Faf du Plessis blames Virat Kohli, and other batters for IPL 2024 opener defeat vs CSK

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Faf du Plessis opened up about the loss his team faced in the opening game of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He admitted that they didn’t bat well and were 15-20 runs short. 

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had a poor start to their campaign in the IPL 2024. They suffered a disappointing 6-wicket loss against CSK in the IPL 2024 opener. They didn’t bat well after winning the toss, which was one of the main reasons behind them not getting a win under their belt. 

Skipper Faf du Plessis (35) provided a brutal start to the team. But after he got out, RCB didn’t get going at all. From 41/0 they were reduced to 78/5 with all the big guns back in the hut. With the kind of start they had, it seemed that they would go past 200 runs but that wasn’t the case. 

With them being 78/5, not many backed them to go past 150 runs. But thanks to a 95-run stand between Anuj Rawat (48) and Dinesh Karthik (38). They played incredibly well and bailed the team out of trouble. The effort helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru post a total of 173 runs, which CSK chased with 6 wickets in hand. 

Faf du Plessis admitted that they batted poorly in the first 10 overs. He also acknowledged Chennai Super Kings for their incredible middle-over bowling before defending his decision to bat first. Speaking to broadcasters after the match, he stated: 

“Always when you play, you get a bit of dip after the six overs. Chennai are a very good team in the middle overs, they squeeze you with their spinners. Maybe we were about 15-20 runs short, the pitch wasn’t as bad as we played in the first 10 overs. 

“They were always ahead in the chase, we tried to squeeze and get a couple of wickets, but in the end, we didn’t have enough runs. On this pitch, it is always better to bat first. Last year, the record was very skewed towards teams that batted first. The ball started to grip a bit with our spinners.” 

Great power through the backend – Faf du Plessis hails the effort of Dinesh Karthik and Anuj Rawat 

Faf du Plessis further hailed the efforts of Dinesh Karthik and Anuj Rawat with the bat during the first innings. He believes that it was important for Karthik to have a hit because he hasn’t played a lot of cricket of late. 

The RCB skipper also praised Anuj Rawat for his heroics with the bat. He said that the young batter showed great composure over the last year for the team. He added: 

“Good for Dinesh to set up his season, especially for someone who hasn’t played a lot of cricket. Anuj has shown some great promise for us, he showed great composure for a young guy and great power through the backend.” 

Royal Challengers Bengaluru will next be seen in action when they will take on Punjab Kings (PBKS). The match will take place on Monday (25th March) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.