# Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011
**Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011** refers to the Bangalore-based IPL franchise's fourth [Indian Premier League](https://www.edgepedia.org/indian-premier-league) season, in which it topped the league table, reached the final, and finished runner-up to the [Chennai Super Kings](https://www.edgepedia.org/chennai-super-kings). The season is remembered for the mid-season signing of [Chris Gayle](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-gayle), who became the tournament's highest scorer, and for a batting unit that scored the highest share of its runs from boundaries of any team that year.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| League position | First of ten teams: 14 matches, 9 wins, 5 losses, 18 points, net run rate 0.783[1](https://www.iplt20.com/points-table?season=2011) |
| Final result | Runners-up; lost the final to Chennai Super Kings by 58 runs on 28 May 2011 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai[2](https://www.espn.in/cricket/series/466304/scorecard/501271/chennai-super-kings-vs-royal-challengers-bangalore-final-indian-premier-league-2011) |
| Captain | Daniel Vettori[2](https://www.espn.in/cricket/series/466304/scorecard/501271/chennai-super-kings-vs-royal-challengers-bangalore-final-indian-premier-league-2011) |
| Standout player | Chris Gayle, signed mid-season as a replacement for Dirk Nannes, won the Orange Cap as the season's highest scorer and was Player of the Series[3](https://www.iplt20.com/news/article/rcb-sign-gayle-on-for-two-seasons) • [2](https://www.espn.in/cricket/series/466304/scorecard/501271/chennai-super-kings-vs-royal-challengers-bangalore-final-indian-premier-league-2011) |
| Key partnership | The Gayle-Kohli partnership scored 1,165 runs, 47.18% of RCB's runs in the campaign[4](https://www.royalchallengers.com/rcb-cricket-news/news/ipl-2011-in-numbers) |
| Team totals | 2,469 runs scored and 87 wickets taken across the season[4](https://www.royalchallengers.com/rcb-cricket-news/news/ipl-2011-in-numbers) |
| Batting character | Team strike rate of 133.64, the highest in the tournament; 59.13% of runs (1,460) came in boundaries[4](https://www.royalchallengers.com/rcb-cricket-news/news/ipl-2011-in-numbers) |
## The Gayle signing
Chris Gayle, the former [West Indies](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-indies) captain, went unsold at the January 2011 IPL auction and was available only as a mid-season replacement[5](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/chris-gayle-rcb-signing-2011-nightclub-jamaica-vijay-mallya-kumble-10238635/). [Royal Challengers Bangalore](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-challengers-bangalore) signed him as a replacement for Dirk Nannes, and he joined in time to play the 2011 season[3](https://www.iplt20.com/news/article/rcb-sign-gayle-on-for-two-seasons). The franchise later described the move as a masterstroke: Gayle won the Orange Cap as the highest scorer of IPL 2011, and his form carried the team to the final[3](https://www.iplt20.com/news/article/rcb-sign-gayle-on-for-two-seasons). During the campaign he hit the fastest century in IPL history up to that point, reaching three figures in 46 balls[6](https://iplt20stats.com/ipl-2011/royal-challengers-bangalore/player/chris-gayle). In February 2012 the club signed him for the next two seasons, with director Sidhartha Mallya saying his form had helped RCB qualify for the 2011 final[3](https://www.iplt20.com/news/article/rcb-sign-gayle-on-for-two-seasons).
## League stage
The season began well and then stalled. RCB won its opener against [Kochi Tuskers Kerala](https://www.edgepedia.org/kochi-tuskers-kerala), then lost to [Mumbai Indians](https://www.edgepedia.org/mumbai-indians), Deccan Chargers, and Chennai Super Kings; its next match, against [Rajasthan Royals](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajasthan-royals), was abandoned without a ball bowled[7](https://www.tring.co.in/sports-events/royal-challengers-bangalore). The team recovered over the rest of the league phase to finish first in the ten-team table with 18 points from 9 wins and 5 losses and a net run rate of 0.783[1](https://www.iplt20.com/points-table?season=2011). ESPNcricinfo's season table records the same 9 wins but 4 losses and 19 points, a one-match difference between the two records of the season[2](https://www.espn.in/cricket/series/466304/scorecard/501271/chennai-super-kings-vs-royal-challengers-bangalore-final-indian-premier-league-2011).
The batting was built around Gayle and [Virat Kohli](https://www.edgepedia.org/virat-kohli). Together they scored 1,165 runs, 47.18% of the team's total for the season[4](https://www.royalchallengers.com/rcb-cricket-news/news/ipl-2011-in-numbers). As a unit, RCB batted at a strike rate of 133.64, the highest of any team in the tournament, and drew 59.13% of its runs (1,460) from boundaries, the highest boundary share in the league[4](https://www.royalchallengers.com/rcb-cricket-news/news/ipl-2011-in-numbers).
