RR vs RCB: "We were short with the bat" - Faf du Plessis slams Virat Kohli & others as RCB lose IPL 2024 Eliminator

The Faf du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) locked horns with the Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Eliminator of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) on Wednesday, May 22, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Losing the toss, RCB were invited to bat first in the match and they failed to deliver a great performance. The top performers for the side were Rajat Patidar (34), Virat Kohli (33), and Mahipal Lomror (32) while Cameron Green (27) and Faf du Plessis (17) also chipped in with decent contributions. RCB ended up posting a total of 172/8 on the board and it looked like they were a few runs short.

Defending the total, RCB never looked in the game as first Yashasvi Jaiswal showcased stunning batting and after his dismissal, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, and Rovman Powell batted brilliantly to take RR to a 4-wicket win. With the loss, RCB were eliminated from IPL 2024.

Speaking after the match, Faf du Plessis slammed his batters, saying that they were 20 runs short with the bat and dew made things harder for them. Faf du Plessis stated:

"With the dew coming, we felt we were short with the bat. Did think we were 20 runs shy of what was a good score. Credit to the boys - they fought really well. That's all you can ask for. If you look at naturally assessing the pitch and conditions, you would say it's a 180 pitch because it was swinging upfront and was quite slow. But what we've found out this season, with the impact player, the par score isn't enough any more. Also with the dew coming in. 

Talking about RCB's journey, Faf du Plessis stated that he is extremely proud of the way his team turned things around. Faf du Plessis said:

"Extremely proud. Lot of teams - their wheels would've fallen off after 1 from 9. To come back like that, six games in a row, takes a lot of heart and character. We weren't special tonight in terms of pushing that extra 20 runs with the bat."

How Royal Challengers Bengaluru Reached Eliminator Of IPL 2024

Royal Challengers Bengaluru scripted one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they fought back from the brink of elimination and reached a stage where they played a virtual knockout match against arguably the greatest IPL team - Chennai Super Kings.

The match between the teams took place at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on May 18 and RCB were invited to bat first. The Faf du Plessis-led side not only needed to win the match, but they also needed to win by over 18 runs to better their Net Run Rate and grab the final remaining spot for the playoffs.

While batting first, the superstars - Faf du Plessis (54) and Virat Kohli (47) - made sure that their team was off to a good start and they laid the foundation for a big total. The openers played some remarkable cricket despite conditions being tough and made things easier for the coming batters. 

Then, Rajat Patidar (41) and Cameron Green (38) capitalized on the start while Dinesh Karthik (14) and Glenn Maxwell (16) made significant contributions that helped RCB reach 218/5.

After that, it was on the bowlers to make sure that they guided their team to playoffs by restricting CSK under 200 and they didn't disappoint. CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was dismissed on the first ball, but Rachin Ravindra (61) and Ajinkya Rahane (33) batted well to keep RCB on their toes. Once the aforementioned batters got out, MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja joined forces and smashed the RCB bowlers all over the park.

The match went down the wires and in the last over CSK needed 35 runs to win but just 17 to qualify for playoffs. Dhoni started off the over with a six but Yash Dayal held his nevers dismissed the CSK great and bowled some exceptional lines and lengths to steer RCB to a 27-run win as CSK were restricted to 191/7.