A lot of work has gone behind the scenes: Faf du Plessis

Make it five in a row. Royal Challengers Bengaluru now have a serious chance of qualifying for the playoffs of the Indian Premier League 2024.

They need to win their last game against Chennai Super Kings by a decent margin and hope Lucknow Super Giants don’t get to 16 points. Thanks to their 47-run win over Delhi Capitals on May 12 (Sunday), RCB now have an NRR of +0.387 and it’s something that could work in their favour.

“Brilliant. We have put on some good performances. I'm really pleased. In the first half of the season, things didn't quite come together, but from that batting and bowling perspective, we have been able to put it together now,” said RCB skipper Faf du Plessis.

Against DC, the Royal Challengers posted a total of 187/9, thanks to Rajat Patidar’s 32-ball 53. The likes of Virat Kohli, Will Jacks and Cameron Green also chipped in with decent cameos. In the second innings, Yash Dayal, Lockie Ferguson and Mohammed Siraj were all amongst wickets.

“A lot of work has gone behind the scenes. We are getting it right, and I feel there is a lot more variety in our bowling now. Yash and Lockie have been exceptional in the last few games. We want to play a style of cricket, to be bold, to put some performances together, and to keep going,” added du Plessis. 

Meanwhile, the Capitals did a lot of things wrong in this encounter. They dropped catches in the first innings and then lost four wickets inside four overs in the run-chase. What’s more, DC also lost two of their main batters - Jake Fraser-McGurk and Tristan Stubbs - via run outs.

“Dropped catches hurt us. Could've restricted them to 150. When you lose four wickets in powerplay, you're always chasing the game. 160-170 would've been a par score. The pitch was two-paced. Some were skidding, some were holding. When your main players get run out and you lose four in powerplay, you're always chasing the game,” said DC’s stand-in skipper Axar Patel, who scored 57 off 39 deliveries.

The Capitals are mathematically still alive but will have to do a lot to qualify for the playoffs. They have 12 points after 13 games and need to win their last encounter against Lucknow Super Giants by an insane margin to improve their NRR (-0.482). That’s not it, DC will also need a few results to go in their favour. 

“Anything can happen, but haven't thought that far ahead,” Axar concluded.

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