IPL 2019: 3 lowest totals by Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL history

A menacing batting line-up, a world-class support staff and a loyal fan base; Royal Challengers Bangalore comes as one of the most celebrated IPL clubs. Housing some of the biggest superstars of the game, each year, the franchise enters the fray as one of the hot favourites.

However, much to the disappointment of many, the team from down south languishes as one of the few teams to have not got its hands on the elusive silverware.

Over the past decade, the Challengers have had many reasons to blame for their lackluste performances. By not being able to fire consistently as a cohesive unit and seal crunch moments in knockout games, the men in red have been at the receiving end once too often.

And testifying these very failings are a few memories that continue to haunt the fans as major embarrassments.

Traditionally known for its batting strengths, RCB, ironically, holds a few batting humiliations. Here, we look at three of the lowest scores scored by the team from Bangalore in the history of IPL:

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#3 82 all out in 2008

Rahul Dravid led RCB's campaign in 2008

The Indian Premier League got off to the worst start possible for Royal Challengers Bangalore when they locked horns with Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural match of the tournament in 2008.

After being brutally assaulted by Brendon McCullum's fierce 158*, the home team stared down the barrel with a daunting task of chasing 223 runs for victory. Eventually, the Chinnaswamy stadium witnessed a meek surrender by its favourite team as the RCB batsmen queued to pavilion in quick succession.

The likes of Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Virat Kohli were dismissed cheaply as the team was bundled out for a paltry total of 82. The top score, surprisingly, came from the bat of Praveen Kumar, who stood not out with 18 runs. The team lost by a heavy margin of 140 runs and hence scripted a bitter memory for the fans.

Brief Scores:

KKR 222/3 (Brendon McCullum 158*, Ashley Noffke 1/40)

RCB 82/10 (Praveen Kumar 18*, Ajit Agarkar 3/25)

#2 70 all out in 2014

Rajasthan Royals skittled out the Royal Challengers cheaply in 2014

Contrary to the expectations, it was not such a "Royal" affair when Royal Challengers Bangalore locked horns with Rajasthan Royals at Abu Dhabi in 2014.

Boasting the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Yuvraj Singh in its star-studded line-up, RCB was, as always, expected to score big when it came out to bat first. However, things soon started to turn sour as the men in red lost a cluster of wickets within the powerplay.

The Kohli-led unit was never given a chance to rebuild its innings as the Royals' bowlers kept chipping away with timely wickets. Leg-spinner Pravin Tambe, with four wickets to his credit, emerged as the chief destroyer as RCB was bundled out for a sorry score of 70 runs in 15 overs.

Coming into the chase, Rajasthan achieved the target quite comfortably to hand-over a humiliating defeat to the team from Bangalore.

Brief Scores:

RCB: 70/10 (Virat Kohli 21, Pravin Tambe 4/20)

RR: 71/4 (Shane Watson 24, Mitchell Starc 2/29)

#1 49 all out in 2017

The biggest scar on RCB's IPL campaign, thus far, came when the team accounted for an unwanted record in the tournament.

A jam-packed Eden Gardens was the venue for it all when the popular franchise locked horns with the home favourite, Kolkata Knight Riders.

The match started off on a promising note for the visitors when KKR was bowled out for 131 runs under 20 overs. With Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, and Kedar Jadhav in its ranks, RCB was expected to canter home to victory and gain the much-needed momentum to its stride in the competition.

However, what followed was nothing less than a nightmare for the staunch supporters of the team. RCB seemed to have no clue of the KKR bowlers as the batsmen formed a procession to the pavilion. After losing Virat Kohli in the very first over, the team was dealt with irretrievable blows as all its stars were sent packing cheaply.

KKR's pace battery wreaked havoc as the visitors were bowled out for 49 runs just inside 10 overs to register the lowest total in the tournament's history.

Brief Scores:

KKR: 131/10 (Sunil Narine 34, Yuzvendra Chahal 3/16)

RCB: 49/10 (Kedar Jadhav 9, Colin de Grandhomme 3/4)