Security measures were ramped up for the high-stakes IPL 2024 match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, May 18. This comes after a fan's online threat to invade the pitch during the RCB versus CSK match. The fan had uploaded a video on Instagram outlining his ‘foolproof plan’ to breach security. Thankfully, the Bengaluru Police acted swiftly and detained the individual before the match began. The Bengaluru police took to X (previously known as Twitter) and informed everyone that the fan has been detained.
“Nice try, Buddy! But attempting to breach security during #IPL is a guaranteed six straight into our custody. Sorry, mate, you're stumped!.”
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In a crucial match for their playoff berth, RCB set a challenging target of 218 runs for five wickets against the defending champions CSK.
Opting to bat first, RCB openers Faf du Plessis (54) and Virat Kohli (47) provided a solid foundation with a 78-run partnership in just 9.4 overs. A brief rain interruption at the end of the third over did little to disrupt their momentum.
Continuing the aggressive batting display, Rajat Patidar, coming in at number 3, smashed a quick-fire 41 off just 23 balls. He shared a crucial 71-run partnership with Cameron Green (38 not out off 17 balls) to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Towards the death overs, Dinesh Karthik (14 off 6 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (16 off 5 balls) provided valuable cameos, propelling RCB to a strong total.
The match between RCB and CSK is a do-or-die encounter for Faf Du Plessis' side's playoff hopes. They need a convincing victory against the defending champions to secure a top-four finish on the points table. The equation for RCB is simple - win by a margin of 18 runs or more. This would allow them to overtake CSK's net run rate (+0.528) and book their place in the playoffs. CSK, on the other hand, enjoy a slight advantage. Even a loss by 17 runs or less wouldn't necessarily knock them out of contention. However, a bigger defeat would put their playoff qualification at risk.
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