RCB through, CSK out

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru secured a much-needed 27-run victory over the Chennai Super Kings to secure their place in the knock-out stage of the Indian Premier League at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday evening.

RCB, who had been sent in to bat first by Ruturaj Gaikwad, posted a formidable 218 for five with captain Faf du Plessis top-scoring with 54. In reply, CSK, who needed to reach a total of 201 to make the Eliminator on net run-rate, ran out of steam, being restricted to just 191 for seven in their 20 overs despite a wonderful 61 from Rachin Ravindra.

RCB made the perfect start in defence of 219 when Glenn Maxwell (4-0-25-1) had Gaikwad caught at short fine-leg by Yash Dayal with the first ball of the innings. Daryl Mitchell (4) followed shortly thereafter, caught by Virat Kohli at mid-off from the bowling of Dayal (4-0-42-2).

Ravindra, who struck five boundaries and three maximums, restored confidence in the CSK fans with a 66-run stand for the third wicket with Ajinkya Rahane (33), who struck three fours and a six from 22 balls before launching Lockie Ferguson’s (3-0-39-1) first ball into the night sky with Du Plessis taking the catch at mid-off.

Chaos erupted for CSK when Ravindra was run out going for a second run with Shivam Dube, with the mix-up leaving the opener stranded mid-pitch. Dube (7), who was the impact player for Maheesh Theekshana, failed to make an impact and was caught by Ferguson at long-on from the bowling of Cameron Green (2-0-19-1).

Du Plessis then produced one of the catches of the season, leaping into the air at mid-off and snatching the ball, one-handed, out of the air to see the end of Mitchell Santner (3) from the bowling of Mohammed Siraj (4-0-35-1).

Despite the confidence in the RCB camp, Ravindra Jadeja (42 not out) and MS Dhoni (25) contrived to take the stakes all the way to the final over with a stand of 61 from just 27 balls for the seventh wicket. Dhoni clubbed Dayal for six at the start of the final over to leave CSK needing just 11 runs from the final five deliveries to secure qualification, but then Dhoni struck Dayal straight to Swapnil Singh at square leg.

Dayal held firm with the final four balls to see RCB through to the Eliminator.

The greatest comeback in the history of IPL.

We can proudly check that off our list. ✅#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2024 #RCBvCSK pic.twitter.com/PmZKY41BTB

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 18, 2024

Earlier, Du Plessis struck three boundaries and three sixes from 39 balls while sharing in an opening stand of 78 from 58 balls with Kohli (47). The pair’s opening stand was interrupted by rain, with RCB on 31 without loss after three overs. The 40-minute break brought CSK back into the match as Kohli and Du Plessis were tied down by the spin of Santner (4-0-23-1) and Theekshana (4-0-25-0).

Santner made the breakthrough, having Kohli caught at long-on by Mitchell after striking three fours and four maximums from 29 balls. Du Plessis was then run out at the non-striker’s end as Santner got a fingertip to a drive from Rajat Patidar (41).

Patidar, who struck two fours and four sixes in 23 balls, pushed the RCB innings to new heights as he and Green (38 not out) added 71 for the third wicket from only 28 deliveries. Mitchell took an easy catch at long-on to dismiss Patidar from the bowling of Shardul Thakur (4-0-61-2), who also dismissed Maxwell, whose cameo of 14 came from five balls.

Dinesh Karthik lasted just six balls but struck one four and a six off six balls while Green’s innings included three fours and three maximums from only 17 balls.

This is only the third time in 15 attempts that CSK have failed to make the playoffs. RCB will now wait to see whether they face off against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, who take on the Punjab Kings, or the Rajasthan Royals, who take on the table-topping Kolkata Knight Riders.

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU: Faf du Plessis (capt), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Mahipal Lomror, Yash Dayal, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Lockie Ferguson.

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS: Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Ajinkya Rahane, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Shadul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Simarjeet Singh.