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Despite being one of the most successful franchises in the IPL in the last couple of seasons, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are a side prone to having off days. They have suffered some of their worst defeats in terms of margin of runs or balls remaining in a run chase, and that often takes a toll on their Net Run Rate, which becomes crucial towards the business end of the season.
The franchise suffered one such defeat against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday night. A Shardul Thakur batting special and a spin-bowling masterclass from Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, and debutant Suyash Sharma condemned them to a 81-run defeat.
This isn't the first time RCB have taken a hit to their NRR. On that note, let's look at three instances RCB's net run rate took a big hit after a defeat in the IPL.
#3 97-run defeat vs KXIP, IPL 2020
In the UAE-held IPL 2020, RCB didn't have a great start to their season. After winning a thrilling season opener against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 10 runs, Virat Kohli's side was given a huge jolt by KL Rahul's Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), who handed them a 97-run defeat.
Playing at the Dubai International Stadium, RCB put KXIP into bat on a good batting wicket, and KL Rahul did the rest. The ex-RCB man scored a 69-ball 132 to power his team past the 200-run mark. Virat Kohli dropped Rahul when he was in his 80s, and that cost their team some valuable runs at the death over.
It isn't easy for any team to chase a score in excess of 200 and the pressure got to the RCB batters. Kohli and AB de Villiers' weakness against leg-spinners was exploited by KXIP, with Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin snaring three wickets each as they were bowled out for 109.
This heavily affected their NRR, which remained negative throughout their group stage. However, to their credit, RCB managed to recover from this blow and made the playoffs, qualifying fourth, with 14 points.
#2 9-wicket defeat with 72 balls to spare vs SRH, IPL 2022
Another contest that RCB would like to forget came in a rather successful season for them. Led by Faf du Plessis, RCB made the playoffs for a third successive season, beating the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Eliminator only to fall short against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 2. Despite having 16 points on the board in the group stage, their NRR was still negative.
Their poor result against SRH was one of the main contributing factors. Playing on a decent batting wicket at the Brabourne Stadium, RCB were put into bat by Kane Williamson, and his bowlers did the rest. Marco Jansen absolutely rattled RCB, picking up Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, and Anuj Rawat's wickets in the second over.
They couldn't recover from this opening blow, with T Natarajan and Jagadeesha Suchith applying the pressure later on. Literally, no batter looked comfortable at the crease as RCB were bowled out for 68 in 16.1 overs.
In reply, SRH showed that there weren't any demons in the pitch, finishing the game in eight overs, with Abhishek Sharma scoring a 28-ball 47. This was a huge hit to RCB's NRR and confidence, and it's a testament to their team's mentality that they recovered from this and made the playoffs.
#1 118-run defeat vs SRH, IPL 2019
IPL 2019 was a forgettable season for RCB, which saw them finish at the bottom of the points table. They were bowled out for only 70 in the season opener against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and fell agonizingly short of a win in their second match against the Mumbai Indians (MI). However, nothing prepared them for the third defeat that rattled their confidence like anything.
Led by Jonny Bairstow and the returning David Warner, SRH made a mockery of the RCB bowling lineup, scoring 231/2 in their 20 overs, with both their openers scoring a hundred. RCB couldn't notch up a satisfactory reply, with Mohammad Nabi picking up four wickets and conceding only 11 runs.
The 118-run defeat could've been worse had it not been for Colin de Grandhomme's rearguard action. Nevertheless, it's another game that resulted in a huge NRR hit for RCB, one that they couldn't recover from.
