Tsunami of memes hits X after RCB gets ousted from IPL

After their defeat “Haarcb” and “Dear RCB” found a spot among the top trends on microblogging site X as netizens shared their reactions on another season where Virat Kohli and his men failed to win the coveted title. RCB’s wait for their maiden IPL trophy will now extend to the 18th season after failing to do so in 17 editions.

Ahead of their game against Rajasthan Royals, experts like Sunil Gavaskar had predicted that RCB would steamroll the Sanju Samson-led side. However, RCB disappointed not only Sunil Gavaskar but their vast legion of fans as RR won the match by 4 wickets with an over to spare.

RCB made the playoffs after making a remarkable turnaround in the event. After having lost 7 of their 8 matches at the start of the 17th edition of the IPL, the Karnataka-based franchise won six games on the trot, knocking out defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the process.

With momentum on their side, Virat Kohli and his men were expected to put up a huge total on the board at the Narendra Modi Stadium. But their over-dependence on Virat Kohli, who finished the tournament as the leading scorer with 751 runs in 15 contests, came to haunt them against RR. While Virat Kohli did contribute 33 off 24 balls, his inability to bat long in the eliminator meant that RCB failed to reach a competitive total on the score sheet.

Notably, no RCB batter touched the milestone of a half-century in the match, resulting in a below-par total of 172/8 in their allocated 20 overs.

In reply, RR got off to a flier as Yashasvi Jaiswal went ballistic in the powerplay. After Cameron Green dismissed him for 45 off 30 deliveries, the onus to take RR over the finish line was Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer, who scored 36 off 26 and 26 off 14 balls, respectively, to secure a comfortable win for the Jaipur-based franchise.

RCB’s defeat ignited an intense debate on social media, with the team captained by South African Faf du Plessis being heavily criticized for their sub-standard performance against RR. Much of the fan anger against RCB was directed at their celebrations in their previous game vs CSK where their players erupted in joy after ending MS Dhoni’s team’s sojourn in the event.

Following RCB’s elimination from the competition, the legendary Kris Srikkanth gave a piece of brutal advice to the franchise.

He pointed out that RCB went overboard with their celebrations after their victory over CSK helped them to qualify for the playoffs. Instead of displaying their antics, they should have stayed quiet.

“In life when you are doing well keep your mouth shut and keep going, when you make noise out of something you are doing you cannot do that work,” Kris Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.

“They were posting unnecessary videos and showing off too much (after the win against CSK). That’s why came and destroyed them, that’s why in cricket you need to shut your mouth and play,” he added.

“If you played well, congrats, if you played poorly then take the criticism but you should never open your mouth and show aggression. They are going on congratulating themselves for qualifying for the playoffs and for the great comeback, CSK and MI have done this so many more times. CSK and Mumbai have both come from nowhere and won titles. These guys won six matches and as soon as they qualified they got knocked out,” the former batting stalwart elaborated.

Meanwhile, former England captain Kevin Pietersen pleaded with Virat Kohli to leave RCB and shift to Delhi Capitals because the talismanic cricketer learned the traits of the game in the Indian capital.

“I have said it before and I will say it again — the greats of the game in other sports, have left teams to go and seek glory somewhere else. When he has tried and tried so hard — won the Orange Cap yet again and done so much yet again and the franchise fails again. I understand for the brand of the team and the commercial value he brings to the team… But Virat Kohli deserves a trophy. He deserves to play in a team that could help him to get that trophy,” Kevin Pietersen told Star Sports.

“I actually think it should be Delhi. Delhi is the place where Virat needs to go. Virat can go away, and stay at home most of the time, I know he has a home in Delhi. He has a young family. He can spend more time there. He is a Delhi boy. Why can’t he go back? Delhi are as desperate as Bengaluru,” he noted.

“I think it’s about time Virat thought long and hard. Beckham left, Ronaldo left, Messi left, Harry Kane just left Spurs and went to Bayern Munich,” he summed up.