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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) emerged victorious in a nail-biting clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK, securing their place in the IPL 2024 playoffs. Their emphatic 27-run win at the Chinnaswamy stadium came on the back of a strong batting performance by Faf du Plessis (54 off 39) and Virat Kohli (47 off 29), who together laid the foundation for a commanding total of 218/5. Chasing a daunting target, CSK's innings got off to a shaky start with the early dismissals of their openers. However, a crucial partnership between Rachin Ravindra (61 off 37) and Ajinkya Rahane (33) offered a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately, Rahane's dismissal triggered a collapse, with CSK losing wickets in quick succession. This included a spectacular diving catch by Faf du Plessis to dismiss Mitchell Santner, arguably the catch of the tournament.
With the score at a precarious 129/6 by the 15th over, CSK's chances seemed slim. However, the seasoned duo of Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni refused to surrender. Their defiant 61-run partnership briefly rekindled CSK's hopes, but it ultimately wasn't enough.
Yash Dayal's last-over heroics win it for RCB
The pressure was immense for both sides. RCB needed to restrict CSK to 200 runs or less to secure the final playoff spot. However, CSK, with their superior net run rate, could still qualify even with a loss, provided they scored more than 200 runs.
This set the stage for a dramatic final over. With CSK needing 35 runs off the last 12 balls, the legendary MS Dhoni and the ever-reliable Ravindra Jadeja were at the crease. This match could potentially mark Dhoni's IPL farewell, adding a layer of emotional weight to the situation.
RCB captain Faf du Plessis entrusted the crucial final over to young pacer Yash Dayal. Despite Dhoni launching the first ball for a six, Dayal held his nerve. He dismissed Dhoni with a well-directed delivery, leaving the burden on Jadeja to score 10 runs off the remaining two balls. Similar to the 2023 IPL final between CSK and Gujarat Titans, Jadeja needed a big finish.
However, this year's story unfolded differently. Dayal delivered a perfect slower ball for a dot ball, sealing CSK's fate. This secured a thrilling 27-run victory for RCB and their ticket to the playoffs.
Faf Du Plessis dedicates Player of the Match to Yash Dayal
Faf Du Plessis was adjudged player of the match for his match-winning knock against CSK. However, Du Plessis showed his generosity and went on to dedicate his Player of the Match award to Yash Dayal who bowled an exceptional last over to steer RCB towards much-needed win.
“What a night. Unbelievable and such a great atmosphere, such a pleasure to finish off the season with a win. Batting first, I think it was the hardest pitch I have ever played on. Myself and Virat were talking about 140-150 after we came back from the rain break. The communication from the umpires was there was a lot of rain on the pitch, they wanted to push the game and that makes sense. and when we came back my god, I was telling Mitch Santner it was like a day 5 pitch at Ranchi and to get 200 on that was unbelievable. The last 6 games the batters have batted with good intent and good strike-rate. We were slow earlier on and we wanted more intent and that was awesome. We were defending 175, it got a bit close, at one stage, with MS there, I thought, oh dear, he has done it so many times. The way we bowled with the wet ball, we tried to change it,” Du Plessis said at the post-match presentation.
“I wanted to give the Man of the Match to Yash Dayal. The way he bowled was unbelievable. For a man who's fairly new, he deserves it. [on what he told Dayal before the last over] Pace off is the best option and trust your skills and enjoy, this is what you trained for. The yorker did not work the 1st ball and he went back to pace off and it worked unbelievably well,” he added.
After early setbacks, RCB staged a stunning comeback and notched six straight wins to storm into the playoffs.
Du Plessis also thanked RCB fans for their unwavered support and said that even when his team wasn't winning their fans continued to turn up.
“It's crazy, even when we weren't winning the fans were here. We felt in the changeroom we felt it was something we had to get right. Coming here tonight, it was set up nicely, CSK v RCB, unbelievable atmosphere and we as a team will do a lap of honour to thank the crowd for the support. It's really important that we enjoy this, great 6 games in a row and the first goal is to get into the knockouts, enjoy this but get back to work tomorrow,” Du Plessis concluded.
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