Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Faf du Plessis spoke about the loss his team faced in the opening match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He admitted that they did not bat well and were 15-20 runs short.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had a poor start to their campaign in IPL 2024. They suffered a disappointing 6-wicket defeat against CSK in the first match of IPL 2024. They did not bat well after winning the toss, which was one of the main reasons why they did not get a victory under their belt.
Captain Faf du Plessis (35) gave the team a brutal start. But after coming out, RCB didn’t get going at all. From 41/0 they were reduced to 78/5 with all the big guns in the cabin. With the type of start they had it seemed that they would go over 200 runs but that was not the case.
At 78/5, not many backed them to surpass 150 runs. But thanks to a 95-run stand between Anuj Rawat (48) and Dinesh Karthik (38). They played incredibly well and got the team out of trouble. The effort helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru post a total of 173 runs, which CSK chased down with 6 wickets in hand.
Faf du Plessis admitted that they batted poorly in the first 10 overs. He also credited the Chennai Super Kings for their incredible bowling in the middle order before defending his decision to bat first. Speaking to broadcasters after the game, he stated:
“Always when you play, you go down a little bit after six overs. Chennai is a very good team in the middle, they tighten you up with their spinners. We were maybe 15-20 runs short, the pitch was not as bad as we played in the first 10 overs.
“They were always ahead in the chase, we tried to push and get a couple of wickets, but in the end we didn’t have enough runs. In this pitch it is always better to bat first. Last year, the record was heavily skewed toward teams that batted first. The ball started to catch a little with our spinners.”
GRAMBig power through backend: Faf du Plessis praises Dinesh Karthik and Anuj Rawat’s efforts
Faf du Plessis further praised the efforts of Dinesh Karthik and Anuj Rawat with the bat during the first innings. He believes it was important for Karthik to have a success because he hasn’t played much cricket lately.
The RCB captain also praised Anuj Rawat for his heroics with the bat. He said the young batsman showed great composure over the last year for the team. He added:
“It’s good that Dinesh has prepared his season, especially for someone who hasn’t played much cricket. “Anuj has shown great promise for us, he showed great composure for a young guy and great power at the back.”
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will next be seen in action when they take on Punjab Kings (PBKS). The match will take place on Monday (March 25) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.