RCB fans’ dreams of winning an IPL title was crushed once again, this time in a four-wicket loss to RR in the Eliminator.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) of lifting their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title was crushed once again after they lost to Rajasthan Royals by four wickets in the Eliminator on Monday. RCB came into the match on the back of a six-game winning streak while RR were winless in their last five matches. However, RR brought back the kind of form that had allowed them to win all but one of their first nine matches of the season.
AB de Villiers has felt the disappointment of missing out on the title with RCB a number of times in his career. (Jio Cinema)
RCB’s inability to win the title despite coming close a number of times and boasting many great names in their teams over the years has become a bit of a running theme in the IPL, with the biggest conversation at the start of every season being if they can end the drought this time around. While all hope seemed to have been extinguished when they won just one of their first eight matches, RCB’s extraordinary comeback which culminated in them snatching the last playoff spot from Chennai Super Kings in their last league match led to hopes being reignited. And yet, it was disappointment for their fans in the first game of the playoffs itself.
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An example of the roller coaster of emotions that RCB fans may have gone through could be seen through AB de Villiers in the Jio Cinema studio. The streaming service put out a montage of De Villiers’ expressions over the course of the Eliminator on Monday, in which RCB looked capable of defending the target of 173 on a number of occasions.
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De Villiers, who has felt the disappointment of missing out on the IPL title as an RCB player a number of times in his illustrious career, then expressed his feelings on social media. “It’s always painful to lose. But as a fan, I’m proud of the boys for making us believe, even when all hope seemed lost at the start of May. I’m sure #RCB will come back stronger next year and bring home that elusive title,” said De Villiers in a post on X.
Yet another disappointment for RCB
RCB started well until the spinners came on after the end of the powerplay. Virat Kohli looked good but fell to former RCB man Yuzvendra Chahal on 33 off 24 balls in the eighth over. Rajat Patidar looked set to take RCB close to a score above 190. However, he fell on 34 off 22 after which Mahipal Lomror scored 32 in 17 balls. RCB were restricted to a score of 172/8. Ashwin finished with figures of 2/19. He won the player of the match award at the end of the game. Avesh Khan was expensive in his first two overs but came back strong and took three wickets.
RCB kept RR on their toes but the latter kept chipping away at the total. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson led the chase after which Riyan Parag took over. It had looked like RCB had clawed their way back into the match in the last four overs. However, Rovman Powell did the finishing job, hitting a six off the last ball of the second last over of the match.