## Playoffs and final
2011 was the first season under the playoff format that replaced the semi-finals, and RCB's top-two finish put it straight into Qualifier 1 against Chennai Super Kings on 24 May 2011. Chennai won that match by 6 wickets, with 2 balls remaining, after chasing RCB's 175 for 4[8](https://www.ipl.com/matches/indian-premier-league-112654/chennai-super-kings-vs-royal-challengers-bangalore-40681). RCB nonetheless reached the final, held at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium on 28 May 2011[2](https://www.espn.in/cricket/series/466304/scorecard/501271/chennai-super-kings-vs-royal-challengers-bangalore-final-indian-premier-league-2011).
**The final.** Chennai captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and batted. Openers [Michael Hussey](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-hussey) and [Murali Vijay](https://www.edgepedia.org/murali-vijay) added 159 for the first wicket, a record first-wicket stand in all IPL games at the time, and Chennai finished on 205 for 5[2](https://www.espn.in/cricket/series/466304/scorecard/501271/chennai-super-kings-vs-royal-challengers-bangalore-final-indian-premier-league-2011). Vijay made 95 off 52 balls and was named Player of the Match; Hussey scored 63 off 45[2](https://www.espn.in/cricket/series/466304/scorecard/501271/chennai-super-kings-vs-royal-challengers-bangalore-final-indian-premier-league-2011).
RCB's chase collapsed immediately. Gayle fell for a duck in the first over, caught behind off [Ravichandran Ashwin](https://www.edgepedia.org/ravichandran-ashwin), who later said taking pace off the ball was the key to the dismissal[2](https://www.espn.in/cricket/series/466304/scorecard/501271/chennai-super-kings-vs-royal-challengers-bangalore-final-indian-premier-league-2011) • [9](https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cricket-fest-2011/story/chennai-vs-bangalore-ipl-final-match-report-134597-2011-05-27). Ashwin finished with 3 wickets for 16 runs, and the innings never recovered: Kohli was leg before to [Suresh Raina](https://www.edgepedia.org/suresh-raina) for 35, captain [Daniel Vettori](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-vettori) was caught and bowled for a duck, and only Saurabh Tiwary, unbeaten on 42, resisted as RCB closed on 147 for 8, losing by 58 runs[2](https://www.espn.in/cricket/series/466304/scorecard/501271/chennai-super-kings-vs-royal-challengers-bangalore-final-indian-premier-league-2011) • [9](https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cricket-fest-2011/story/chennai-vs-bangalore-ipl-final-match-report-134597-2011-05-27). Chennai retained the title it had won in 2010[9](https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cricket-fest-2011/story/chennai-vs-bangalore-ipl-final-match-report-134597-2011-05-27).
## Season statistics in context
The 2011 tournament was the highest-scoring of the IPL's first four editions, with 21,050 runs in total, and RCB contributed 2,469 runs and 87 wickets, second in runs only to Chennai's 2,500[4](https://www.royalchallengers.com/rcb-cricket-news/news/ipl-2011-in-numbers). Among RCB bowlers, Sreenath Aravind recorded the best bowling strike rate in the tournament, 13.14, across 13 matches with a minimum of 25 overs bowled[4](https://www.royalchallengers.com/rcb-cricket-news/news/ipl-2011-in-numbers). The runner-up finish was RCB's second in three seasons, after the 2009 final, and the franchise remained without an IPL title[10](https://bandodkarcollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/STATISTICAL-ANALYSIS.pdf).
## References
1. [Points Table, IPL 2011, iplt20.com](https://www.iplt20.com/points-table?season=2011)
2. [Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2011 Final scorecard, ESPNcricinfo](https://www.espn.in/cricket/series/466304/scorecard/501271/chennai-super-kings-vs-royal-challengers-bangalore-final-indian-premier-league-2011)
3. [RCB sign Gayle on for two seasons, iplt20.com press release](https://www.iplt20.com/news/article/rcb-sign-gayle-on-for-two-seasons)
4. [IPL 2011 in numbers, royalchallengers.com](https://www.royalchallengers.com/rcb-cricket-news/news/ipl-2011-in-numbers)
5. [Chris Gayle recalls story of RCB signing in 2011, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/chris-gayle-rcb-signing-2011-nightclub-jamaica-vijay-mallya-kumble-10238635/)
6. [Chris Gayle's statistics of IPL 2011, IPLT20stats.com](https://iplt20stats.com/ipl-2011/royal-challengers-bangalore/player/chris-gayle)
7. [RCB: Team, History, Winners, Matches, Tring](https://www.tring.co.in/sports-events/royal-challengers-bangalore)
8. [Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Final, IPL 2011, IPL.com match page](https://www.ipl.com/matches/indian-premier-league-112654/chennai-super-kings-vs-royal-challengers-bangalore-40681)
9. [IPL Final: Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, India Today](https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cricket-fest-2011/story/chennai-vs-bangalore-ipl-final-match-report-134597-2011-05-27)
10. [Statistical Analysis of the Performance of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, Bandodkar College](https://bandodkarcollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/STATISTICAL-ANALYSIS.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Cricket › Cricket competitions and records › Seasons and editions › Indian Premier League seasons › IPL finals and knockout results › 2011 IPL final*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license