Faf du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru are set to compete against Ruturaj Gaikwad's Chennai Super Kings in match 68 of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, on May 18 (Saturday). This is an extremely crucial clash for both teams as the fourth spot in the playoffs will be on the line.
IPL 2024 playoff scenario
Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, and Sunrisers Hyderabad have already qualified for the IPL 2024 playoffs. There is only one spot remaining, Lucknow Super Giants is also contesting for the spot but their negative net run rate has made this quite impossible. So this makes RCB and CSK the biggest contenders for the spot.
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Both teams will be colliding for the spot. However, CSK still have an advantage over RCB because of their better net run rate. Bengaluru need to beat Chennai at all costs but just a win won't help them. They need to beat Super Kings by 18 runs or need to chase down their target within 18.1 overs (if they score 200 runs).
Suppose Chennai Super Kings lose the match but manage to keep the loss lower than 18 runs and don't allow RCB to chase their target in 18.1 over. They will still seal the spot in the top four of the points table once again. Even if the match ends up being washout due to rain, CSK will qualify.
RCB vs CSK squads
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman, Avanish Rao Aravelly
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