"Guaranteed that RCB is not going to qualify with just 14 points" - Aakash Chopra believes Bengaluru need big win over GT in IPL 2022
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has stated that the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) simply have to beat the Gujarat Titans (GT) comprehensively in their IPL 2022 encounter tonight if they want to stay alive in the race to the IPL playoffs.
The Royal Challengers have won seven out of their 13 games so far and are level on points with the Delhi Capitals (DC). However, DC have a much better run rate and might fancy themselves to win their last game against the Mumbai Indians.
Thus, the 44-year-old believes RCB will have to go for the kill against GT. Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Aakash Chopra had to say about Bengaluru's playoffs chances:
"If RCB win today, they will reach 16 points and will give themselves a chance to qualify. But even then their qualification won't be guaranteed as DC can also reach 16 with a win in their last game against Mumbai. So they will need to focus on their net run rate but first think of reaching 16. It is guaranteed that they aren't going to qualify with just 14 points."
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Aakash Chopra on RCB's inconsistent batting in IPL 2022
Aakash Chopra feels stars like Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Virat Kohli haven't made enough impact for their IPL team so far this season.
The 44-year-old reckons perhaps that's why Bengaluru find themselves in such a precarious situation and will need one of their big guys to step up. He opined:
"RCB played some great cricket in the initial part of the tournament and they seemed to have great balance. But there comes a time in every tournament when your big players need to step up. So when the likes of Kohli, Faf, Maxwell don't score runs, the chances of your team winning gets damaged."
One thing that might go Bengaluru's way is that Gujarat might look to rest some of their key players ahead of the playoffs. However, it is still up to the players to take advantage if such a situation arises.