IPL 2024: RCB takes on Rajasthan Royals
On April 21, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) lost a 200-plus chase to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by one run, their seventh defeat in eight games, and dropped to last place in the league. As a typical sense of hopelessness enveloped their season.
Since then, RCB has had a resurrection, the type of turnaround that has served as fertile ground for inspirational screenplays about sports teams emerging from adversity. RCB didn’t simply win six games in a row; they won by gigantic margins of 35 runs, 24 balls to spare, 38 balls to spare, 60 runs, 47 runs, and 27 runs to improve their net run rate and leapfrog three other teams on the same points as them, allowing them to make a stunning last-minute push into the playoffs.
A few days after RCB began their comeback, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) strolled to their eighth win in nine games. They had dominated No. 1 for weeks and were expected to finish there. There was no indication of what was to come.
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The decline began gradually, with a one-run defeat in a 200-plus chase, followed by a 20-run defeat in another 200-plus chase, both of which could be easily blamed to the vagaries of T20 cricket.
Despite losing four in a row and having their final league game rained out, RR would still have finished second if Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) had not won their final game.
The value of confidence and momentum in sports is tough to quantify. RCB and RR’s dramatic rise and collapse demonstrate how unpredictable T20 cricket can be.
Previous meeting between two sides
It was RR’s fourth win in four games and RCB’s fourth loss in five games. Virat Kohli struck 113 off 72 balls in Jaipur, equaling the record for the slowest IPL century, but he has sped up dramatically since. The remaining of RCB’s hitters did not contribute much – this has altered since – and they finished with 183 for 3.
Jos Buttler led RR’s victorious chase with a century, however he is no longer with the team, while Samson scored 69 off 42 balls. He’s only reached 20 once in his last four innings.
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Legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar’s prediction
“What RCB has done is nothing short of phenomenal. Firstly, to believe that they can bounce back. That requires something special. You have to say that their leading players Faf du Plessis, Virat KOhli, their senior players, they are the guys who are most encouraging the other players. Other team members can quickly get into a situation like , ‘Oh we have lost everything’. Both of them have played extraordinary cricket,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
“Rajasthan has lost four to five matches. They did not play their last game as well. They’ve been out of practice. Unless they do something spectacular, as KKR did today after not playing in 11 days, it could be another one-sided game tomorrow. My fear is it will be another one sided game tomorrow, where the RCB will walk all over RR. I will be surprised if that does not happen.”
