The must-win clash for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) was under threat due to weather conditions. While rain played spoilsport for a while at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Benglauru, it did not last long and no overs were deducted. While the pitch was not the easiest to bat on, the wet conditions made the ball slippery and caused problems for the bowlers. This led to bowlers losing control and bowling above waist height no balls. After one such incident in the high voltage clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), RCB skipper Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli were seen having a heated conversation with the on-field umpires.
In the 12th over, Lockie Ferguson attempted a knuckleball against Rachin Ravindra but it slipped out of his hand. Ravindra made it count and guided it towards fine-leg fence for a boundary. After the no ball, Kohli and Du Plessis walked up to the umpire Akshay Totre. They were not happy with the condition of the ball as it was slippery. They wanted the umpire to change the ball but the request was denied. Later, the other on-field KN Anantha Padmanabhan was involved in the conversation but the ball wasn't changed.
On the free hit delivery, Ferguson once again missed his line and Ravindra hit him for a six towards deep mid-wicket to reach his half-century. He hit another six off the consecutive delivery. The Kiwi pacer ended up conceding 19 runs in his second over.
Later, in the penultimate over, Ferguson bowled another no ball. The umpires got together to have a conversation and decided against taking the bowler off the attack as the delivery was not threatening. He conceded 18 runs from the over.
In the final over, the slippery ball continued to cause problems. Yash Dayal missed his line and the low full-toss was deposited over the roof and out of the stadium. However, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the change of ball worked for the left-arm pacer. He took the pace off and got the prized wicket of MS Dhoni. Then, he conceded just one run off the next four deliveries to win the game for RCB by 27 runs and also book their playoff spot.
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