Faf du Plessis was a proud skipper after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) kept their slim playoff hopes alive in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a four-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans (GT) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
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Bengaluru moved out of the bottom of the table with their fourth win in 11 games, and are now seventh with eight points ahead of Punjab Kings on net run-rate. They are mathematically still in contention to finish among the top-four.
GT lost their third consecutive game and dropped to ninth in the 10-team table. They also have eight points and potentially can still make the playoffs.
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Du Plessis said RCB have been aggressive in the last few games and taken the aggressive approach on the field, as he seemed happy to have won three back-to-back matches.
“We’ve been really good in the last few games, with both bat and ball. Really taking the aggressive option with the bat and in the field. So, very proud of the boys,” Du Plessis said after the win.
RCB pacers came to the party as GT were put into bat and bowled out for 147 runs in 19.3 overs.
“The wicket was a bit different than other games, there was a bit more bounce. We wanted to make sure we take that information from the pitch and give it to the bowlers. Yeah, there was a dropped catch but it’s the effort that we look for and that was there throughout,” Du Plessis said.
“The games that we’ve played here have all been high-scoring, anything around 180-190 would’ve been a good score. The way the game has changed even that’s not enough now,” he added.
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Du Plessis then led the way with 64 off 23 balls, as the hosts finished with 152/6 in only 13.4 overs. Virat Kohli scored 42 runs in 27 balls and shared an opening partnership of 92 with du Plessis in 5.5 overs.
“Was important we didn’t look at the scoreboard when we went out to bat and try and play the way we play. Was a bit nervous,” Du Plessis said.
Once Du Plessis exited, RCB suffered a batting collapse, losing five wickets for just 25 runs. Dinesh Karthik (21*) and Swapnil Singh (15*) arrested the slide and helped RCB overcome the slump.
“It was a little nerve-wracking. Probably not the best assessment from us there. Obviously the intention has to be positive, try and get the net run-rate up. From that point it made sense. But you do get to a stage when you feel like the scoreboard is telling you what to do, take the game home and show some calmness and composure. Yes we were four down, it was right decision to take us home. Some lessons to be learned” he added.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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