Royal Challengers Bangalore advanced to the IPL play-offs on Saturday thanks to Ishan Kishan’s 48 and Tim David’s quick-fire 34 off 11 balls. Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, both IPL newcomers, advanced to the final four early, while Rajasthan Royals became the third team to make the playoffs. Bangalore took fourth place, while Delhi missed out on a chance to finish fifth with 14 points.
Chasing 160 for victory, David led Mumbai from 95 for 3 in 14.3 overs to a whirlwind innings that included four sixes and two boundaries. The former Bangalore man helped Mumbai reach the target with five deliveries to spare, effectively ending Delhi’s chances of making the top four.
While Mumbai ended their disappointing IPL season with a win, the Wankhede stadium was packed with Bangalore fans. A win for Delhi would have put them ahead of Bangalore in the league standings, but Mumbai dashed their chances.
Bangalore, who had even asked for a favour through their social media accounts, qualified for the playoffs for the third time in a row, and the players celebrated after the qualification. Every Bangalore player, including skipper Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli, could be seen watching the game intently in a video shared by the franchise.
Kohli, who isn’t afraid to show his emotions, was captured looking concerned during Rohit Sharma early exit from the run-chase. Rohit Sharma perished for two runs, capping off a nightmare season in which he failed to score a single half-century for the first time since his IPL debut in 2008. Fans quickly recognised Kohli’s reaction, emphasising the bond between the two prominent figures in Indian cricket.
The moment at 1:20 in the following video shared by RCB was an instant hit on social media.
“Consider Virat Kohli’s reaction after Rohit Sharma was fired. A genuine ROHIRAT bond, “one Twitter follower wrote
“Good friends don’t need daily talks and pictures together….. 2 Indian cricket gems,” another user commented.
“Rohit Sharma haters in mud!!!! Virat Kohli knows how important Rohit Sharma is… reaction tells us!!!! Need a strong comeback from Hitman,” tweeted a fan.
While Mumbai stuttered at the start, Ishan (48) and Dewald Brevis, who made 37, put on 57 runs to lay the foundation for the chase. David then produced some hits to put on 50 off 20 balls with Tilak Varma, who made 21, to put the chase back on track. Ramandeep eventually finished the game with an unbeaten 13.
Before the game, Kohli had even joked about turning into a Mumbai Indians supporter. “Trying to put our feet up and chill out for 2 days and support Mumbai. We have 2 more supporters for Mumbai, not just 2 but I think 25 more supporters,” Kohli told du Plessis in a video shared by the IPL.
“You might see us in the stadium as well,” he added as Du Plessis began the “Mumbai, Mumbai” chant during the interaction.
Du Plessis’ Bangalore will now meet Lucknow Super Giants, who ended the league stage on third spot, in the eliminator on May 25.
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