- Saturday, July 27, 2024
Chennai Super Kings had to make 201 in 20 overs to pip Bengaluru to make the playoffs but they could manage only 191 after MS Dhoni got out in the final over.
By: Shubham Ghosh
ROYAL Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) fairytale run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 continued on Saturday (18) when they beat defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 27 runs to advance to the last four stage with a superior net run-rate.
It was their sixth successive win after they lost an equal number of matches on the trot to get almost knocked out of the tournament.
After being put to bat first by the visiting team at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru posted a total of 218 for 5 in 20 overs, thanks to intense hitting from the likes of Virat Kohli (47 off 29), captain Faf du Plessis (54 off 39), Rajat Patidar (41 off 23) and Cameron Green (38 not out off 17). The match was briefly disrupted by rain early in the RCB innings after Kohli and du Plessis gave them a flying start. The wicket slowed down a bit after the game resumed due to moisture in the surface but the home team capitalised later in the innings with Patidar and Green adding 71 runs in less than five overs to put the pressure back on CSK.
Read: Bengaluru look up to ‘Lucky 18’ to beat Chennai
For Chennai, Shardul Thakur was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets for 61 runs while the spinning duo of Maheesh Theekshana and Mitchell Santner keeping the RCB’s scoring rate under check, conceding just 48 runs in eight overs.
While Chennai needed 219 to win the match, they would have qualified had they reached the total of 201 to remain ahead of RCB in terms of NRR.
Chennai’s chase had a disastrous start as they lost captain Ruturaj Gaikwad in the very first delivery to spinner Glenn Maxwell. Daryll Mitchell also departed early and it was then Rachin Ravindra (61 off 37) and Ajinkya Rahane (33 off 22) who resurrected the innings by adding 66 runs for the third wicket in less than seven overs.
Read: Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni together for one last time?
Rahane perished while trying to accelerate and 30 runs later, Ravindra and impact player Shivam Dube (7 off 15) got out quickly, pegging back the CSK’s chase. Mitchell Santner (3 off 4) was caught brilliantly by du Plessis at mid off and it left Chennai reeling at 129 for 6.
But old warhorse Mahendra Singh Dhoni (25 off 13) then got together with Ravindra Jadeja (42 not out off 22) and the duo revived Chennai’s chances by adding 61 runs to take the side close to the qualifying target of 201. But Dhoni’s fall in the final over of the innings off the bowling of Yash Dayal, who took two wickets, dashed all hopes as Chennai ended up on 191 for 7 in 20 overs to crash out.
The four teams that qualified for the playoffs are Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
While Kolkata and Bengaluru took the first and fourth position, respectively, the second and third place will be decided on Sunday (19) when the final two games of the league stage are completed.
Bengaluru have never won the IPL despite having played in every edition since its inception in 2008.
