IPL 2024: RCB defeats CSK to secure playoffs berth

Royal Challengers Bangalore secured a place in the playoffs by defeating Chennai Super Kings in the 68th match of IPL 2024. Bengaluru became the fourth team to qualify for the playoffs. After a disastrous start to their 2024 season, RCB were all but of the tournament but won 6 matches in a row to make the playoffs. In the match played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, the hosts defeated Chennai by 27 runs.

Batting first, RCB scored 218 runs for 5 wickets in 20 overs. After this, Bengaluru had to restrict Chennai to under 200 runs to qualify for the playoffs. That is, to go to the playoffs, RCB had to win the match by not less than 18 runs but the team won by 27 runs.

Chennai, while chasing the target, did not get a good start. The team had lost the wicket of captain Ruturaj Gaikwad on the very first ball of the innings. Then the team soon suffered another setback. But, for the third wicket, Rachin Ravindra and Ajinkya Rahane made a partnership of 66 (41 balls) and provided stability to the team, but after this the team could not provide stability. Although Jadeja and Dhoni brought the team close to victory again by forging a partnership of 61 runs (27 balls) for the seventh wicket, but in the end they had to face defeat.

Chasing the target, Chennai got its first blow on the very first ball of the innings, when captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (0) was shown the way to the pavilion by Glenn Maxwell. Then the team lost the second wicket in the form of Daryl Mitchell (04) on the second ball of the third over. After this, Rachin Ravindra and Ajinkya Rahane took over the innings and stitched a partnership of 66 (41 balls) for the third wicket. This partnership ended on the first ball of the 10th over, when Lockie Ferguson showed Ajinkya Rahane the way to the pavilion. Rahane played an inning of 33 runs in 22 balls with the help of 3 fours and 1 six.

Then the team’s fourth wicket fell on the last ball of the 13th over in the form of Rachin Ravindra, who was run out. Rachin played an inning of 61 runs in 37 balls with the help of 5 fours and 3 sixes. The team had not yet recovered from the fourth wicket when Shivam Dubey returned to the pavilion on the fourth ball of the 14th over after scoring only 07 runs in 15 balls. In this way Chennai lost 5 wickets on the score of 119.

Then Mitchell Santner (03) was out on the last ball of the 15th over. After this, Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni put up a partnership of 61 runs (27 balls) for the seventh wicket, due to which the team once again came very close to victory. But this partnership ended with Dhoni’s wicket on the second ball of the 20th over, with which Chennai’s hopes of victory also ended. In the end, Ravindra Jadeja remained unbeaten after scoring 42 runs in 22 balls with the help of 3 fours and 3 sixes, but could not lead the team to victory. In this way, RCB qualified for the playoffs by defeating CSK.