Royal Challengers Bangalore kept themselves alive in the playoffs race after they won against Gujarat Titans by eight wickets at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Thursday. RCB’s fate in the season will now depend on the match between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians.
If Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals, then RCB will go through to the playoff stages whereas Delhi will make it to the last four if they win against the Rohit Sharma-led team. Thus, RCB captain Faf du Plessis said he will be banking on Rohit Sharma to come good and do them a big favor.
Meanwhile, RCB came up with a fine performance against table-toppers Gujarat Titans. RCB was able to restrict the opposition at 168 and then chased down the total with eight balls to spare.
Virat Kohli played a fine knock of 73 runs from 44 balls as the talisman batted at the top of his game. Kohli celebrated each of his and his partner’s boundaries with enthusiasm. The talisman was pumped up during his innings and timed the ball to perfection. Ergo, he was able to make the most of his start and got his team in a winning position.
Faf du Plessis also played a crucial hand of 44 runs whereas Glenn Maxwell added the finishing touches with 18-ball 40. Maxwell was able to hit the ground running and he took the attack on the opposition bowlers from the get-go.
Faf du Plessis said in the post-match presentation, “Throughout the season we haven’t done as much as have liked. But you still need to back these big players. Virat had been putting in the hard yards in the nets. I play the role with him and get him pumped up. He has got so much emotion and he pulls you through. It is as if you are playing a rugby game. That catch was awesome. We were trying to get some wickets in the powerplay. The run-out was pretty cool as well. When I hit the stumps, I was like what do you say about my arm now? I think tonight was important for obvious reasons. You always want to finish strongly. A few inconsistent performances have put us in this situation. I am banking on Rohit to come good.”
RCB will now hope that MI can do them a favor by beating DC. Mumbai Indians will take on Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday.
