JOIN USTough but RCB can still make it
Normally, the first necessity in a situation such as this revolves around the team on the brink of elimination having to win its last match to stay in contention. In this instance, that could so easily be of little consequence to the Challengers’ future.
As things stand now in League B of the League Phase, Victoria Bushrangers are well in front with four points, and all but assured of a semifinal spot with one match to play. The Cape Cobras have two points and the Delhi Daredevils zero, both with two games left, and the Royal Challengers are on nought going into their last tie against the Daredevils on Saturday night.
The only scenario that will take the Challengers through to the semifinals is if the Bushrangers remain unbeaten in the league, which will take them to six points. Further, the Challengers must outclass the Daredevils, who must then put it past the Cobras to set up a three-way tie on two points each, which will then bring the nett run rate into play.
Their crushing seven-wicket loss with 25 deliveries to spare on Thursday to the Bushrangers has made the Challengers’ task that much more difficult even if the above scenario unfolds. Anil Kumble’s men must win by a huge margin against the Daredevils, and then keep their fingers crossed hoping for a narrow Daredevils win against the Cobras in New Delhi on Monday so that they themselves have the upper hand when it comes to the nett run rate.
The Challengers, however, will have to put prayers and calculators aside if the Cobras outwit the Bushrangers at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Saturday afternoon, because it will mean the South Africans will join the Aussies on four points, emphatically slamming the door on the home side even before their match against the Daredevils. Not a pleasant prospect that.