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May 23, 2024
Many fans still lament the heartbreak of 2016, when a red-hot RCB lost the summit clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad by just eight runs.
The resurgence of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2024 will definitely go down as one of the biggest success stories in the tournament’s history. Starting the season with seven defeats in eight matches, the Faf du Plessis-led side showed determination and made a solid comeback to win six games on the trot. As a result, RCB knocked out five-time champions Chennai Super Kings from the race and became the fourth and final team to enter the Playoffs. RCB is hoping to see their side go into the finals, as they made their last appearance in 2016.
Many fans still lament the heartbreak of 2016, when a red-hot RCB lost in the summit clash by just eight runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Recently, former all-rounder Shane Watson, also a part of Team RCB in 2016, apologized to the fans for not performing well in the final.
“To all the RCB fans here tonight, I need to profusely apologize. The reason why I need to apologize profusely to RCB fans is because of the 2016 IPL final at the Chinnaswamy Stadium,” Watson told university students in Bengaluru.
“I was prepared as well as I could. I was hoping to perform my very very best, but I had one of the worst performances when it comes to the bowling perspective in the final. And I most probably cost RCB winning that IPL,” he added.
In the final, Watson proved to be really expensive for RCB, conceding a whopping 61 runs in just four overs. SRH posted a total of 208/7 in 20 overs.
In the chase, RCB got a blistering start, with openers Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli stitching a massive 114-run partnership. However, that wasn’t enough, as SRH bowlers made a solid comeback and restricted RCB to 200/7.
Watson’s disappointing show continued with the bat as he only scored 11 runs off 9 balls.
Regarding IPL 2024, RCB are all set to face Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator match on Wednesday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
MS Dhoni’s future in the IPL remains a subject of debate as he has left everyone guessing.
MS Dhoni’s future at Chennai Super Kings is a matter of intense speculation. The great AB de Villiers reckons that the World Cup-winning captain must lead his side if he decides to play another IPL season. CSK has won five titles under Dhoni’s leadership, and the two share a bond with each other. Looking at the future, Dhoni had handed over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad a day before the IPL 2024 opener. Gaikwad did not do a lousy job as a captain and a batter, but CSK could not make the IPL playoffs.
Dhoni’s future in the IPL remains a subject of debate as he has left everyone guessing. He retired from international cricket in 2020.
With due respect to Gaikwad, de Villiers had called the captaincy change a mistake at the start of the season, and on Wednesday, he stood by his remarks.
“I will only give you an honest answer if you’re going to report it in the right way yes so I wouldn’t say I called it a mistake. What I meant by that was with MS Dhoni around, playing against MS for so many years, that is the most intimidating sight to have him as an opposing captain,” said de Villiers in a select media interaction arranged by Jio Cinema.
“They took away quite a bit of intimidation factor from CSK with not having him as captain. It’s got nothing to do with Gaikwad’s captaincy. I actually think he’s got a very bright future, and he captained extremely well.
“But just having MS around, I always felt like it’s going to be a waste not having him as captain. They tried it before. It didn’t work (when Jadeja was replaced mid season). And unfortunately, this year, yes, you’ve got to look at the results.
“The majority of the games they played well, but at the end of the day they didn’t qualify for the knockouts. It’s definitely not because of Gaikwad’s captaincy. I do however ever feel that when MS is around he should be captain,” added the South African.
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Katarzyna Nowak is a seasoned writer with over five years of experience in editorial content, news reporting, and cricket sportsbook app reviews. As an author for Top Cricket News, she combines her deep understanding of the sports betting industry with a passion for cricket, delivering insightful and accurate content that keeps readers informed and engaged.
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