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Batting great Sunil Gavaskar lavished immense praise for Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) remarkable turnaround in IPL 2024. He believes Faf du Plessis' men are strong favorites to overpower a struggling Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2024 Eliminator which is set to be played in Ahmedabad on May 22.
Gavaskar lauded the team's determination and the leadership of Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli, crediting them for navigating RCB through a horrible start.
RCB stared elimination in the face after losing seven out of their first eight matches. But they staged an unbelievable comeback to turn their fortune around in IPL 2024. A winning streak of six matches propelled them back into contention of playoffs, culminating in a crucial victory over the defending champions, Chennai Super Kings.
Several factors contributed to RCB's resurgence. Captain Faf du Plessis rediscovered his batting touch, forging a powerful partnership with the ever-consistent Virat Kohli. Youngster Rajat Patidar brought stability to the top order with five half-centuries. The departure of Will Jacks was seamlessly covered by the veteran Dinesh Karthik, who has been a force to be reckoned with, boasting a scorching strike rate of over 195. Notably, left-arm seamer Yash Dayal played a pivotal role in their last match, securing victory with a brilliant final over against CSK.
Gavaskar's verdict on IPL 2024 Eliminator's winners
"And I think what RCB have done has been absolutely phenomenal, nothing short of phenomenal. Firstly, to believe that they can bounce back. That takes something special. And you have to say that the leading players over there Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, they were probably the guys who are most encouraging the other team members. Other team members can quickly get into a situation where we have lost everything. It's up to the senior and I think they've done the job and they've done it by showing them how both of them are playing extraordinary cricket," Sunil Gavaskar told to Star Sports.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals' (RR) journey to the Eliminator has been a rollercoaster ride. They were cruising towards the top spot in the league stage, showcasing their might. However, a string of four consecutive losses shattered their momentum. To make matters worse, their final league match against KKR was washed out, pushing them down to the third position behind Hyderabad. This dramatic turn of events has transformed the Royals from potential table toppers to underdogs in the Eliminator. Just a few weeks ago, they were considered strong contenders for the title. Their batting, when firing on all cylinders, is a force to be reckoned with. However, the recent slump has exposed vulnerabilities in both their batting and bowling.
A major blow came with the departure of the explosive Jos Buttler, significantly weakening their batting firepower. Now, the responsibility of reviving the batting order falls on the shoulders of young talents like Yashasvi Jaiswal (348 runs) and seasoned players like skipper Sanju Samson (504 runs) and Riyan Parag (531 runs). Can they overcome this challenge and lead the Royals to victory against the in-form RCB?
"Rajasthan have lost the last four or five matches and they didn't play that last game as well. So they've been out of practise. Unless they do something special like I did today. This by not playing for 11 days, it's gonna be a real good well turned out to be another one sided game tomorrow. My, you know, my fear is that there will be another one sided game tomorrow where the RCB who are who are playing like I said just absolutely phenomenal cricket. We'll just walk all over. I'll be very surprised if you know that doesn't happen," Gavaskar added.
The Eliminator winner gets another shot at glory
The winner of the high-stakes Eliminator match between RCB and RR will lock horns with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 2 on May 24th. This Qualifier 2 clash will determine who gets to challenge the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the grand finale of IPL 2024.
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