SRH vs RCB - What should RCB do to qualify for the IPL 2024 playoffs?
RCB have to win their remaining six matches and get to 14 points, a number with which teams have qualified in the past
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We are well past the halfway stage in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) and the chatter to qualify for the play-offs is growing with every match. While the top three—the Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad—are in good form as the league gets to the business end, how can Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who are at the bottom of the points table, qualify for the play-offs?
The Faf du Plessis-led team has played just one match out of the eight so far and has a negative net run rate of minus 1.046.
RCB have to play six more matches, starting with the one against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday. They will go on to play Gujarat Titans twice, Punjab Kings (away), Delhi Capitals (home) and Chennai Super Kings (home).
Winning the remaining six matches will take RCB to 14 points on the table, a number with which teams have qualified in the past.
Along with RCB winning their last six matches, the current top three teams (RR, KKR and SRH) shouldn’t lose too many. Given the form RR, KKR and SRH are in, the task isn’t very tough. If Rajasthan Royals win four of their remaining six matches, Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad win five of their remaining seven matches, the current top-three teams will finish at 22, 20 and 20 points, respectively, sending RCB to the fourth spot with 14 points, without bringing the Net Run Rate (NRR) into the picture.
However, if RCB slip against SRH and lose, they’ll get to a maximum of 12 points and if the above scenario plays out, they’ll be in a mid-table jam with teams like Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians, etc. The NRR will then decide which teams will qualify for the play-offs.
If many other results also do not go as per how the predictions have been given out above, there is a possibility of seven or eight teams finishing on 12 points and fighting for two play-off spots, bringing NRR into the picture.
However, for scenarios to play out, RCB needs to get back to winning ways, right from the match against SRH, to make the passage to the last four a reality.
