found the winning momentum and won two on a trot. They first won against Delhi Capitals(DC) by 16 runs and defeated Lucknow Super Giants(LSG) by 18 runs. However, the team suffered a lump in the form after that losing three games successively against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals, and Gujarat Titans(GT). They have now won their last two games and are on verge of qualifying for the playoffs.
RCB are placed fourth in the points table currently and can qualify for playoffs if they play to their potential.
If RCB wins both their games
RCB are scheduled to play against Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans in their remaining fixtures. If they win both their games they will be sure of a spot in the top four as the teams below that can’t reach the 18-point mark. Also, the team will hope for Rajasthan Royals to beat Lucknow Super Giants and lose the bout against Chennai Super Kings.
Both these results will help the team finish in the first two spots as RR and LSG will end up with 16 points while RCB will be on the second spot with 18.
Overall, it can be said that RCB can write their own destiny by winning both of their matches and aiming for the top two places. By doing so, they will not have to rely on the other results for their fate in the tournament.
If RCB wins one game
In such a scenario, RCB will end up on 16 points. They can advance with this number of points but the team will then need PBKS, SRH, and DC to lose one game each. These teams are chasing the top four positions and the 16-point mark is within their reach.
RCB winning against PBKS will be a better option as it will knockout PBKS from race to playoffs. The team will then need SRH to lose in either of their three remaining games. Delhi Capitals have their net run-rate in positive but one loss will prevent them from taking their tally to 16 points and so RCB will advance to the playoffs.
RCB can also enter the playoffs by beating GT but PBKS looks like a better option. Overall, RCB needs other teams to lose at least one game in case they manage one win from their two matches.
If RCB loses all games
RCB are currently on 14 points but losing all of their remaining games can complicate the equation for them. With the loss in two games, the team will be stuck at 14 points and so they will rely completely on the other results. Also, the team should take care not to lose with a big margin which will affect the net run-rate.
In such a scenario, RCB will hope for DC to lose both of their matches as they have a better net run-rate and it will prevent DC from taking their tally up to 14 points. Also, SRH will have to lose at least two games against KKR and MI as they will end up two points short of RCB as a result.
One loss in the remaining games will crush the qualification hopes for CSK and KKR both. Both of them are in a do-or-die situation and so every match is important for both teams. Now, PBKS remains the only team in contention and the team will need them to lose the game against SRH. They will be on 14 points in such a scenario but RCB have a better net run-rate and so they will advance to the next stage based on that.
