RCB Needed 'A Bit More' To Overcome Royals In Playoff, Admits Du Plessis

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Faf du Plessis acknowledged his team's shortcomings in setting a competitive score during their Indian Premier League (IPL) playoff defeat to Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday. Despite strong starts from Virat Kohli (33), Rajat Patidar (34), and Mahipal Lomror (32), RCB finished at 172-8.

The Royals secured victory with an over to spare, even after slipping to 160-6 in the 18th over. Rovman Powell's unbeaten 16 ensured their win. "With the dew coming in the second innings, we thought we were a little bit short with the bat," Du Plessis stated post-match on the official broadcast. "It felt like we needed a push, a few more runs to make it even more competitive."

Du Plessis believed they were about 20 runs shy of a good score on that pitch. He credited his team for their effort, saying, "Our boys fought really well, hanging in there right till the end. That's all you can ask for, a great fight." RCB's official Twitter account shared a post celebrating their journey to the playoffs.

Written off to Playoffs. The boldest boys in the finest kit you'll ever see pic.twitter.com/hjkqzgnIGd

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) May 23, 2024

Batting first posed challenges as the ball was sticking into the surface. "You're thinking 190," Du Plessis explained. "But if you lose a couple of wickets, then the problem starts." He noted that with the extra batter and longer batting line-ups due to the Impact Player rule, par scores have changed, especially with dew.

RCB entered the playoffs as an in-form team, having won their last six games to turn their season around. However, they could not advance past the eliminator. Despite this setback, Du Plessis expressed pride in his team's achievements.

"A lot of teams would have probably fallen off after one win from nine," he said. "We have great characters in that dressing room; all of us really put our hands up with a lot of pride and fight to give our best." He praised his team's heart and character for winning six consecutive games.

Reflecting on their playoff exit, Du Plessis remarked, "It's a sad ending when it goes your way like that. You feel like it is possibly written in the stars that you could do something special here, but we weren't special tonight in terms of just pushing that extra 20 runs with the bat."