KKR’s Varun Chakaravarthy spun another web around the RCB batters and downed them, this time at their home ground, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
First, the KKR batters racked up 200 runs, and in reply the hosts stuttered from the start of their chase, going down to 58/3. Virat Kohli and Mahipal Lomror forged a fighting partnership of 55 (34), but once both of them were dismissed, a loss seemed inevitable. KKR won by 21 runs.
This meant KKR broke their own 4-match losing streak and got back up their hopes of playoff qualification while RCB continued to remain inconsistent, having won 4 and lost 4 matches so far and are now positioned 6th in points table.
How can RCB still qualify for playoffs in IPL 2023?
Yes. RCB, who have 8 points in 8 matches currently, are alive in the playoff race in IPL 2023. They will need to win at least 4 more matches of the remaining 6 to make a strong contention for a playoff spot.
Let’s go back to the 10-team IPL 2022 tournament to see what is the least amount of points for which a team can qualify in the playoffs.
In the 10-team IPL 2022, the team at the 4th spot to reach the playoffs last year – Royal Challengers Bangalore – had 16 points while DC and PBKS with 14 points each just missed the playoffs. A win for both of them would have pipped them over RCB because of their better NRR.
Delhi Capitals, who had a better NRR than Royal Challengers Bangalore, lost their last league match and finished at 14 points; had DC won their last league match, they would have displaced Faf du Plessis‘ team from the 4th spot and reached the playoffs.
However, as explained above, even 16 points might not be enough if their NRR remains inferior to other teams who could also catch up at 16 points. RCB’s NRR currently of -0.139 is 5th among all 10 teams and all 4 teams that have better NRR than them have more points.
So, for Royal Challengers Bangalore to make a strong case for a playoff berth, they would need to win at least 4 of their remaining 6 matches. Virat Kohli and co. would be hoping that they don’t find themselves in a similar position as last year – where they were praying for DC to lose their last game – and reach the playoffs on their own wins.
