Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have now won six out of their nine games in IPL 2025. Crucially, against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Thursday night, they got their first home win of the season - three of their five remaining games are in Bengaluru, so it's good portents. RR, though, are headed in the other direction. It's tough to remember when they last won; top of mind are the succession of chases they have botched. Everything is possible, of course, but RR making the playoffs from here doesn't seem like one of those.
"We haven't been able to grab the crunch moments, whether we are chasing or defending a total," RR quick Sandeep Sharma said in the press conference after the 11-run defeat. "In T20s, all teams get those moments, those opportunities, that you must catch. This year, we are dropping important catches, we are losing wickets exactly when we need to step on the accelerator. It happens in T20s, and that's been our concern. We are crumbling in the crunch moments."
Which is what they did at the end of their chase. They had a 22-run over off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 18th and were left with 18 to get from the last two with five wickets in hand. They got six runs and lost four wickets.
"They got themselves into a great position, wickets in hand, required run rate under control, and then they just imploded," Aaron Finch said on ESPNcricinfo's Time Out show. "They went from playing a good, smart brand of cricket… they went from running hard between the wickets to 'right, let's just get it over and done with, we'll just hit the ball out of the park'.
"Just get bat on ball in that situation. You know, if you beat a fielder, in Bangalore the ball flies away. You don't need to overplay it, and they certainly did."
Which is exactly what RCB didn't do, finding heroes on the night in Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal in those last two overs. "We were struggling at the end there when they needed 17 [18] off 12 balls," RCB coach Andy Flower said. "And the composure that the bowlers showed out there and also that Rajat Patidar [as the captain] showed out there, I am really proud of the way they held themselves under pressure."
What all of this has meant is that RCB are at No. 3 on the points table and a great shout for the playoffs.
"They are [favourites for the playoffs], because they have got the momentum, and they've got the monkey off their back about home wins," Finch said. "If they get some luck with the tosses [they have lost all four tosses at home and had to bat first], they'll be tough to beat."
Rayudu and Finch on Rajasthan Royals falling short in yet another chase
That monkey off the back…
"It's very important," Flower said. "We've had four home games and we've lost the toss each time. We know that trying to defend a target here is tough. In the first three games, I thought our bowlers and fielding unit did outstanding work to keep us in the game as long as they did. Because all three totals were a bit below par. So, watching our guys [batters] adapt to the conditions today was really gratifying. I was really proud of the way they batted.
"Obviously, our wonderful supporters wanted to see some of that success [that we had on the road]. They were concerned about us here at home. We've got three more games here at home. So vitally important for us to play well in these conditions. And it was great to put on a show."
Ambati Rayudu, who had said earlier in the season that RCB were going to win their first IPL trophy this season, is sticking to his prediction. "They should be one or two [on the league table], that's where they should be focused now. They should be looking at winning the IPL."
Aaron Finch and Ambati Rayudu on the RR batter's dip in form
As for RR, it's back to the drawing board for now, see what they can get out of their five remaining games. They are not out of contention yet, mind you, but it looks tough.
"I think we should go to the ground and express ourselves and look at each match as a separate entity and try to win them," Sandeep said. "In T20s, streaks are very crucial, whether you are winning or losing.
"In all three games [that they have lost in a row], we needed nine runs an over, and in T20s these days, the kind of hitting ability we see, a run rate of nine shouldn't be tough. But we are losing wickets in between and when we try to accelerate, it's not happening. We are losing wickets when we need to bring the asking rate down and are not being able to execute the plans.
"Last season, we were able to do exactly that. We had the same people: Riyan [Parag], Dhruv [Jurel], Yashasvi [Jaiswal]. They were winning those moments. We were fielding well. That's another thing we are lacking this year."