In the final league match of the campaign, Chennai Super Kings suffered a massive loss at the hands of Punjab Kings. The three-time champions lost by six wickets as KL Rahul’s Punjab chased the target down with seven overs to spare. In the process, RCB missed the golden opportunity to play Qualifier 1 instead of the Eliminator.
CSK suffers a massive loss in its final league game
Chennai Super Kings have had a terrific run in IPL 2021. After the demoralizing campaign in IPL 2020, MS Dhoni‘s men have turned the tide with a consistent performance in the ongoing season. In fact, CSK was the first team to qualify for the playoffs of IPL 2021.
However, the team has lost form in the recent games. Especially in the final league encounter against PBKS, CSK was in underwhelming touch. While they could post only 134 runs in the first innings, they then did not offer a fight while defending the score. Despite the loss, they have now practically qualified to the Top 2 of this season.
RCB missed the golden opportunity to play the Qualifier 1
Royal Challengers Bangalore lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad just by four runs on Wednesday. Virat Kohli’s team had the game in their hands, but tactically made a few debatable decisions which forced them to take the game to the final over. Had they won the game, they would have had a great opportunity to reach the Top 2 since CSK lost the match against PBKS.
RCB can be inconsistent at times and hence, the buffer of an additional game to reach the finals could have been useful. However, their NRR is too low compared to CSK and realistically, it is impossible for them to beat it in the final game against Delhi Capitals. Hence, we can say that RCB gave up the golden chance to play Qualifier 1 instead of Eliminator.
