IPL 2023: As RCB are out, Faf du Plessis points why his side did not succeed against GT

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Faf du Plessis on Sunday pointed out what his side missed after they got eliminated from Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.

In a must-win fixture against Gujarat Titans (GT), RCB suffered a six-wicket loss at Chinnaswamy Stadium, despite a second-straight century from Virat Kohli. His unbeaten 101 was overshadowed by Shubman Gill’s 104 not out as he led GT’s successful chase of 198.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, du Plessis admitted that while the top order did very well throughout the season, especially his opening partnerships with Kohli, the lack of finishers in RCB was one of the downfalls of his side.

“From a batting perspective, the top 4 contributed really well. We missed a few runs from the middle order consistently throughout the season, especially in the back end of the innings, and also in the middle overs perhaps didn't get as many wickets as we would have liked. He (Kohli) played really good cricket throughout the season and as a partnership probably not a single game where we had anything under 40 as an opening combination.

“We need to improve well on finishing games especially in the back end. Last year DK had a purple patch and was finishing games left, right and centre, but this season it wasn't to be. And if you see the teams that succeed they have some good hitters at five at six probably six and seven,” added Du Plessis.

Crediting Gill’s knock, Du Plessis said the young GT batter played “incredibly well to take the game away from us.”

“We are very disappointed. We played a really strong team tonight, an amazing hundred from Shubman. It was really wet in the second innings. It was wet in the first innings as well, but there wasn't a lot of grip in the second innings and also we had to change the ball quite a few times during the second innings.

“Virat played an unbelievable knock to give us a chance and thought that was a good score, but Shubman played incredibly well to take the game away from us,” said Du Plessis.

Meanwhile, Gill and Kohli joined the special club of batters to have scored two back-to-back centuries in the IPL. Apart from the said two batsmen, the club includes only Shikhar Dhawan and Jos Buttler, who scored two consecutive tons in the IPL in 2020 and 2022 respectively.

Kohli, who struck a six and 13 fours in his knock of unbeaten 101 off 61 balls, now holds the record for most centuries in the IPL – seven, one more than former RCB teammate Chris Gayle.

GT, who were the first team to qualify for the playoffs, have been excellent in run chases, winning 14 out of 17 times when batting second.

Hardik: Gill didn’t give any chance to bowlers

GT captain Hardik Pandya hailed his side for remaining calm till the end and also opened up on what makes Gill a “special” batsman.

“The calmness which the boys had was terrific. We wanted to keep the momentum going. We have ticked a lot of boxes. (On Gill) He knows when he plays those cricketing shots and bats like a batter, it's a different Shubman Gill. Today, the kind of options he picked and the kind of places where he was hitting, as a bowler he doesn't give any chance.

“That makes him very special and the other batter gets confidence from him as well. We would have taken 197 at the start, but we didn't bowl well. Special innings from Virat, he batted well but we went too early for death bowling. I can't ask anything better from the boys,” said Hardik.

“Last year, we did well, everything went our way. This year was a different challenge for us. We were expecting people to challenge us. The boys showed tremendous character. A lot of credit goes to all the boys the way they worked hard throughout,” added Hardik after GT’s six-wicket win.

Defending champions GT will now take on four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday at Chepauk Stadium.