5 similarities between IPL's Royal Challengers Bangalore and ISL's Kerala Blasters

RCB and KBFC
How are the two teams related?

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kerala Blasters Football Club (KBFC) are two teams, playing different sports in different leagues, yet they are more similar than they appear.

RCB and KBFC are two of the most decorated teams competing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Indian Super League (ISL), India's premier cricket and football competitions, respectively. The two teams mentioned have been responsible for a lot of the "buzz" and popularity that the competitions have garnered.

These clubs have set numerous records, some records work in the teams' favor, and some others, not so much. Start the slideshow to find out some of these records.


Similarity #1: Chokers: Blitzkrieg performance throughout the season, except when it actually matters the most - the knockout stages

Disappointed RCB and KBFC fans
Players after losing in critical games

RCB and KBFC are perhaps the two most coveted teams in their respective leagues. But the irony is, they haven't won a single cup so far. The Royal Challengers have competed in 10 seasons of the IPL so far, and KBFC in 4 (having recently exited from the 4th season of the ISL). 10 competitions for RCB and 4 for KBFC, and the two still remain "cup less".

Of RCB's 10 seasons, they have qualified for the playoffs 5 times, making it to the finals 3 times, and losing all 3 of course. As for KBFC, discounting a close exit (from the semifinals) in the 4th season, KBFC have qualified for the finals 2 times and lost both times to the same opponent, Atlético de Kolkata.

Similarity #2: Star-studded line-ups: Both clubs have some of the biggest names in the sport

AB De Villiers and Dimitar Berbatov
The two teams have had players who are nothing short of international sensations

Granted most IPL teams have some of the biggest names in cricket, RCB has had, quite literally, all of the biggest names in cricket - both from the subcontinent and outside of it. From the likes of Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, Anil Kumble, Yuvraj Singh to Muttiah Muralitharan, Daniel Vettori, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn, Ross Taylor, Kevin Pietersen, Mitchell Starc, to mention a few (not including the new players bought by RCB for the upcoming season).

Very similar to the above list of cricketers, KBFC have bought some of the greatest footballers of all-time as well. Players who have played for clubs competing in the European leagues. Bulgarian international, Dimitar Berbatov and England international Wes Brown- two players who played for the English club, Manchester United, under one of the greatest football managers of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Similarity #3: Brand Ambassadors: Nothing less than national and international icons in their respective industries

RCB and KBFC ambassadors
All clubs have celebrities representing them, but these are surely the biggest

All clubs have celebrities representing them, but RCB and KBFC has/has had, some of the biggest names. RCB has brand ambassadors primarily from the movie industry - both Bollywood and Sandalwood. Bollywood headliners like Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone to Sandalwood superstars like Puneeth Rajkumar and Upendra.

Another interesting celebrity who is an ambassador for RCB, is Siddharth Mallya, son of the chairman of the UB group, Vijay Mallya. Representing KBFC, not so much as an ambassador, but as an owner and primary stakeholder, is the one and only, "master blaster" Sachin Tendulkar and Tollywood superstars, Chiranjeevi and Akkineni Nagarjuna.

Similarity #4: Passionate and loyal fan base

RCB and KBFC fans waving their flags
Fans cheer their team on at the Chinnaswamy and Jawaharlal Nehru stadium

The most important similarity that relates the two teams - the fan base. RCB and KBFC have very loyal fan bases. Fans, even after the repeated losses suffered by their teams in the competition, still continue to support them with all their heart. An interesting fact about KBFC - KBFC fans set a unique record among all ISL clubs by becoming the first franchise to reach one million Twitter followers.

The M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru, home to the Royal Challengers, is one of the major cricket stadiums, not just in India, but in the world.

The Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, in Kochi, home to the KBFC and their gigantic fanbase, proudly known as the "Manjapadda" or the yellow army, is one of the biggest stadiums in India. KBFC also happens to be the only team in the ISL whose fans travel away and fill up stadiums more than the home fans do. As for RCB - they are the red army or the sea of red.

You can see fans flock the stadiums when their teams play, and the stadium turns into a stronghold, especially when it's a home game for their team. RCB fans are loyal, even after their team continuously losing the cup. We hear them chant this - "Ee sala cup namde" (which in Kannada, loosely translates to "this time, the cup is ours").

Similarity #5: Most number of Man of the Match awards

Chris Gayle and Iain Hume
Chris Gayle holds the record for RCB and Ian Hume for KBFC

The Man of the Match (MoM), is an award, given in both competitions at the end of the game to recognize and credit the player with a little more than just verbal appreciation.

The record for the most number of MoM awards is held by RCB's Chris Gayle. He currently holds 18 MoM awards. Chris Gayle is one of the most destructive batsman that T20 cricket will ever see smashing bowlers all around the park and rightfully earned all the 18 awards he has won for each of his innings. The most memorable one being the one where he smashed the Pune Warriors India (PWI) bowlers in all directions to score 175* in 66 balls.

Similar to this, the most number of "end of the season" awards are currently held by KBFC's Ian Hume. Hume is a Canadian International, who holds 2 awards, ISL Hero of the League, which he won in 2014 and ISL Fittest Player, which he won in 2015.

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