In a do-and-die match, RCB faced a defeat against GT and were knocked out of the race of playoff on Sunday. GT won the toss and invited RCB to bat first. With the help of Virat Kohli’s 7th century, RCB set a mammoth target of 198. But, Shubhman Gill cracking a hundred helped GT to chase down easily and crushed RCB’s hope of playoffs qualification. Shubman scored 104 runs* off 52 balls and struck 5 fours and 8 sixes. The heartbreaking 6-wicket loss for RCB allowed Mumbai Indians to qualify for the playoffs as they will face Lucknow Super Giants in the eliminator. MI recorded its 10th qualification into the Playoffs across 16 editions.
Kohli scored unbeaten 101 runs under pressure and struck 13 fours and a six during his magnificent knock. RCB played 14 games this season, collecting 14 points after winning and losing seven games respectively. They ended their journey with the sixth position in the points table. In fact, they are the only team to qualify for the playoffs in 2020, 2021, and 2022 consecutively. But, they failed to make their position in the final.
Also Read: IPL 2024: Relief for one, Agony for others as the league stage ends
RCB’s Journey through the Season
For RCB, it was a mixed journey. In their First match against Mumbai Indians, they registered an eight wickets win in just 17 overs. After that, they played good cricket in patches but did not consistently get positive results which would help them to enter the playoffs. In the last three must-win matches, they won two against RR and SRH in their home. They registered a 112-run victory against RR which helped them to improve their net run-rate. In the next game against SRH Virat played a magnificent inning of 100 and his team chased down 182 by losing only 2 wickets. But, in his last league matches they had to face a heartbreaking loss by 6 wickets.
Also Read: Rajasthan Royals eliminated as MI beat SRH!
RCB’s Batters in IPL 2024
The trio of Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glen Maxwell all were in scintillating form throughout the season. For RCB Faf du Plessis was the leading run-scorer. In his 14 matches, he scored 730-run with a strike rate of 153.6. In his 14 innings, he smashed eight fifties with 60 fours and 36 sixes. Virat Kohli who played 14 matches and scored 639 runs at an average of 53.2 and a strike rate of 139. In his 14 innings, he hit 2 centuries and 6 half-centuries. His best score was 101* off 61 balls against Gujrat Titans. The third leading scorer was Maxwell. With an astonishing strike rate of 183.4, he scored 400-run in 14 matches. He also hit 5 half-centuries with 29 fours and 31 sixes. Such was Kohli’s and Faf du Plessis’ dominance that they are currently first and third in the Orange Cap leaderboard.
The middle-order batters of RCB were in the worst phase. There was the lack of Rajat Patidar and it cost them badly. Dinesh Karthik, Mahipal Lomror and Anuj Rawat failed to capitalize on the starts provided by the trio in several games. Karthik, who had an excellent season last year, scored just 140 runs in 13 innings at an average of 11.67. Lomror scored just 135 runs in 10 innings at an average of 16.88, of which only 91 runs came in seven matches. Meanwhile, Anuj Rawat played 9 matches and scored only 91 at an average of 30.3 and a strike rate of 128.1.
Also Read: Top 3 Contenders for the Emerging Player Award in IPL 2024
RCB’s Bowlers in IPL 2024
In the last three seasons, the RCB bowling attack had improved considerably which was why they reached the Playoffs on all previous three occasions. But, this year the bowlers of RCB except Mohammad Siraj seemed insipid. There was also the lack of David Willey and Topley in the RCB team. Topley and Willey both were ruled out of the entire IPL after playing one and four matches respectively. Willey scalped four wickets in his four matches. The poor performance of Hasaranga and Josh Hazelwood did not help their team. Hasaranga played eight matches and took 9 wickets at an economy of 8.8.
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