Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Faf du Plessis is a happy man after his team crushed the table-topper Gujarat Titans (GT) by 8 wickets in their final group stage match of the ongoing IPL 2022 on May 19 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Batting first, Gujarat Titans (GT) posted 168 on the board, riding on Captain Hardik Pandya’s unbeaten knock of 62 runs against the RCB in the 67th match of the IPL 2022. While chasing the total, Virat Kohli (73 off 54) and captain Faf du Plessis (44 off 38) shared a match-winning 115-run opening stand before Glenn Maxwell’s 40* off 18 balls won the match by 8 wickets for RCB against the GT.
Faf du Plessis said at the post-match presentation ceremony: “Tonight was really important for obvious reasons. You want to finish the competition strong and show that you are a group of people that has character within the dressing room. I think the worst thing for us that could have happened tonight was putting in a soft performance. That was really important for me to see from us as a group today and control what’s in our hands.”
Well, the RCB might have won the match and are still alive in the IPL 15, but their hopes of making it to the playoffs totally depend on the outcome of the DC vs MI match on May 21. If DC wins the match, then RCB’s playoffs hopes are over and Du Plessis hopes Rohit Sharma will score enough runs ensure their campaign doesn't end.
The RCB skipper added, “You always want to finish strongly. A few inconsistent performances have put us in this situation. I am banking on Rohit to come good.”
He signed off by saying, “Throughout the season we haven’t done as much as have liked. But you still need to back these big players. Virat had been putting in the hard yards in the nets. I play the role with him and get him pumped up. He has got so much emotion and he pulls you through.”
(With PTI/IANS Inputs)
