Half of the IPL 2023 season is over and the race to qualify for the playoffs has intensified among the teams. RCB is surely one of the teams which is always in the debate when it comes to qualification to the playoffs. In this article, we will give you a brief overview of RCB’s playoff journey in IPL so far. Also, we will discuss RCB playoff chances in the IPL 2023.
RCB is one of the most popular franchises in the IPL as their supporters are all around the globe. The main reason behind RCB’s popularity is that the team is filled with star players like Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, etc. Despite having star players, RCB has yet to win its maiden IPL title. RCB has qualified for the playoffs 8 times, out of which it has played in the IPL finals so far in the 2009, 2011, and 2016 seasons.
2009 Season – (RCB ended as runners-up)
RCB qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 2009 where they finished as the runners-up. During their journey, they started poorly by losing 4 games and then won 7 out of their 9 games. Therefore, they finished third in the league table to qualify for the semi-finals. They defeated CSK in the semi-finals but could not beat Deccan Chargers in the final and lost the match by six runs.
RCB playoff chances: 2010 Season – (RCB ended in 4th place)
They finished in fourth position in 2010 as they failed to beat MI in the semi-finals. MI beat them by 35 runs to end their journey. RCB qualified for the playoffs by winning 7 out of 14 matches during the season.
RCB playoff chances: 2011 Season – (Ended as runners-up)
In the 2011 season, RCB did well to qualify for the playoffs by winning 9 out of 14 games. They lost in the first qualifier against CSK but beat MI by 43 runs in the second qualifier to seal their place in the final. Unfortunately, CSK defeated them by 58 runs, and RCB’s dream of winning the IPL title was shattered for the second time.
RCB playoff chances: 2015 Season – (Ended in 3rd place)
It took RCB 4 seasons after 2011 to qualify for the playoffs again. This time they qualified for the playoffs by winning 7 out of 14 games in which they lost 2 and 2 games ended in no result. After defeating RR in the Eliminator, they faced CSK in Qualifier 2, but CSK defeated them by 3 wickets to end their campaign.
RCB playoff chances: 2016 Season – (Ended as runners-up)
Everything went well for RCB this season as they won 8 out of 14 league games to qualify for the playoffs. They also defeated GT in Qualifier 1 to make it to the finals. Unfortunately, their dream of winning the IPL title was shattered yet again by SRH. They emerged victorious by a margin of 8 runs against RCB.
RCB playoff chances: 2020 Season – (4th place)
With 7 wins in 14 matches, RCB made it to the 2020 playoffs. They surpassed KKR in terms of NRR, which had the same number of wins as RCB. As the fourth-placed team, they played Eliminator against SRH where they lost the game by six wickets.
2021 Season – (4th place)
RCB again qualified for the playoffs in the next season of IPL. This time they won 9 out of 14 league games to finish third in the group stage. Despite playing well in the group stage. They went down by 4 wickets in the Eliminator against KKR and finished fourth.
2022 Season – (3rd place)
RCB made it to the playoffs for the third consecutive season of IPL by winning 8 out of 14 matches. After defeating LSG in the Eliminator they lost against RR in Qualifier 2 by 7 wickets to finish third.
Current scenario of qualifying for RCB
RCB playoff chances With 2 games left, RCB needs to win both games to stay in the playoff race. Even if RCB wins both their games. Their fate will be determined by the outcomes of other teams. RCB’s recent win over RR has boosted their NRR. RCB will hope that LSG loses at least one of their remaining two games to avoid getting past the 16 points mark. RCB will also hope that PBKS lose at least one of their remaining two matches. PBKS also has 12 points and is currently placed sixth in the league table.
They can also finish in the top two if CSK and GT lose their remaining two games and RCB win all their remaining matches. Hence, the last two games are very important for RCB in terms of qualifying for the playoffs. Losing any of their remaining matches would put RCB in deep trouble.
