5 seasons where a batter carried RCB but they still failed

RCB have a history of signing the world's best batters. In the IPL, the Royal Challengers Bangalore were once home to the elite trio of AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli. Gayle and de Villiers have now retired, but Kohli continues to be a part of the franchise along with new partners Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell.

A similar trend can be seen in RCB's Women's Premier League team as well, with Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine, Heather Knight and Ellyse Perry. So far in WPL 2023, Perry has scored the most runs for the Royal Challengers. She has aggregated 205 runs in six innings, with her highest score being 67*.

Despite Perry's form, RCB are in the bottom half of the WPL 2023 points table with only one win from six matches. Here's a look at the previous five instances when the Bangalore-based franchise remained at the bottom of the standings despite being carried by a batter.

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#1 Rahul Dravid - 2008

Royal Challengers Bangalore struggled to make an impact in their debut IPL season as well. The Bangalore-based franchise played 14 matches in the tournament, registering only four wins. They finished seventh in the standings, just above the Deccan Chargers.

Captain Rahul Dravid fought like a lone warrior for RCB in their maiden season. He scored 371 runs in 14 matches, with his highest score being 75*. However, his efforts went in vain.

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#2 AB de Villiers - 2014

Former South African batter AB de Villiers was the backbone of the Bangalore-based IPL franchise for a decade. He helped them win many matches from the 2011 to 2021 season.

Mr. 360 ended IPL 2014 as the team's highest run-getter with 395 runs in 13 innings. He smashed three half-centuries and batted at a strike rate of 158.63, but RCB finished seventh that season.

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#3 Virat Kohli - 2017

2017 was a forgettable season for Bangalore as they finished last in the points table for the first time ever. The Royal Challengers won only three of their 14 matches that season.

Captain Virat Kohli played only 10 games in that tournament, but he still managed to finish as the top run-getter for the team. Kohli aggregated 308 runs in 10 innings, recording four half-centuries.

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#4 Virat Kohli - 2018

Virat Kohli features on this list once again. The duo of Kohli and de Villiers carried the entire team on their shoulders in the 2018 and 2019 seasons of the IPL. Kohli top-scored for the team in 2018, aggregating 530 runs.

Unfortunately, Kohli's efforts could not take the team to the playoffs. He smashed four fifties and had a highest score of 92*, but the Bangalore-based franchise finished sixth in the standings.

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#5 AB de Villiers - 2019

As mentioned above, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli shouldered the RCB team in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The South African star scored 442 runs from 13 innings in the 2019 season, registering five half-centuries.

Even Virat Kohli scored 464 runs that season, but RCB ended last in the points table with 11 points from 14 matches. Since 2019, Bangalore have qualified for the playoffs every season.