In 2016, Royal Challengers Bangalore scored at 9.63 runs per over while the rest of the IPL managed 8.27. That gap of 1.36 runs an over is the biggest batting margin any RCB side has ever had over the league, and it came in the season Virat Kohli made 973 runs. RCB still lost the final, by eight runs, at their own ground. Nine years later, in 2025, the franchise won its first title with a batting rate only 0.11 runs an over above the league. What had changed was the other half of the game.
This franchise deep-dive follows that other half. Across eighteen Cricsheet-recorded seasons from 2008 to 2025, RCB conceded runs faster than the league average in fourteen. The four exceptions were 2010, 2014, 2020 and 2025, and 2025 was the best of them by a distance. The story of Royal Challengers Bengaluru is usually told through its batters: Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers. Its eighteen-year wait is easier to explain through the bowlers it could never quite assemble, until it did.
The Long Search for an Attack
2008–2010: Kumble, Steyn and a respectable start
The early RCB attacks were better than the franchise's reputation. In 2009, the season played in South Africa, RCB conceded 7.52 runs an over against a league rate of 7.44, almost exactly par, and reached the final. Anil Kumble was the core of it. In three seasons from 2008 to 2010 he took 45 wickets for RCB at an economy of 6.77, still the best economy of any bowler with 30 or more wickets for the franchise. At the Wanderers on 24 May 2009 he was named player of the match in the final, taking four wickets as Deccan Chargers made 143/6. RCB replied with 137/9 and lost by six runs.
Dale Steyn (32 wickets across 2008–2010 and a 2019–2020 return, economy 7.56) and Praveen Kumar (34 wickets, 2008–2010) supported him. In 2010 RCB bowled 0.13 runs an over below the league rate, the first of only four seasons in which they did so.
2011–2013: Gayle arrives, the bowling slips
Chris Gayle joined midway through 2011 and changed the batting economics overnight. RCB scored 0.71 runs an over faster than the league in 2011 and 0.90 faster in 2013, the season of Gayle's 175* against Pune Warriors and the 263/5 team total. The bowling went the other way. RCB conceded 0.38 runs an over more than the league in 2011, 0.57 more in 2012 and 0.45 more in 2013.
Zaheer Khan (49 wickets, death-over economy 8.85) and R Vinay Kumar (72 wickets across five seasons between 2008 and 2013) carried the pace load, but the attack was rarely more than two bowlers deep. In the 2011 final at Chepauk, Chennai Super Kings made 205/5 batting first and RCB lost by 58 runs, the heaviest of their four final defeats.
2014–2019: Chahal, de Villiers and the leaking death overs
The most important bowling signing RCB made in this period was a wrist-spinner bought cheaply before 2014. Yuzvendra Chahal played eight seasons for the franchise from 2014 to 2021 and took 139 wickets at an economy of 7.74, still RCB's all-time record. Mitchell Starc gave them two outstanding seasons (34 wickets at 7.50 in 2014–2015), and in 2014 RCB again bowled below the league rate.
The trouble was the end of the innings. RCB's death-over economy (overs 16 to 20) went past 10.5 in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019, peaking at 11.87 in 2018. In 2016 the batting was the best the league had ever seen from one side: Kohli's 973 runs, four Kohli centuries, de Villiers at his peak. The bowling conceded 0.56 runs an over more than average. In the final at the Chinnaswamy on 29 May 2016, Sunrisers Hyderabad made 208/7 and RCB fell eight runs short at 200/7. Ben Cutting, whose late hitting pushed SRH past 200, was player of the match.
By 2019, RCB conceded 8.95 an over against a league rate of 8.37, a gap of 0.58 and the worst relative bowling season in franchise history. They won five matches.
2020–2024: Harshal, Siraj and a team still searching
The 2020 season in the UAE was RCB's third below-par bowling year (−0.28 against the league) and returned them to the playoffs. In 2021 Harshal Patel took the Purple Cap with 32 wickets, and RCB's death economy fell to 8.61, the best in the franchise's history, with 39 wickets in the final five overs. Mohammed Siraj grew across seven seasons into an 83-wicket new-ball bowler.
None of it lasted. Chahal was not retained for 2022. RCB's relative economy drifted back above par in 2022 (+0.13), 2023 (+0.36) and 2024 (+0.38). In 2024 they scored 10.15 an over, 0.64 above a league that was itself scoring faster than ever, and conceded 9.89.
