Sale of RCB? Franchise's plight leaves fans dejected: Notable developments
Despite scoring 262/7, Royal Challengers Bengaluru fell short to defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2024 Indian Premier League. The visitors tormented the RCB bowlers by recording the highest-ever IPL team total 287/3. RCB eventually faced their season's sixth defeat. Their torrid run has left fans across the globe dejected, so much so that Indian tennis great Mahesh Bhupathi proposed the idea of RCB's sale.
BCCI needs to enforce RCB's sale: Bhupati
Indian tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi shared a heartfelt note on X (formerly Twitter) after RCB's historic defeat in Bengaluru on April 15. He believes the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) "needs to enforce the sale of RCB to a new owner." Bhupati's statement adds to the growing rage of fans and experts toward RCB team management.
Here is the full statement
Record-breaking RCB-SRH encounter in Bengaluru
As mentioned, SRH's 287/3 is now the highest-ever IPL team total. They broke their record set days ago (277/3 against Mumbai Indians). Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen starred for SRH, with the former scoring the fourth-fastest IPL ton. Later, RCB responded with 262/7, now the highest second-inning team total in T20 cricket. The match recorded an aggregate of 549 runs and 38 sixes.
RCB bowlers under the cosh
RCB's frontline bowlers Reece Topley, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Lockie Ferguson, and Yash Dayal conceded over 50 runs each in the match. As per Cricket Statistician Bharath Seervi, it was the first instance of four bowlers having conceded 50+ runs for a team in a T20 match. Over the years, the Bengaluru-based franchise has struggled due to weak bowling line-ups.
Glenn Maxwell takes break from IPL
Hours after the match, it was reported that RCB batter Glenn Maxwell has decided to take a break from the IPL. Maxwell, who has been in a downward spiral in terms of batting, willingly sat out of the SRH match. He requested RCB management to pick another player in the XI. Maxwell has scored only 32 runs at 5.33 in IPL 2024.
RCB's run; the road ahead
RCB are languishing in the bottom of the IPL 2024 standings, with a solitary win in seven games. They also have the worst Net Run Rate among all 10 teams (-1.185). Needless to say, RCB need to win their remaining encounters by big margins for an outside chance of qualification. Notably, RCB are one of only three franchises without an IPL trophy (since 2008).
