Hyderabad: One of the most loved franchises in the world, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) became the second Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise to play 250 games in the history of the coveted tournament when they took the field against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday.
RCB have now joined the elite club with one of the most successful franchises of the cash-rich league Mumbai Indians (MI). The Bengaluru-based team's IPL journey is filled with many ups and downs, grooming one of the finest cricketers of the league and a loyal fanbase despite not clinching a title so far in tournament history.
Before this encounter against SRH, the Faf du Plessis-led side had won 117 matches and suffered defeats in 127 games out of 249 fixtures the franchise has played so far with four games ending with no results. Their win percentage is 46.18 per cent.
Earlier in the day, RCB posted a video on their official social media handle, featuring their star players. Former skipper Virat Kohli, in the video, talked about the fans' loyalty to the team and their unwavering support, which has been there for 17 years.
"Loyalty, as simple as that and they keep showing examples of unwavering support, commitment and loyalty towards the team that they love so much," Kohli said in the video.
Other players, including skipper Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Mahipal Lomror also hailed the fanbase of the franchise. "It's been a long time, and it's nice to come back and the fans have been so loyal for a long period of time," Maxwell said in the video.
"I haven't seen a more loyal fanbase than this personally," Lomror added. "So much passion, so much energy," Du Plessis said.
RCB has reached the final on three occasions - 2009, 2011 and 2016. However, they are yet to lift the trophy even once, losing by six runs to Deccan Chargers (now Sunrisers Hyderabad) in 2009, losing by 58 runs to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2011 edition and by eight runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2016.
Apart from that, Men in Red and Blue has made it to the playoffs of the tournament five more times in 2010, 2015, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Kohli was roped in by the franchise in 2008, the inaugural season of the IPL, and ever since, has played 245 matches for the team. He is the only player who has played for only one franchise in the tournament history so far. He has amassed 7,642 runs with a record eight hundred, the most by an individual, and 52 half-centuries to his name.
Crafty leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who played for the franchise from 2014-21, is the leading wicket-taker for RCB, with 139 wickets in 113 matches. Currently, Chahal is the only bowler who has claimed 100 wickets for the franchise. Pacer Mohammed Siraj is the current leading wicket-taker for RCB among players still associated with the franchise, with 73 scalps in 80 games.
Before this season, RCB held the record of smashing the highest team total in IPL history which they posted against Pune Warriors India (PWI) in 2013. However, Sunrisers Hyderabad broke it twice by registering totals of 277 and 287, the latter against RCB recently.
Faf du Plessis and Co. also holds the unwanted record for the lowest IPL total, being bundled out for 49 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2017.
Coming to the ongoing season, RCB need to win all of their remaining six matches and wish for the other results to come in their favour to secure a spot in the playoffs. Currently, they are placed at the bottom of the points table with a win and seven losses, giving them only two points. SRH, on the other hand, is in the third spot with five wins and two losses, giving them 10 points.
In the ongoing tournament as well, Kohli is the current Orange Cap holder with 379 runs in eight matches at a strike rate of 150.40 while left-arm pacer Yash Dayal is the highest wicket-taker for the side and stands at 24th spot in the leading wicket-taker list.
