RCB vs CSK – the ‘final showdown’ for the last playoff spot in IPL 2024 is here! As former Indian cricket team coach Ravi Shastri said, the ‘El Clasico’ – Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Chennai Super Kings – is here. CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss and chose to field first. CSK are on 14 points from 13 matches (Net Run-rate +0.528), while RCB are on 12 points from 13 matches (NRR +0.387). So far Kolkata Knight Riders, SunRisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals have qualified for the playoffs. Leave just one place.
Both CSK and RCB will occupy this spot. And the RCB vs CSK match in Bengaluru on Saturday will decide the outcome. With RCB batting first, the equation is simple. RCB have to defeat CSK by 18 runs to overcome the latter’s higher run rate. For CSK, even if they lose, the margin of defeat must be less than 18 to advance. A victory, however narrow, will help them through.
A defeat due to a heavy threat of rain would mean RCB, who are on a five-game winning streak, would be out of the competition and CSK would book their place in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Mitchell Santner replaced Moeen Ali in the Chennai Super Kings eleven as captain Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss and elected to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a highly anticipated Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 clash at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday .
Santner, the left-arm all-rounder, comes into the playing eleven while Moeen, the all-rounder, returns home to England for international duty.
“The wicket looks good, conditions are cloudy and we will try to make the most of the movement in the first 2-3 overs,” Gaikwad said.
“It looks a little wet, but we will go with a lot of intention. Every game in the IPL is mandatory, nothing changes for us, we will play ball by ball and try to win in small processes. We won some crucial games to be ahead of the middle pack,” said Gaikwad.
RCB captain Faf du Plessis said he would have also bowled and added that his playing eleven remains unchanged. Faf failed to mention that Will Jacks is back in England and will be replaced by Glenn Maxwell in the eleven.
“But we got a good score when we batted first (at home). Losing in the draw is not ideal, but we will take a lot of confidence from the last five games. The setup is great, the last match before the knockout stage, the stage is well set and we are happy to play our last league game in front of our fans. Without thinking too much, let’s take it as it is and do our best,” he said.
Playing XIs:
Chennai Super Kings: Rachin Ravindra, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Daryl Mitchell, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Simarjeet Singh and Maheesh Theekshana
Impact Subs: Shivam Dube, Sameer Rizvi, Prashant Solanki, Shaik Rasheed, Mukesh Choudhary
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Karn Sharma, Yash Dayal, Lockie Ferguson and Mohammed Siraj
Impact Subs: Swapnil Singh, Anuj Rawat, Suyash Prabhudessai, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Himanshu Sharma
With IANS inputs
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