There are more than five teams still in playoffs contention
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 has entered its most interesting phase. Its that period where teams are sweating over player availability, injuries to the in-form ones and their combinations being set.
All the teams have three or less games left in the league stage and mathematically seven teams are in contention for the playoffs spots.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, unlike recent seasons, have had a great league stage where they have dominated many games and stumbled on very few. Except for home hiccups at the beginning, Rajat Patidar’s side had more than one player step up and win matches.
Their openers have been top notch, their spinners have shattered opposition momentums, their pacers contained runs and got wickets at the death.
They seemed and are still primed for an easy playoffs qualification on merit of their superb league phase. Then the suspension of the IPL 2025 due to India-Pakistan tensions and key overseas players leaving and doubts over Patidar’s fitness have left them in a spot of bother before the resumption this Saturday.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra feels that the three-time runners-up are not hard done by the revised schedule which makes them to play back-to-back games at home and the final match in Lucknow.
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The concern has been losing three games at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru while batting first. However, RCB turned the tide against Rajasthan Royals and then beat CSK narrowly while defending big totals.
“RCB were supposed to play their last game at home. That match was against KKR. Now that’s not the case. They will play their home matches first now, and their last match will be against Lucknow in Lucknow. If you see it from that point of view, they are hard done by,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Chopra felt that the situation will help Red and Golds to assess their chances for the final match even if they lose to either Kolkata Knight Riders or Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“If RCB need to reach a particular net run rate to qualify for the top two at that stage, I am just hoping that the qualification would have happened by then and even if it wouldn’t have, they would know the margin with which they would need to win to qualify or finish in the top two,” Chopra explained.
RCB will be playing the first match of resumption against KKR on Saturday.
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