Former Sunrise Hyderabad Head coach Brian Lara has backed Royal Challengers Bengaluru to beat CSK in the first leg tomorrow.

Faf du Plessis’ RCB will host the Chennai Super Kings tomorrow at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in the team’s final IPL 2024 league match. The stakes are higher than ever in this match as both teams have a chance to book their tickets to the final 4 rounds with a win tomorrow night.

In the previous South Indian franchise, CSK had won by 6 wickets in the home match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. However, in tomorrow’s first leg, Bengaluru will go into their final match with a different mindset and exciting form that they acquired in their last 5 matches.

Why does Brian Lara think RCB has a better chance of beating CSK?

While speaking to Star Sports ahead of the high-stakes clash, Brian Lara made a bold prediction about the outcome of the match. Lara backed the Bengaluru-based franchise to beat the five-time champions. The former West Indies captain believes RCB have all the ingredients to deny the Super Kings a play-off spot and also explained the reason.

Brian Lara observed that RCB look like a completely different beast since the second half of the season began. Lara stated that since Bengaluru never won the IPL title, they will be hungry to win the title. And since this game will help them reach the playoffs, they won’t want to miss it.

Brian Lara believes that the match against CSK is a very good opportunity for RCB to continue their excellent form.

With Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Mohammed Siraj performing well and despite the absence of some players, Bengaluru will manage to beat CSK. All because of the momentum they currently have.

“RCB have never won the IPL and it seems like they are hungry to win it. This match will help them reach the playoffs. This is a big opportunity, the team’s form is good, there is hunger to win and veteran players like Du Plessis, Siraj and Virat are also performing well.” – Lara said via Star Sports.

“But I think RCB’s momentum, as we have seen so far, will allow them to advance in this tournament. I have seen them play live, against CSK, and they will definitely win.” – concluded Brian Lara.

RCB must get a big win over CSK

The only way for RCB to qualify for the playoffs is by getting a big margin victory over the Chennai Super Kings. Faf du Plessis’ team needs to beat CSK by 18 runs if they are defending in the second innings and in case they are chasing a total, they need to finish the game in 18.1 overs.

In that case, Bengaluru’s net run rate will improve and they will demolish not only CSK but also Delhi Capitals to receive qualification for the last stage.