Chennai, March 22 Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Faf du Plessis blamed top-order batting fault after a tough defeat in their opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 against the seasoned Chennai Super Kings. The match, held on Friday saw RCB faltering after a promising start, eventually succumbing to a 6-wicket loss against Ruturaj Gaikwad's determined CSK side.
The toss favoured RCB, who opted to bat first, hoping to set a formidable target. However, their aspirations were dampened early on as Mustafizur Rahman's double strike in the fifth over of the powerplay shattered their top order. Despite the setback, RCB managed to stitch together a modest total of 173 runs, largely due to a resilient 95-run partnership between Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik.
Faf du Plessis, the captain of RCB, lamented the loss of wickets in the crucial initial overs, acknowledging that it put them on the backfoot for the rest of the game. He highlighted the importance of consolidating the innings after the early blows, emphasizing that RCB fell short by about 15 to 20 runs on the challenging Chennai pitch.
“When you play here, you feel like you have to almost get ahead of the game a little bit in the first six hours overs because Chennai is a very good team there in the middle. They have done it for so many years where they squeeze you with spinners. So unfortunately, we lost a little bit too many wickets in the first seven overs, which meant that the guys needed to bat a little bit and stable the innings again. I felt like we were 15 or 20 runs short on the pitch,” Faf du Plessis said after the match.
Even with Cameron Green and Virat Kohli contributing decently, their dismissals inside the 12th over intensified RCB's struggle. However, Rawat and Karthik's commendable partnership injected hope into the team, albeit momentarily. Faf conceded that despite their efforts, the total was never going to be enough against a formidable opponent like CSK.
“Yeah, Look, we're always a little bit behind, as I said, in terms of trying to get ahead of the game. you know, they were batting at a pace where they're always still in front of the game. Even though it was we were pulling it back, Uh, we were trying to somehow find some opportunities to get wickets, and obviously with Dube he was not really comfortable with the short ball. So just trying to expose to try and get some wickets through the middle overs. But at the end we were short of runs,” Faf added.
In the second innings, RCB attempted to mount a comeback by resorting to a barrage of short-pitched deliveries against CSK's middle-order batsman, Shivam Dube. However, the strategy failed to yield desired results, as CSK's batters skillfully maneuvered their way towards the target, maintaining a comfortable pace throughout.
Faf ruefully reflected on the unsuccessful execution of their plans, acknowledging that their tactics did not quite pan out as anticipated on the dry Chennai track. Despite their best efforts, RCB found themselves outplayed by CSK's clinical performance.
“If you look at the stats, it’s still in favor of batting first. It looked on the drier side. Some of the spinners got purchase as the ball held a bit. Against Dube, we went to our seamers but it didn’t worked out,” Faf said after the game.
With the defeat behind them, RCB now sets their sights on their next challenge as they prepare to face Punjab Kings at their home ground, the iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, on Monday, March 25.
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