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In a dramatic fallout from Match No. 61 of IPL 2025, the BCCI has levied fines on the entire Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) playing XI, including the Impact Player, and slapped skipper Rajat Patidar with a hefty Rs 24 lakh penalty for repeated slow over-rate offences.
Sun Risers Hyderabad (SRH) captain Pat Cummins didn’t escape unscathed either, facing a Rs 12 lakh fine for a similar offence.
Double Trouble for Captains
The match, held at Lucknow’s Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, ended with SRH thrashing RCB by 42 runs. But the off-field repercussions have now taken centre stage.
Despite not leading the team during the game, Patidar was fined as the designated full-time captain.
Since this marked RCB’s second slow over-rate offence of the season, Patidar was hit with a Rs 24 lakh fine under Article 2.22 of the IPL Code of Conduct. Each member of the playing XI, including the impact substitute, has been fined either Rs 6 lakh or 25% of their match fees, whichever is lesser.
On the other hand, SRH skipper Pat Cummins was handed a Rs 12 lakh fine as it was his team’s first over-rate offence this season.
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RCB’s Top-Two Hopes in Jeopardy
The penalties come at a crucial juncture of the season. RCB’s loss against SRH has severely dented their aspirations of finishing in the top two. With just one league match left, against Lucknow Super Giants on May 27, RCB sits third with 17 points from 13 matches and a net run rate of +0.255.
They now need a must-win result and favourable outcomes from the matches of the Gujarat Titans or the Punjab Kings to break into the top two. A defeat to LSG would confine them to the Eliminator.
RCB’s final league outing is now a virtual knockout for a top-two finish, and fans could all but hope that results go their way on Bengaluru’s next match versus the Lucknow Super Giants on May 27 at Ekana Stadium.
