Royal Challengers Bengaluru reached the playoffs of the Indian Premier League 2024 with a 27-run win over Chennai Super Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. RCB made 218 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in 20 overs before restricting Chennai Super Kings to a total of 191 runs for the loss of 7 wickets to secure the 4th and final spot in the playoff race and will the contest the eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad!

With this victory, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru joined Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals and Sun Risers Hyderabad in the playoffs while Chennai Super Kings were eliminated, which means the end of the campaign for MS Dhoni for this IPL season.

Earlier, Faf du Plessis hit 54 runs off 39 deliveries while Virat Kohli played a crucial knock of 47 runs off 29 deliveries. Rajat Patidar (41 runs off 23 balls) and Cameron Green was 38 not out off 17 deliveries which helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s cause. In reply, Chennai Super Kings could only manage 191 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 20 overs.

The Chennai Super Kings came within touching distance. They needed 10 off the last two deliveries to qualify with Ravindra Jadeja, the batsman who had hit a 6 and 4 to win Chennai Super Kings in their 5th title last year, on strike. But Yash Dayal bowled two off-pace length deliveries to deny Jadeja and Chennai Super Kings.

This was after he was hit for a massive six on the 1st ball of the last over by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Yash Dayal then used his back-of-the-hand slower one to have him caught at deep square leg. The Chennai Super Kings not only lost the game but also failed to reach the 201-run mark, they needed to enter playoffs.

Lucknow Super Giants defeated Mumbai Indians by 18 runs at Wankhede Stadium on Friday. Mumbai Indians were set to chase a target of 215 runs and were restricted to 196 for 6. Earlier, Nicholas Pooran scored 75 runs off 29 balls as the Lucknow Super Giants posted a total of 214 for the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs.

The Lucknow Super Giants needed to beat Mumbai Indians with a margin of over 300 runs to stay alive in playoff race but they could only reach 214. KL Rahul also played a crucial knock of 55 runs off 41 deliveries. In defence of the total, Ravi Bishnoi picked up 2 important wickets and gave just 37 runs and played a pivotal role for the Lucknow Super Giants.

Mumbai Indians’s chase started slowly with just 33 runs in 23 balls before the match ended due to rain. The game resumed after a 45-minute break as Rohit Sharma hit 2 consecutive boundaries to Mohsin Khan. Mumbai Indians managed to increase the run rate after the break, courtesy of some brilliant hitting by Rohit and Dewald Brevis, as they took the score to 53 by the end of the Powerplay. The former skipper reached his half-century with a 6 to Mohsin off just 28 balls.

Naveen-ul-Haq provided the opening breakthrough to Lucknow Super Giants with the dismissal of Brewis. Protea tried clearing the long-off boundary but mistimed the ball. Krunal Pandya, who was standing on the long off had to run and cover a few yards to take a diving catch at the end.

Suryakumar Yadav came at number 3 but did not last for too long as he was dismissed after 3 deliveries.  The Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul may have pre-empted Surya’s shot because just before the wicket ball was bowled, Rahul asked the square leg fielder (Ravi Bishnoi) to move towards his left.

The former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain, MS Dhoni, was recently seen in the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) dressing room. The now-viral video was posted by RCB’s official social account, in which they were seen welcoming Dhoni with a cup of tea.

Sharing the video on social media, RCB captioned it, Welcome to Bengaluru Mahi. The viral video got a lot of attention, as till now the video has gained 17 lakh likes and 4000 comments. This gesture of sportsmanship has won hearts across the cricket fraternity.

Fans on social media are loving this display of respect and fair play between archrivals. Many fans have expressed their appreciation for the mutual respect between Dhoni and the RCB team. It’s a refreshing reminder that even during fierce competition, the spirit of sportsmanship can prevail.

Social media reacted to the video by saying it was divided by teams and united by Chai. People on social media commented that this is what cricket is all about: respect for the game and the legends expressing their love for cricket as a sport. A user wrote, who would know that they’d see Mahi in the RCB den.

Another user commented, saying, this warms his heart. It is great to see such generosity despite the competition, A third user said. Even former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag shared his emotions, saying it looks like Dhoni forgot which dressing room he was in! Just kidding, this is brilliant stuff, he added. Sehwag also said this shows the true spirit of the game.

Meanwhile, under the captainship of MS Dhoni, CSK has lifted the IPL trophy 5-times, while RCB is yet to a title.

Ruturaj Gaikwad-led CSK is all set to clash with Faf du Plessis-led RCB tomorrow, on Saturday, at 7:30 PM. The heated clash will be live streamed on Jio Tv.