Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and KL Rahul -- the Royal Challengers Bangalore came out of 2017’s auction as one of the strongest teams for the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League. However, as India wrapped up their hectic season and the T20 tournament approached, injuries struck the franchise.
KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan were ruled out of the tournament, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers both made later entries and Chris Gayle’s form, is yet to make regular appearances.
RCB’s Current Standing
As on 26 April, the Royal Challengers Bangalore have won only two out of their eight games so far this season. The latest, against Sunrisers Hyderabad at home, was washed out without a ball being bowled.
With no action on the field, both Virat and David Warner’s teams were awarded a point each and RCB moved to the sixth spot (out of eight) in the standings with five points after eight games.
Minimum Guarantee
A team has to win nine out of their 14 league games to be assured of a spot in the final four of the Indian Premier League. Anything less than 16, historically, leaves you watching the home leg of the tournament from home.
Only four times in IPL history has a team made the play-off with less than eight wins.
Bangalore’s Road Ahead
To have a shot at making the play-offs, Bangalore now has to win all six of their remaining league games. If they manage to do so, they will accumulate a total of 17 points.
Things may look up for Virat’s team, with Gujarat Lions next on their roster. A team languishing at the bottom of the standings with four points from seven games.
Of the two games RCB won out of seven it played so far, the second was against GL on 18 April at Rajkot with 21 runs, while the other was on the home turf against Delhi Daredevils on 8 April with 15 runs. They might manage to beat Gujarat but on the basis of their performance so far, the possibility of RCB beating the others look very slim.
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