Royal Challengers Bengaluru players celebrate after winning a crucial match against the Chennai Super Kings at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: K BHAGYA PRAKASH

When Royal Challengers Bengaluru went on a five-match winning run after hanging on to its fingernails for much of the season, even its most ardent fans wouldn’t have believed that their team’s stars had aligned.

But, on Saturday at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, the most definitive proof for it emerged as RCB beat Chennai Super Kings by 27 runs to qualify for the playoffs.

Rain didn’t play spoilsport as it was expected to.

RCB lost the toss and put on a splendid batting show. And even the best efforts of Ravindra Jadeja (42 n.o., 22b, 3×4, 3×6) and M.S. Dhoni (25, 13b, 3×4, 1×6) couldn’t salvage things for CSK.

RCB made 218, effectively setting CSK 201 to qualify. Jadeja and Dhoni took their side from 129 for six after 15 overs to 184 for six after 19. When Dhoni smashed the first ball of Yash Dayal’s last over out of the ground, it appeared as if RCB had contrived to miss out. But Dayal dismissed Dhoni and held his nerve to carry his side through.

CSK, in fact, appeared well placed at 85 for two with Rachin Ravindra (61b, 37b, 5×4, 3×6) and Ajinkya Rahane (33, 22b, 3×4, 1×6) batting. But it slumped to 119 for five as Lockie Ferguson prised out Rahane, Shivam Dube struggled (7, 15b) and Ravindra was run out. Dhoni Jand adeja brought CSK close to the target, but it was not to be.

Earlier, RCB’s PowerPlay (42 runs) was punctuated by a 41-minute rain break and batting on either side seemed like chalk and cheese. The ball gripped and turned after the interruption as Maheesh Theekshana and Mitchell Santner revelled. Only when the length was marginally fuller did the scoreboard tick, with Virat Kohli (47, 29b, 3×4, 4×6) collecting two slog-swept sixes. A third such attempt to hit against the turn, however, cost him.

Rajat Patidar joined skipper Faf du Plessis (54, 39b, 3×4, 3×6) and was quickly off the blocks, smashing Theekshana over long-off and Simarjeet Singh over fine-leg. But an unfortunate run out ended du Plessis’ stay, curtailing an ominous-looking association.

Cameron Green (38 n.o., 17b, 3×4, 3×6) and Patidar (41, 23b, 2×4, 4×6) put on 71 runs from just 28 balls, with Ruturaj Gaikwad even dropping the burly Australian on 18. Cameos from Dinesh Karthik (14, 6b, 1×4, 1×6) and Glenn Maxwell (16, 5b, 2×4, 1×6) gave RCB the cushion which ultimately proved worth of qualification.

Rain clouds hover around the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, during training ahead of the IPL 2024 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), in Bengaluru on May 17, 2024
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

Bengaluru’s weather is so notoriously fickle that its tantrums have acquired cult status. On May 18, the city faithful will be praying that it behaves, for a washout against Chennai Super Kings will send their beloved Royal Challengers Bengaluru out.

There is indeed an inglorious tradition of rain affecting at least one RCB home game in an IPL season. An unrelenting summer has ensured that RCB has dodged the bullet six times in the 2024 edition.

However, Saturday’s forecast is for good amounts of precipitation, and it seems like luck may have finally run out.

Scope for hope

There is, of course, the state-of-the-art SubAir drainage system that can get the ground ready in no time. And if the skies relent for two hours, a five-over match is eminently possible. But would five overs do justice to a clash that will be one of the last times Virat Kohli and M.S. Dhoni face-off?

Another variable is the pitch. This season, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium has been far from the batting paradise it usually is; only twice has the 200-run mark been breached in 12 innings (RCB vs. SRH). But the last time CSK and RCB met in Bengaluru, 444 runs were scored. A repeat is in the hands of the weather gods.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s fairytale resurgent run will be up against the might of five-time champions Chennai Super Kings and the weather gods when the two sides clash in an epic do-or-die match to decide the fourth and final team for the IPL play-offs, in Bengaluru on May 18.
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam/R.V. Moorthy

On Sunday, just over 24 hours after the first ball of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru-Chennai Super Kings contest is sent down at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, the last round of fixtures in the English Premier League will commence.

All ten football matches will begin at the same time — both at the start and after half-time — and no team will have the benefit of knowing beforehand what has happened elsewhere. Manchester City and Arsenal are separated by two points at the top and are set for a pulsating race to the finish.

Such a level playing field has so far proved alien to the Indian Premier League, and thus, RCB and CSK know exactly what is required of them on Saturday to get into the playoffs.

RCB needs a win, with conditions applied. Assuming there is a full 20-over match and a score of 200, it has to beat CSK by 18 runs or chase down the target with about 11 balls to spare.

Any other result, including a washout — the forecast is for rain — will send CSK through. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s men can potentially zoom up to second if they triumph, and Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals lose on Sunday.

RCB has won five fixtures in a row and it’s a minor miracle that it is still in contention after once being the favourite to collect the wooden spoon.

But with Will Jacks returning to England, all eyes will be on Glenn Maxwell. The 35-year-old has totalled a paltry 36 runs from seven innings this campaign, but a replacement of his calibre is not something many teams have.

CSK has alternated between victory and defeat over the last six games. And against a destructive batting unit like RCB’s, its bowlers have to be spot on. With Englishman Moeen Ali having left the Indian shores, one of Mitchell Santner or Richard Gleeson is likely to play.

Teams (from):

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh and Saurav Chauhan.

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni (wk), Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Shardul Thakur, Shaik Rasheed, Moeen Ali, Nishant Sindhu, Mitchell Santner, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Prashant Solanki, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, RS Hangargekar and Aravelly Avanish.

Match starts: 7.30 pm.