RCB Set a New Record Before IPL 2025 Playoffs

It has been a bright IPL 2025 season so far for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The Rajat Patidar side have already secured a place in the IPL Playoffs and with only one game left, they are still in the running to end up in the Top 2. With their game against Lucknow Super Giants approaching soon, RCB appear to finish on a high at the group stage. But prior to the match, the franchise pulled off a gargantuan feat off the field too.

RCB Set a New Record

RCB became the first IPL team in history to acquire 20 million social media followers on social media platform Instagram. The franchise previously surpassed Chennai Super Kings to become the platform’s most popular team and the following achievement only proved the colossal fan following of the side.

Defeats in back-to-back games by Gujarat Titans have presented a golden chance to third-placed RCB to end its drought of a top-two finish, which has occurred last in 2016. Top two teams compete in the Qualifier 1 from which the winner qualifies for the final and the defeated side proceeds to Qualifier 2 to face the winner of the eliminator, which is competed between the third-placed and fourth-placed teams.

The leeway for RCB, with 17 points, is quite narrow. A victory is paramount since either Mumbai Indians (16 points) or Punjab Kings (17 points) will overtake GT (18 points) after their match.

RCB were in scorching form prior to the 10-day break in the league following India-Pakistan military tensions, winning four games on the run. But the hiatus looks to have derailed them.

Post-restart, Bengaluru suffered a rain-affected washout of a game before going down by 42 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Their previous win was on May 3, and rustiness was palpable against SRH.

“We were rusty. The intensity wasn’t there in the beginning. In the death (overs), we were bowling more correctly,” stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma conceded after that defeat.

The comeback of Australian bowler Josh Hazlewood has boosted morale in the RCB dressing room. Hazlewood has been RCB’s best performer this season, picking up 18 wickets in 10 games, and is now fourth among the top wicket-takers in the tournament.

RCB will also have conditions in mind, having last played at the Ekana Stadium.