Royal Challengers Bangalore, who wreaked havoc in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023) in summer and winter, are under pressure to qualify for the playoffs of the tournament. They will face Rajasthan Royals (RR) in an away game on Sunday and a defeat could hurt their chances massively. Faf du Plessis’s team has lost two consecutive matches against Delhi Capitals (DC) and Mumbai Indians (MI). Both these defeats have pushed them back in the points table. Currently, RCB are placed 7th in the table with five wins from 11 matches. Ten points is not enough and if RCB win all their remaining matches, they will get 16. This should be enough to put them in the playoffs, but if two or more teams end up with the same number of points then the NRR may come into play.
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What if RCB lose to RR today?
RCB can’t afford the slip-up IPL 2023 Now. As stated earlier, they should aim to win all the remaining three matches. A loss tonight may not mathematically rule them out of the race for the playoffs, but RCB will need more luck to make it to the top four. A loss against RR in Jaipur would mean that RCB have only two matches left. If they both win, they can get 14 points.
Bangalore can then only pray and hope that Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad lose their remaining matches. Mumbai Indians (14 points) play Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in a few days. This means that any team will cross the threshold of 15 points. This will spice things up between RCB, RR, SRH, LSG, PBKS and KKR for the final spot in the top four.
Our boys look forward to giving their 100% every time they step on the field. But it’s a game, and we win some, we lose some. It definitely hurts when we lose.
The next 3 games will be a test of character and we are up for the challenge. ,#playbold #____rcb #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/yOkyOK90dn— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) May 10, 2023
Virat Kohli, pressure on Faf du Plessis
Being the seniors in the side and current and former captains, the pressure will be immense on Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli to take RCB to the playoffs. Especially Kohli has been disappointed year after year in IPL. In 2022, they made it to the playoffs where they lost. If they fail to reach the playoffs this season, it will be a step back. RCB need their legends to lead. The best thing at this point of time is to take one match at a time and treat each match as a knockout. Let’s see how long RCB can go with this approach.
