IPL history: Top 5 totals by Royal Challengers Bangalore

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is one of the most decorated teams in the history of the IPL. However, they are also one of the most under-performing teams in the history of the league. In 11 seasons, they have never won the IPL title even once. They’ve qualified for three finals but have faltered on every occasion. Despite having some of the most dangerous players in their line-up, they haven’t been able to live up to the expectation.

However, they have had some really exciting moments and historically, they have been pretty batting heavy. Hence, it is no surprise to see some big scores over the years. They have registered the two highest totals in IPL history. Hence, here we look back at their top five totals they’ve registered over the last 11 seasons.

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#5 226/3 vs Kings XI Punjab – 2015 (Bengaluru)

Gayle celebrating his 5th IPL ton in style.

When Chris Gayle gets going, it’s very difficult to stop him. It was one of those days when Kings XI Punjab faced the wrath of Gayle’s blazing willow. After being put into bat, RCB got off to a flying start as Gayle went berserk. Skipper Virat Kohli played second fiddle and complemented the Jamaican opener beautifully.

After Kohli’s departure, it was AB de Villiers who carried forward the momentum as he struck a 24-ball 47, providing some impetus in the middle overs. Meanwhile, it was all Gayle at the other end as he blazed his way to a terrific 117. RCB posted a mammoth 226 in their 20 overs as they hit a staggering 18 sixes and 14 fours in their innings.

Chasing a huge target, KXIP were decimated as they were skittled out for a mere 88. Mitchell Starc and Sreenath Arvind picked four wickets apiece as RCB registered their (then) biggest win (in terms of runs).

Brief Scores: RCB 226/3 (Gayle 117, de Villiers 47*) beat KXIP 88 (Axar 40*, Starc 4/15, Aravind 4/27) by 138 runs

#4 227/4 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad – 2016 (Bengaluru)

This was the fourth game of the 2016 edition of the IPL and the first game for both RCB and SRH. Like most teams, SRH won the toss and elected to bowl first at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. RCB didn’t have the best of starts as they lost Chris Gayle very early and were reduced to 6/1 in the second over.

However, RCB’s two best batsmen Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers got together and strung a fabulous 157-run stand for the second wicket. The duo took the attack to the SRH bowlers and put the pressure right back on them. Kohli scored 75 while de Villiers made 82 as the duo laid a superb platform and helped the team reach 163 in the 15th over.

Shane Watson (19 off 8 balls) and Sarfraz (35 off 10 balls) played quickfire cameos as they didn’t let the momentum shift and it propelled RCB to a huge total of 227 in their 20 overs. SRH did give it a shot but their chase fell apart after the dismissal of David Warner who scored a superb 25-ball 58. Eventually, RCB won by 45 runs and kickstarted their 2016 campaign with a win.

Brief Scores: RCB 227/4 (Kohli 75, de Villiers 82, Mustafizur 2/26) beat SRH 182/6 (Warner 58, Watson 2/20, Chahal 2/43) by 45 runs

#3 235/1 vs Mumbai Indians – 2015 (Mumbai)

This was another game where the Kohli-AB duo stole the show. The duo has been involved in numerous stands bailing the team out and putting them in a strong position. This was one of those one instances where they dominated and decimated the opposition.

It’s not easy to play the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. But Kohli and AB de Villiers absolutely thrashed the hosts as they were involved in a stunning unbeaten 215-run stand. After opting to bat first, RCB lost Chris Gayle in the 4th over at the score of 20. That was the time with Kohli and de Villiers got together and deflated the MI attack.

The South Africa star struck a brilliant ton as he finished with a 59-ball 133 while Kohli played second fiddle and made 82 in 50 balls. The duo’s efforts helped RCB get to 235 in their quota of 20 overs. In their chase, MI kept losing wickets and hardly got momentum in their innings as they fell 39 runs short.

Brief Scores: RCB 235/1 (de Villiers 133*, Kohli 82*, Malinga 1/27) beat MI 196/7 (Simmons 68*, Pollard 49, Patel 2/36) by 39 runs

#2 248/3 vs Gujarat Lions – 2016 (Bengaluru)

2016 was a special season for RCB. They needed to win at least six out of their last seven games (which came down to needing four wins out of four) to make it to the playoffs and they did manage to do that and eventually went to the final where they narrowly lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad.

In the 44th game of the season, RCB squared off against Gujarat Lions. Once again it was AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli who decimated the opposition. After being put into bat, RCB had a slow start as they reached 20/1 in four overs. However, the arrival of de Villiers changed the tide and runs started flowing as both Kohli and de Villiers found the boundary with ease. They absolutely thrashed the Gujarat Lions bowlers to all parts of the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Both of them struck magnificent tons as RCB racked up a mammoth 248. Kohli made 109 while de Villiers was unbeaten on 129.

Gujarat Lions batsmen failed miserably in their chase and were shot out for 104 as RCB registered their biggest ever win in terms of runs (144).

Brief Scores: RCB 248/3 (Kohli 109, de Villiers 129*) beat GL 104 (Finch 37, Jordan 4/11, Chahal 3/19) by 144 runs

#1 263/5 vs Pune Warriors India – 2013 (Bengaluru)

The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is generally known for its short boundaries and usually, plenty of runs are scored. However, this was a day when the RCB batsmen, Chris Gayle, in particular, decided to smash records and test the limits of the Chinnaswamy Stadium’s small boundaries.

A score that was considered competitive in 50-over cricket no too long ago was achieved in 20 overs. 263 runs were scored in 20 overs and out of these a jaw-dropping 210 runs came in boundaries (21 fours and 21 sixes). Chris Gayle blasted his way to a record-shattering 175 in 66 balls (13 fours and 17 sixes). AB de Villiers played a small 8-ball cameo as he scored 31 (three fours and three sixes). RCB scored 128 in the first 10 overs and another 145 in the next 10 to rack up the highest ever IPL score.

Pune Warriors India bowlers were smashed to all corners of the ground as they conceded over 13 runs per over. The batsmen then just didn’t turn up as they were restricted to 133/9.

Brief Scores: RCB 263/5 (Gayle 175*, de Villiers 31) beat PWI 133/9 (Smith 41, Rampaul 2/21, Gayle 2-5) by 130 runs