How can RCB finish in the IPL 2025 top two after their 42-run loss against SRH?

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) chances of finishing in the top two positions in the table took a blow as they suffered a heavy defeat against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday (May 23). Due to inclement weather in Bengaluru, RCB had to play their last home game in Lucknow.

A fine knock from Ishan Kishan (94* off 48) saw RCB's bowling attack being taken apart, as SRH scored 231/6. Bengaluru were off to a good start, with Phil Salt (62 off 32) and Virat Kohli (43 off 25) helping them to 120/1 in the 11th over. After that, wickets at regular intervals saw RCB's chase get derailed. They were all out for 189, losing by 42 runs.

This loss meant that the Royal Challengers dropped down to third place in the table, with 17 points from 13 games, with a net run rate of 0.255. However, to finish in the top two spots, RCB would hope that the Gujarat Titans and the Punjab Kings lose their remaining contests and Bengaluru defeat the Lucknow Super Giants on May 27, which will see them finish in first place.

Another scenario could be that GT win their last game against the Chennai Super Kings, but Punjab Kings lose their remaining two games. Bengaluru would then need to somehow win their last game against the Lucknow Super Giants, which will see them finish second.

"I think it was 20-30 runs extra" - Jitesh Sharma expresses his views on RCB's loss against SRH

As a stand-in skipper, Jitesh Sharma led his first game for Bengaluru and second in the league, as he ended on the losing side. Reflecting on the loss, he said (via ESPNcricinfo):

"I think it was 20-30 runs extra. They played very well. I didn't have any answers for their attack. We were rusty. The intensity was not there initially... In the death, we were bowling more accurately. Right now, I haven't met David because I was upset that I got out. Sometimes losing a game is a very good sign because you can check and analyse. The positive things are that everyone's chipping in. After this loss, we've got a setback to check [things] again. We'll move forward."

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru have only one game remaining — against the Lucknow Super Giants. That will be the last league game of the season on May 27 at the BRSABV Ekana Stadium, Lucknow.

About the author

Lavil is a cricket journalist at Sportskeeda with an experience of over 4 years. He A Bachelor’s of Engineering degree holder in Electronics and Computer Science, he is a firm believer of verifying information from multiple websites, and always checks his sources' authenticity in order to provide his readers the most accurate information.

An ardent Team India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru fan, Lavil had his first tryst with cricket during his childhood and has grown up admiring how the sport brings people together over the years. He is a huge admirer of Mahendra Singh Dhoni due to the player's calm and collected nature. He would like to go back in time and revisit the 2011 ICC World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka if ever got his hands on a time machine.

Lavil, who used to play cricket at school level, has interviewed sporting personalities like Robin Uthappa, Leander Paes, Ankita Raina, Prashant Surve, and Des Buckingham so far in his career. He does not feel ODIs should be completely replaced with T20Is as he reckons every format has its own beauty.

In his free time, he watches Manchester United attempt to get back to their former glory days or plays FC 25.

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Edited by Parag Jain