The Data Deep-Dive: Eighteen Seasons Against the League
Raw economy rates mislead in the IPL because scoring has risen sharply: the league ran at 7.44 an over in 2009 and 9.58 in 2025. The fairer measure is how RCB's bowling compared with the league in the same season. A negative number means RCB conceded fewer runs per over than average.
| Season | RCB won | RCB conceded (RPO) | League (RPO) | Margin | RCB death eco | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 4 of 14 | 8.43 | 8.27 | +0.16 | 9.57 | League stage |
| 2009 | 9 of 16 | 7.52 | 7.44 | +0.08 | 9.78 | Runners-up |
| 2010 | 8 of 16 | 7.95 | 8.08 | −0.13 | 9.49 | Playoffs |
| 2011 | 10 of 16 | 8.07 | 7.69 | +0.38 | 9.32 | Runners-up |
| 2012 | 8 of 15 | 8.36 | 7.79 | +0.57 | 10.56 | League stage |
| 2013 | 8 of 16 | 8.09 | 7.64 | +0.45 | 9.92 | League stage |
| 2014 | 5 of 14 | 8.07 | 8.15 | −0.08 | 10.50 | League stage |
| 2015 | 8 of 16 | 8.43 | 8.33 | +0.10 | 9.56 | Playoffs |
| 2016 | 9 of 16 | 8.83 | 8.27 | +0.56 | 10.93 | Runners-up |
| 2017 | 3 of 13 | 8.41 | 8.36 | +0.05 | 9.52 | League stage |
| 2018 | 6 of 14 | 8.82 | 8.60 | +0.22 | 11.87 | League stage |
| 2019 | 5 of 14 | 8.95 | 8.37 | +0.58 | 11.23 | League stage |
| 2020 | 6 of 15 | 7.97 | 8.25 | −0.28 | 10.08 | Playoffs |
| 2021 | 9 of 15 | 8.03 | 8.01 | +0.02 | 8.61 | Playoffs |
| 2022 | 9 of 16 | 8.63 | 8.50 | +0.13 | 10.65 | Playoffs |
| 2023 | 7 of 14 | 9.32 | 8.96 | +0.36 | 11.06 | League stage |
| 2024 | 7 of 15 | 9.89 | 9.51 | +0.38 | 10.90 | Playoffs |
| 2025 | 11 of 15 | 9.24 | 9.58 | −0.34 | 10.75 | Champions |
Wins include playoff matches. Runs per over cover the first two innings of each match (super overs excluded); death overs are overs 16–20. Source: Cricsheet ball-by-ball data, 2008–2025.
The pattern is hard to miss. RCB's three lost finals came in seasons with a positive margin: +0.08, +0.38 and +0.56. The title came in the only season after 2020 in which the margin was negative, and it was the most negative of all eighteen.
RCB's all-time wicket-takers
| Bowler | RCB seasons | Wickets | Economy | Death-over eco |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 2014–2021 | 139 | 7.74 | 9.34 |
| Harshal Patel | 2012, 2014–2017, 2021–2023 | 99 | 8.67 | 10.19 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 2018–2024 | 83 | 8.84 | 10.29 |
| R Vinay Kumar | 2008–2010, 2012–2013 | 72 | 8.51 | 10.36 |
| Zaheer Khan | 2008, 2011–2013 | 49 | 8.08 | 8.85 |
| Josh Hazlewood | 2022, 2023, 2025 | 45 | 8.49 | 10.61 |
| Anil Kumble | 2008–2010 | 45 | 6.77 | 7.80 |
| S Aravind | 2011–2012, 2015–2017 | 45 | 8.34 | 9.89 |
| Mitchell Starc | 2014–2015 | 34 | 7.50 | 7.87 |
| Dale Steyn | 2008–2010, 2019–2020 | 32 | 7.56 | 8.78 |
Bowler wickets only (run-outs excluded). Seasons listed are those in which the bowler bowled for RCB.
Only one bowler on that list, Hazlewood, was part of the 2025 title side. The franchise's best wicket-takers came and went without a trophy, and the winning attack was built largely from new arrivals.
2025: The Attack That Finally Arrived
Built for the conditions of its time
Before the 2025 season RCB assembled an attack with four genuine wicket-taking options and a spinner who could also bat. Over the season:
| Bowler | Wickets | Overs | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Hazlewood | 22 | 44 | 8.84 |
| Krunal Pandya | 17 | 46 | 8.26 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 17 | 52 | 9.42 |
| Yash Dayal | 13 | 49 | 9.78 |
| Suyash Sharma | 8 | 50 | 9.08 |
Those economy rates look ordinary until they are set against a league running at 9.58. Four of RCB's five main bowlers in 2025 conceded fewer runs per over than the league average; only Dayal, at 9.78, was above it. In 2016, by contrast, the franchise had batted its way to the final.
