Virat Kohli was almost in tears, while Faf du Plessis couldn’t hide his elation. Meanwhile, MS Dhoni was conspicuously absent post-match. This scene captured the intense drama in Bengaluru as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) secured their sixth consecutive victory in IPL 2024, eliminating Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and securing a playoff spot.

RCB has frequently found themselves in this do-or-die scenario, needing a win in their final league match to advance to the knockouts. A similar situation occurred at the same venue last year when they posted a high score featuring a century from Kohli, only to be overshadowed by a ton from Shubman Gill, which knocked them out. On Saturday, they faced a similar challenge.

Asked to bat first, RCB set a target of 218 runs, needing to win by at least 18 runs to eliminate CSK. They were propelled by explosive starts from Kohli and du Plessis, with significant contributions from Rajat Patidar and Cameron Green.