New Delhi: Sunil Gavaskar, the former captain of India, opines that the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) must stop the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) from getting off to a good start in this crucial Indian Premier League 2024 match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
This is a big meeting between two teams which will determine who finishes fourth and makes it to the playoffs.This game is quite important for both CSK and RCB as they look forward to going far in this tournament.
Gavaskar who has become one of the well-known cricket commentators in the world recently said, “CSK will start as favorites.” But he warned that they should not allow RCB to have an early advantage over them.
“It’s not just winning five titles. It is also how many times they played playoffs. I think three times they’ve been runner-ups. So that just goes to show that they know how to win big games,” said Gavaskar on Star Sports.
“They have got into a situation where RCB have got to be that if there’s any slight chance of it turning around then you make sure it doesn’t happen by doing what you can do. So CSK’s onus lies on them making sure RCB don’t get off to an awesome beginning because that’s going to be key. Because if they get off then of course we have a proper 20-overs game then RCB will dominate,” added Gavaskar.
With KKR, RR, and SRH having already qualified for playoffs, both CSK and RCB battle each other for fourth place.
Chennai are now lying fourth after winning seven out of thirteen matches with fourteen points while Bangalore occupies sixth place with twelve points earned from six wins out of thirteen games played so far.
To surpass Chennai’s net run rate (+0.528) and book a playoff spot, RCB has to beat CSK with at least 18 runs or with 11 balls as spare. However, if Chennai loses but the margin of loss is less than 18 runs or 11 balls, they can still qualify.
However, the much-anticipated game might be interrupted by rain as heavy thunderstorms are expected throughout the day. In case of washing out, CSK will proceed to playoffs having secured fifteen points while RCB will bow out on thirteen points.