The final: a bowler's trophy
At Ahmedabad on 3 June 2025, RCB made only 190/9 batting first against Punjab Kings. In 2016 a 200-run total had not been enough. This time Punjab were held to 184/7 and RCB won by six runs. The player of the match was Krunal Pandya, a bowler. Sixteen years after Kumble's four wickets were not enough at the Wanderers, an RCB bowler finally took the final award on a winning night.
2026: the formula held
Under Rajat Patidar, RCB won 11 of their 16 matches in 2026. They beat Gujarat Titans by 92 runs in Qualifier 1 on 26 May, then beat them again by five wickets in the final at Ahmedabad on 31 May, with Virat Kohli player of the match. Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar, Krunal and Dayal were all still in the squad. Cricsheet's ball-by-ball record for 2026 is not yet in our database, so the season-margin table above stops at 2025. The results show the 2025 attack was not a one-season accident.
Legacy Impact: What This Means for RCB Now
The lesson of RCB's eighteen seasons is that batting margins win headlines while bowling margins win titles. The 2016 side outscored the league by 1.36 runs an over and lost. The 2025 side outscored it by 0.11 and won, because it also conceded 0.34 fewer.
That matters for how the franchise is judged after its back-to-back titles of 2025 and 2026. The core of the attack, Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar, is in its thirties. Up to 2025, RCB's bowling had never stayed below the league rate for two seasons running: 2010 was followed by +0.38, 2014 by +0.10 and 2020 by +0.02. The 2026 title suggests the pattern may finally have broken, and the 2026 ball-by-ball record will settle it. Holding the attack together into 2027 is the franchise's real test.
It also explains why RCB were underrated going into the 2026 playoffs. CricMind's Oracle picked Gujarat Titans at 54% for Qualifier 1. RCB won by 92 runs. The model weighs form, head-to-head records and venue, and it has no specific input for an attack that had been the best in the league relative to scoring the year before. We publish that miss alongside every hit because the receipts are the point.
Three Takeaways
- Fourteen of eighteen seasons above par. From 2008 to 2025, RCB conceded runs faster than the league average in every season except 2010, 2014, 2020 and 2025.
- The biggest batting margin lost; a modest one won. RCB's 2016 batting was 1.36 runs an over above the league and lost the final by eight runs; 2025's was 0.11 above, with bowling 0.34 below, and won the title.
- The winning attack was new. Of RCB's ten leading wicket-takers of all time, only Josh Hazlewood was part of the 2025 champion side. Chahal, the record holder with 139 wickets, never played in an RCB title win.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has taken the most IPL wickets for RCB?
Yuzvendra Chahal, with 139 wickets in eight seasons from 2014 to 2021 at an economy of 7.74. Harshal Patel is second with 99, followed by Mohammed Siraj with 83.
Was RCB's bowling really the reason they waited 18 years for a title?
It was a large part of it. In fourteen of eighteen seasons up to 2025, RCB conceded more runs per over than the league average, including all three seasons in which they reached the final and lost (2009, 2011 and 2016).
What was RCB's best bowling season relative to the league?
- RCB conceded 9.24 runs per over against a league rate of 9.58, a margin of 0.34. It was also the season they won their first IPL title.
Which RCB bowler had the best economy rate?
Among bowlers with 30 or more wickets for RCB, Anil Kumble had the best economy, 6.77, across 2008 to 2010. Mitchell Starc (7.50) and Dale Steyn (7.56) are next.
Who won player of the match in RCB's IPL finals?
In 2009 Anil Kumble won it despite RCB losing to Deccan Chargers. Murali Vijay (2011, CSK) and Ben Cutting (2016, SRH) won it in RCB's other lost finals. Krunal Pandya won it in the 2025 title win over Punjab Kings, and Virat Kohli in the 2026 final against Gujarat Titans.
What was RCB's worst death-over season?
2018, when RCB conceded 11.87 runs per over in overs 16 to 20. Their best was 2021, at 8.61, the season Harshal Patel won the Purple Cap with 32 wickets.
How many IPL titles have RCB won?
Two: 2025, beating Punjab Kings by six runs, and 2026, beating Gujarat Titans by five wickets. Both finals were played at Ahmedabad. Before 2025 they had lost three finals, in 2009, 2011 and 2016.