Royal Challengers Bangalore have been eliminated from the ongoing 16th season of the Indian Premier League after losing the last league match of the season to defending champions Gujarat Titans at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium tonight.
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A heartbreak of the highest order for Royal Challengers and their fans, it came on the back of Titans sealing their highest successful run-chase in the history of the IPL.
With chasing a 198-run target being no mean task from the word go, the visiting team was able to register a triumph primarily due to batter Shubman Gill‘s second IPL century. Much like former RCB captain Virat Kohli in the first innings, Gill became the fourth batter to score consecutive hundreds in the IPL.
Is RCB Out of IPL 2023?
Yes. Bangalore, who desperately needed to beat GT tonight, will no longer participate in another match this season. With seven wins and losses each throughout the season, captain Faf du Plessis (28) and his men have ended IPL 2023 as the sixth-ranked team on the points table.
If truth be told, the hosts could have qualified for the playoffs had Mumbai Indians not defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. With Indians sealing their third successful 200+ run-chase this season, it had become imperative for Royal Challengers to win the last league match of IPL 2023.
The development means that MI have qualified as the fourth team for IPL 2023 playoffs.
du Plessis labeled the loss as “disappointing” considering how close they were so close to qualifying for the next round. The 38-year old player also rued the absence of an archetype finisher for them this season.
“Obviously, very disappointing,” du Plessis told host broadcaster Star Sports Network after the match. “We got a really strong team tonight. Excellent innings by Shuman Gill. There was a lot of grip in the second innings. I thought 195-200 was a good score. We needed that wicket of Shubman.”