"I was diving around and I thought I went at it with my rib" - Faf du Plessis sheds light on his injury vs CSK in IPL 2023
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Faf du Plessis explained why the physios attended him while batting against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday, April 17.
The veteran opener slammed a sublime fifty to bring RCB back into the contest and claim the Orange Cap in the process as well. However, his dismissal induced a dramatic collapse, which ultimately saw RCB lose the game by eight runs.
During his whirlwind 33-ball 62-run knock, du Plessis' torso had to be strapped up by the physios. The skipper confirmed during the post-match presentation that he was nursing a rib injury that he sustained early on in the match while fielding.
"Early on in the match, when I was diving and I just hurt by rib. As the innings went on, I was in discomfort but hopefully, it is not too bad," he said.
Assessing their bowling performance, where they were taken to the cleaners in the middle overs yet again, du Plessis commented:
"I felt it was 10-15 too many. We went for a few runs to the short boundary to Dube. Last four was set up to be finished but we could not finish unfortunately. It is just one of those wickets where you bowl the first few balls and you figure out how good it is going to be."
RCB succumbed to their second defeat in three matches, which puts them in the seventh position with four points after five matches.
"I would have bet my house on DK to finish that game" - Faf du Plessis on RCB's death overs performance
RCB were in the driver's seat and were on the cusp of notching a record chase after Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell laid out a luxurious platform with their 126-run partnership for the third wicket.
However, the home side stumbled in the death overs from the point where Dinesh Karthik's cameo came to an end. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter looked in good touch but was dismissed after scoring 28 runs off 14 deliveries.
Admitting that he was confident that Karthik would wrap up the chase for RCB, du Plessis said:
"The last five overs were there to be finished. I would have bet my house on DK to finish that game. But there was good bowling and some errors from our end. We were in the match for most of the time but the last four overs, we let it slip away a little."
After a run of three consecutive home matches, RCB will now face the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Thursday, April 20.
Where did RCB go wrong in their run-chase attempt against CSK? Let us know what you think.