RCB post challenging 218-5 against CSK, thanks to Faf and Virat

Royal Challengers Bengaluru batters Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli run between the wickets during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings, at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Pic/AFP

A 42-minute stoppage for rain early in their innings seemed to throw Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) off kilter for a little while, but only for a little while, in their must-win final league encounter at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.

Put in by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, who won a rare toss, the home side had raced away to 31 without loss in three overs, Virat Kohli doing the early running, when the rain that had threatened all afternoon arrived with a vengeance. The covers were swift in coming on and the subair system ensured not much time was lost when the rain stopped, but in the brief interlude before the track was covered, the pitch attracted reasonable dampness that Maheesh Theekshana and Mitchell Santner exploited expertly.

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RCB scored just 11 runs in three overs when the two spinners thrived on turn and bounce, but as the pitch dried out, the runs came in a torrent all over again.
By the time the dust settled, RCB had clattered away to 218 for five, amassing 80 runs in the final five overs. Kohli had set the tone, Faf du Plessis followed suit and the duo of Rajat Patidar and Cameron Green kept up the good work by putting on 71 for the third wicket in just 28 deliveries. It was during this association that CSK's bowling went to pieces.

The equation at the interval was simple. If CSK got to 201, they could afford to lose the game and still clinch the final Playoff berth. Kohli set the tempo with two smashing pulls off Deshpande and dominated the opening stand of 78 with his captain, who went from run-a-ball at that stage to a more rapid accumulation of runs. But it was the Patidar-Green show that knocked the stuffing out of CSK, with Dinesh Karthik and Glenn Maxwell rubbing further salt into gaping wound with bruising cameos.