Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) began their WPL 2025 title defense impressively, chasing down a record 202 runs against Gujarat Giants and securing an easy eight-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals (DC). Despite this strong start, losing all four of their home matches in Bengaluru has significantly jeopardized their chances of reaching the playoffs.
Having accumulated only four points from six matches, RCB can attain a maximum of eight points by winning their final two games against UP Warriorz and Mumbai Indians (MI). Both Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians currently possess eight points, while Delhi Capitals (DC) are ahead with ten points, placing them beyond RCB’s reach in terms of points. Nevertheless, RCB’s playoff qualification is still within their control. Delhi Capitals have already secured their place in the playoffs, while UP Warriorz are out of the running.
RCB’s Must-Win Situation
RCB’s prospects for the WPL 2025 playoffs will vanish if they lose to UP Warriorz this Saturday. However, a victory on Saturday would require them to closely observe the Mumbai Indians versus Gujarat Giants match to determine the net run rate they must exceed for playoff qualification. Gujarat Giants currently hold a better net run rate than Mumbai Indians. A positive for RCB is that their last match is scheduled against Mumbai Indians.
RCB’s net run rate is approximately 60 runs behind that of Mumbai Indians. However, they might only need to defeat Mumbai Indians by about 20 runs if they secure a ten-run victory against UP Warriorz and Mumbai Indians suffer a similar ten-run defeat against Gujarat Giants. Surpassing Gujarat Giants in net run rate will pose a greater challenge for RCB. They would require a combined victory margin of roughly 62 runs in their matches against UP Warriorz and Mumbai Indians, assuming Gujarat Giants lose to Mumbai Indians by only ten runs.
Delhi Capitals: Final Qualification?
Delhi Capitals concluded their league stage as the top-ranked team with five victories. However, their direct qualification to the final for the third consecutive season remains uncertain, as both Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants still have the potential to overtake them. Mumbai Indians can secure the top position by winning both of their remaining matches, while Gujarat Giants can surpass Delhi Capitals by achieving a substantial victory margin against Mumbai Indians.
To exceed Delhi Capitals’ net run rate, Gujarat Giants must defeat Mumbai Indians by a minimum of 17 runs or achieve victory with 12 balls remaining (assuming a first innings total of 180). Mumbai Indians are roughly 30 runs behind Delhi Capitals in terms of net run rate. Consequently, if Mumbai Indians lose one of their two matches by ten runs, they would need to win their other match by approximately 40 runs to potentially overtake Delhi Capitals, depending on other factors.
