The defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru started their WPL 2025 campaign with impressive performance with two convincing wins against the Gujarat Giants and two-time runners-up Delhi Capitals. The team started faltering as soon as the caravan moved from Vadodara to the home ground in Bengaluru.
The Bengaluru outfit went on to lose four consecutive games at their own ground, currently lodged in the fourth position on the points table, with only two matches left to play and a must-win scenario for them, with a bit of calculations thrown in too.
They have only four points after six games and can go up to a maximum of eight points should they manage to win their last two matches against UP Warriorz and Mumbai Indians.
Gujarat and Mumbai already occupy eight points, with ten points out of Bengaluru’s reach for Delhi. The Royal Challengers from Bangalore are themselves behind on the points table but, by any stroke of good luck, still have their fate in their hands.
The playoff chances for Bengaluru in WPL 2025 would be history the moment they lose to the Warriorz, that is, on Saturday, March 8.
If Bengaluru emerged victorious, they would then watch the match between Mumbai and Gujarat to find out over whom they need to overtake the net run rate to qualify for the playoffs.
Gujarat (0.33) have a superior NRR compared to Mumbai (0.26), and an added advantage for Bengaluru is the fact that their last game is against Mumbai.
Bengaluru are 60 runs behind Mumbai’s NRR but would need to win it by 20 runs if, say, they win against the Warriorz by 10 runs and Mumbai lose to Gujarat by a similar margin.
A tougher assignment lies ahead for Bengaluru to sail past Gujarat; the cumulative margin of their wins over the Warriorz and Mumbai should be an approximate of 62 runs if the latter loses to Mumbai by 10 runs.
And with the threat of elimination looming over them, the Warriorz would relish an explosive performance from their middle order, hoping to derail all Bengaluru’s plans.
Apart from some flashes of individual brilliance, the Warriorz have hardly looked threatening.
With four points out of seven matches, they lie rock bottom and seem to be out of contention on paper.
Bengaluru on the other hand, even defending champions, has had a nightmarish ride in WPL 2025, with just four points from six matches and on the back of four straight defeats.
