Royal Challengers Bangalore Cricket Team Guide
Being amongst one of the first 8 founding members of the Indian Premier League, the Royal Challengers Bangalore are one of the biggest franchise teams in Indian cricket. This team is based in Bengaluru, Karnataka towards the south of the country.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Cricket Team Background
Like we mentioned, the Royal Challengers Bangalore were one of the original IPL teams back in 2008. The team actually gained its name due to the liquor brand that sponsored the shirt in the first year. The team actually received the second highest bid by their owners, second to just the Mumbai Indians. This is not the only record the Royal Challengers hold though, as they simultaneously held both the highest and lowest IPL totals, with these standing at 263 and 49!
Where Do The Royal Challengers Bangalore Play?
The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium acts as the home ground for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, with this being first established back in 1969. This historical ground has a capacity of 40,000 and has been host to many international matches for the Indian national cricket team over the decades.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Players
Before the 2008 player auction began, Indian cricket star Rahul David was announced as the icon player for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, arguably their most known player to ever pick up a bat for the side is phenomenon Virat Kohli, with him holding the record for the most runs for the team with over 7000.
Some other stand out Royal Challengers Bangalore players from overseas though include South Africa cricket team wicket keeper AB de Villiers, West Indies cricket team white ball specialist Chris Gayle, Australian Glenn Maxwell and Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan.
Memorable Games For The Royal Challengers Bangalore Cricket Team
April 23 2013 saw Royal Challengers Bangalore play out one of their most memorable games, with this being their record high scoring match. In this, they faced off against the Pune Warriors, with the Bengaluru home side taking to the crease first. Here, iconic batter Chris Gayle manages to tackle 175 runs not out from just 66 balls, with him dominating the match as a whole. Due to the dominant batting performance, Royal Challengers only had to take 4 wickets to win by 130 runs.
Another memorable game for Royal Challengers Bangalore took place in the second outing of the IPL back in 2009. Throughout the season, the league standings looked ropey initially, before picking up 6 wins from 8 of their final games. The team qualified for the semi finals where they beat the Chennai Super Kings with 5 wickets in hand before playing the Deccan Chargers in the final. However, the team lost in close fashion by just 6 runs in a nail biting final over. Despite this, it asserted Royal Challengers Bangalore as a competitive force in the IPL.
Rivals Of The Royal Challengers Bangalore Cricket Team
The rivalry between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians is one of the biggest rivalries in the IPL. Although the latter side has somewhat dominated in the matchups between the two, their matches still entice a wide number of spectators and of course the teams’ loyal fans.
