In the modern age of T20 cricket, bowlers are often at the mercy of the batsmen. Batting has become much easier due to the shorter boundaries, bat sizes, and an overall transition to modern cricket.
The IPL is no stranger to extraordinary feats achieved by batsmen. In fact, it all started with a Brendon McCullum blitzkrieg in IPL’s first-ever game on April 18, 2008, where he scored an unbeaten 158 off just 73 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), representing Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Speaking of RCB, some of the best batsmen ever have represented this outfit. Players like Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Kevin Pietersen, Chris Gayle, Ab de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, and Tillakaratne Dilshan have donned the RCB jersey.
Such batting firepower helped them post a score of 263/5 (vs Pune Warriors India in 2013) and 248/3 (vs Gujarat Lions in 2016), which are the top two highest totals in IPL history.
For all their batting prowess, RCB also have three of the 10 lowest totals in IPL history to their name.
What is RCB’s lowest total in IPL history?
RCB took the field against KKR on April 23, 2017 and batted first. However, they were bundled out for the just 49 runs in 9.4 overs, with Chris Woakes and Nathan Coulter-Nile picking up three wickets each.
This was not just RCB’s lowest total ever, but also the lowest total in all of IPL history. It’s a record that still stands today.
List: Lowest RCB totals in IPL
2. Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (2022): In their first encounter of the 2022 season, RCB locked horns against SRH at the Brabourne Stadium. Sunrisers had won the toss and put RCB in to bat first.
The Faf du Plessis-led side had a disastrous outing with the bat as they got dismissed for just 68 runs in 16.1 overs, with left-arm speedsters Marco Jansen and Thangarasu Natarajan picking up three wickets each.
In reply, SRH chased down the target with 12 overs to spare, with southpaw Abhishek Sharma top scoring with 47 runs off 28 balls.
3. Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (2019): These two teams have given us some of the best games in IPL history, with their encounters termed the ‘Southern Derby.’
In the opening fixture of the 2019 edition, CSK welcomed RCB at Chepauk and elected to bowl first after winning the toss.
RCB were bowled out for 70 in 17.1 overs, with the spin troika of Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, and Ravindra Jadeja accounted for eight wickets in total. Parthiv Patel top scored for RCB with 29 runs, while no other batsman crossed the double-digit mark.
CSK were made to toil in what would have otherwise been a cakewalk of a run chase, with the MS Dhoni-led side winning the game by seven wickets and only 14 balls to spare.
4. Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals (2014): The 2014 edition was unique for several reasons, with one of them being that the tournament’s first leg was played in the United Arab Emirates.
On April 26, 2014, RCB squared off against RR in a ‘Battle Royal.’ RCB, once again, lost the toss and were put in to bat first.
The Bangalore outfit lost half its side inside the powerplay, collapsing to 17/5. Kane Richardson and Stuart Binny ran amok against the top order, with Pravin Tambe then wiping off the lower order to register figures of 4/20 in his four overs.
Unsurprisingly, RR chased the total down with relative ease, losing just four wickets and crossing the finish line with seven overs to spare.
5. Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders (2008): April 18, 2008, was the day the first-ever IPL game was played. However, it’s not a day the RCB fans remember fondly.
Playing in front of their home crowd at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, RCB won the toss and decided to field first.
What followed was beyond comprehension. KKR breached the 200-run mark in the very first game, thanks to Brendon McCullum’s breezy knock of 158 not out off just 73 runs. He scored 71.2% of the team runs as KKR finished with 222/3 after 20 overs.
With the momentum against them, RCB had the worst start possible. They were reduced to 24-4 after 5.2 overs, losing their entire top order, and had already lost seven wickets before reaching the halfway stage.
They were bowled out for just 82 runs in 15.1 overs, with Ajit Agarkar picking three wickets and Ashok Dinda and skipper Sourav Ganguly claiming two wickets each.