Faf du Plessis’s RCB finished 4th in IPL 2024 league phase© BCCI/Sportzpics
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Faf Du Plessis expressed happiness at his team’s fightback to secure the final playoff spot in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) with a win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday, saying that the franchise’s turnaround in the tournament was “fun.” RCB completed a remarkable turnaround from a horrid first half of the IPL 2024, which saw them win just one in eight games, to securing six successive games to reach the playoffs. RCB finished the league stage at fourth spot with seven wins, seven losses and a total of 14 points, securing a higher net-run-rate than CSK, Delhi Capitals (DC) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) who also had 14 points.
RCB skipper took to Instagram and wrote, “How fun was that… so proud of everyone the way they have made the impossible happen. Special night. Special group. Look forward to the next one.”
The Red and Gold franchise’s next game is the eliminator clash against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on May 22. Whoever wins this clash will get to play the Qualifier 2 clash in Chennai on May 24 against the loser of the qualifier. The winner of qualifier two will go to the final on May 26 in Chennai.
In the ongoing season, Faf has scored 421 runs at an average of 30.07 and a strike rate of above 163, with four half-centuries and a best score of 64.
Coming to the match, CSK won the toss and opted to bat first. RCB put on a fine score of 218/5 on the board, with skipper Faf Du Plessis (54), Virat Kohli (47) putting on a 78-run partnership, setting a fine platform for Rajat Patidar (41) and Cameron Green (38*) to put on a 71-run stand for the third wicket. Cameos from Dinesh Karthik (14) and Glenn Maxwell (16) took RCB to a 200-run plus total.
RCB needed to restrict CSK below 201 runs to qualify for the playoffs and surpass their net-run-rate.
In the run-chase of 219 runs and the task of scoring 201 runs at least to book the top four spot, CSK lost two wickets early and were reduced to 19/2. Rachin Ravindra (61) and Ajinkya Rahane (33) put up a 66-run stand to bring the side into the game. RCB sunk CSK to 129/6, but a partnership between Ravindra Jadeja (42*) and MS Dhoni (25) threatened to take the match away from RCB. However, Yash Dayal defended 11 runs in the final over, restricting CSK to just 191/7 in 20 overs.
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