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Faf grateful for IPL favour

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RCB captain Faf du Plessis

Captain Faf du Plessis thanked the Mumbai Indians for helping his Royal Challengers Bangalore team reach the IPL playoffs.

Mumbai’s five-wicket win against the Dehli Capitals on Saturday saw Bangalore claim the fourth playoff spot at the Capitals’ expense.

With eight wins in 14 league matches, Bangalore will play the Lucknow Super Giants in the eliminator on Wednesday.

Virat Kohli, who bounced back from three golden ducks this season with a match-winning 73 in his team’s last league game, tweeted “Kolkata” – venue of the eliminator – after Mumbai’s victory.

“It was unbelievable, the emotions in the changing room were unbelievable,” Kohli said after he and the rest of the team watched the Mumbai-Delhi game on TV. “Thank you, Mumbai, will remember this for a long time.”

Du Plessis said, “The last game we played we felt almost like we played our best game of cricket of this campaign so far and that’s how you want to enter those knockout stages.

“We needed someone to do us a favour in Mumbai so we’re really thankful for that but obviously, now the work starts again.”

It has been a topsy-turvy 15th edition of the IPL, held in India for the first time in its entirety since the pandemic but in just two cities – Mumbai and Pune – and with limited spectators.

Five-time winners Mumbai – led by Kohli’s replacement as India captain Rohit Sharma – had a shocker, ending bottom of the table with 10 losses. Also keeping up the rear were defending champions the Chennai Super Kings, led by MS Dhoni, who finished ninth in a season of surprises.

The two new franchises – the Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants – finished first and third.

Crowds will return to full capacity for the four playoffs in Kolkata and Ahmedabad after Pune and Mumbai were only allowed to fill 50% of seats in the league stage.

Gujarat will meet the second-placed Rajasthan Royals in the first qualifier on Tuesday.

The winner will directly reach the final on 29 May, while the loser will clash with either Bangalore or Lucknow in qualifier two on Friday.

The first two playoffs will be played at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens and the next two, including the final, at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.

© Agence France-Presse