The quick answer to how many times have Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have won the Indian Premier League (IPL) is – never! It is no secret that RCB have not won the IPL even once. The mystery remains as to why they haven’t.
Royal Challengers Bangalore boast of some of the biggest names in world cricket. Be it Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, Kevin Pietersen, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, or Shane Watson – they have all been a part of the Bangalore-based franchise at some point.
Despite such heavyweights in the setup season after season, what is the reason that the IPL title remains elusive for Royal Challengers Bangalore?
1) Bowling woes
Virat Kohli loves having a strong batting line up. It is visible in Bangalore’s auction strategy. The numbers they are ready to pay for batsmen is sometimes staggering. However, the same can’t be said about RCB’s bowlers, who have often underperformed. There is no denying that a lot of blame goes to Bangalore’s home ground of M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the boundaries are short and pitch flat as a pancake. But the numbers reveal that the RCB bowlers have time and again faltered.
Since the start of the IPL, of the currently active teams, RCB have the second-worst economy rate of 8.3. They are just behind Kings XI Punjab in this matter, who also have never won the IPL. In terms of bowling average, too, RCB are only behind KXIP, on 27.5.
If we only look at the death overs, RCB have conceded runs at an economy of 10.2 in all IPL, which is only second to Delhi Capitals among the current IPL teams. Their boundary% in the last five overs of an innings is also a high 59.58.
2) M Chinnaswamy Stadium
Often, the surface at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, RCB’s home ground, is also to be blamed for the bowlers’ pedestrian performance. At venues where more than 15 IPL matches have been played, the M Chinnaswamy has the worst economy rate of all – 8.6. The average first innings score here is also a high 169.
The boundary sizes at M Chinnaswamy Stadium are one of the smallest in India. A total of 2151 fours have been hit at the venue, the second-highest in India, only behind Eden Gardens in Kolkata. A total of 1114 sixes have also been struck at the stadium. Second on this list is Wankhede Stadium, which has 217 sixes lesser in all of IPL. An average of 8.3 balls per boundary indeed reads doomsday for bowlers.
The ground has time and again seen scores over 200 achieved. While it provides excellent entertainment for the fans, the RCB bowlers are the sufferers more often than not.
3) Over-reliance on Kohli and De Villiers
Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have together scored 9356 runs for Royal Challengers Bangalore. This is close to 31% of the total runs scored by the entire team. Take out any scorecard where RCB have won and invariably, you will find one of these two being the top scorer on the day.
That one of Kohli or de Villiers always stand up bodes well for the team; the others also need to stand up. There is a reason why teams like Mumbai Indians or Chennai Super Kings are picking all the titles. Both teams have a solid top order, and even if the openers fail, the middle and lower-middle order is always there for backup.
In IPL 2020, RCB had a welcome change where Devdutt Padikkal returned as the leading run scorer. He is certain to be part of the team for a while and Kohli will hope the left-hander carries his form.
It is not all gloom for RCB. They have been on the fringes every season and have been runners up on multiple occasions despite not having won the IPL cup.
Also Read: Which teams have never won the IPL?
Royal Challengers Bangalore over the years
IPL 2009
The second season of the IPL saw Royal Challengers Bangalore advance into the playoffs in third place. They then beat Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in the semi-final to qualify for the final. In a closely fought final, the Bangalore-based franchise lost to the Adam Gilchrist-led Deccan Chargers by six runs.
IPL 2011
IPL 2011 was one of the better campaigns for Royal Challengers Bangalore, one where they finished top of the table after the league stage. They lost in Qualifier 1 to Chennai Super Kings but toppled a mighty led Mumbai Indians unit in Qualifier 2. However, an onslaught of the highest order from Murali Vijay saw them go down in the final by 58 runs.
IPL 2016
2016 was probably the year RCB had the best chance to get themselves on the winners’ list. Virat Kohli was in his element, de Villiers in his prime, and Chris Gayle was, well being Chris Gayle.
Bangalore finished the group stage in second place, only behind the Suresh Raina-led Gujarat Lions. A de Villiers special helped RCB qualify for the final. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who were only a few years old, displayed great courage to post a strong 208/7 in the finals. It was a huge ask considering the IPL trophy was on the line, but Manvinder Bisla and Manish Pandey of Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012 and 2014 had proven that the chase was very much possible.
Chris Gayle got RCB off to a flyer scoring 76 off 38 balls, adding 114 runs for the opening wicket with Kohli in quick time. But once the duo fell, the chase came undone. RCB lost wickets at regular intervals and eventually went down by eight runs.
What happened in IPL 2020?
RCB had a good team in IPL 2020. Aaron Finch opened the batting alongside Padikkal while Kohli, de Villiers, Parthiv Patel were all present. The bowling unit also looked strong, with Chris Morris, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, and Umesh Yadav.
The Bangalore franchise started the season well, and it seemed they would qualify for the playoffs in the top two. But RCB lost steam in the backend and looked out of options by the time playoffs arrived.
Talking about teams that have won the IPL, the Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians have won the IPL most times – 5. They are followed by Chennai Super Kings, who have taken the IPL trophy home three times while Kolkata Knight Riders have been on the winners list twice. Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders have also won the IPL more than once.
Rajasthan Royals, Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad have taken the IPL trophy home once each. Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals are the only three active teams to have never won the IPL.
Will that change in IPL 2021? Only time will tell.
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