RCB v CSK: Will weather impact IPL 2024 play-offs knockout?

Bengaluru and Chennai fight for last remaining spot in next stage

Chennai Super Kings' Ravindra Jadeja hits out during the Indian Premier League opening game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, March 22, 2024. Jadeja made 25 off 17 balls as his side won by six wickets. AP

Chennai Super Kings' captain Ruturaj Gaikwad shakes hands with his Royal Challengers Bangalore's counterpart Faf du Plessis after the game. AFP

Chennai Super Kings' Ravindra Jadeja bats. AP

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Mohammed Siraj jumps up as he congratulates teammate Cameron Green for taking the wicket of Chennai Super Kings' Daryl Mitchell. AP

Chennai Super Kings' Shivam Dube scored 34 off 28 deliveries. AP

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Cameron Green, right, is congratulated by teammate Virat Kohli for taking the wicket of Chennai Super Kings' Ajinkya Rahane. AP

Chennai Super Kings' Daryl Mitchell hits a six as he makes 22 runs off 18 balls. AP

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Karn Sharma, centre, celebrates the wicket of Chennai Super Kings' Rachin Ravindra. AP

Chennai Super Kings' Rachin Ravindra hits out on his way to making 37 off 15 balls. AP

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Yash Dayal, left, celebrates the wicket of Chennai Super Kings' captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, right, for 15 runs. AP

Royal Challengers Bangalore's Anuj Rawat plays a shot on his way to a total of 48 off 25 balls. AFP

Royal Challengers Bangalore's Dinesh Karthik plays a shot on his way to a score of 38 not out. AFP

Royal Challengers Bangalore's Cameron Green is clean bowled by Chennai Super Kings' Mustafizur Rahman. AFP

Chennai Super Kings' players celebrate the wicket of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli, caught by Rachin Ravindra off the bowling of Mustafizur Rahman. AP

Royal Challengers Bangalore's Virat Kohli plays a shot on his way to a total of 21. AFP

Chennai Super Kings' Deepak Chahar, left, celebrates the wicket of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Glenn Maxwell, who was caught by wicketkeeper MS Dhoni without scoring. AP

Chennai Super Kings' Mustafizur Rahman celebrates after taking the wicket of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Rajat Patidar, caught by MS Dhoni for a duck. AP

Chennai Super Kings' Rachin Ravindra takes a catch to dismiss Royal Challengers Bangalore's captain Faf du Plessis. AFP

Chennai Super Kings' players celebrate the wicket of Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Faf du Plessis, caught by Rachin Ravindra off the bowling of Mustafizur Rahman for 35. AP

Royal Challengers Bangalore's captain Faf du Plessis plays a shot as Chennai Super Kings' MS Dhoni watches on. AFP

Chennai Super Kings' new captain Ruturaj Gaikwad talks with his Royal Challengers Bangalore counterpart Faf du Plessis during the toss. AFP

The final weekend of the IPL 2024 league phase is all set to be a memorable one with just one spot remaining in the play-offs and two teams set to battle for it in what is a virtual knockout.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (15 points) became the third team to qualify for the play-offs, after Kolkata Knight Riders (19 points) and Rajasthan Royals (16 points), as their match against Gujarat Titans on Thursday was washed out.

Saturday’s match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium is now a virtual knockout for the last remaining spot in the next stage.

Chennai Super Kings

Matches: 13, Points: 14, NRR: 0.528

Chennai are in a very comfortable position. All they need is one point from the match, in case of a washout, as they will then move to 15 points and qualify for the play-offs.

If Chennai win, then they will move to 16 points and will have a chance of finishing in the top two, provided Rajasthan lose their last match against Kolkata and Sunrisers don’t get more than one point in their final league game against Punjab.

Even if Chennai lose, they can still qualify if the margin of defeat is small. In that case, they will be tied on 14 points with Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals and qualify on net run rate.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Matches: 13, Points: 12, NRR: 0.387

After being down and almost out after the first half of the tournament, Bengaluru have turned things around spectacularly by winning five matches in a row.

Not just that, they have improved their net run rate in the process as well. However, they have one more hurdle to cross; victory against Chennai on Saturday alone will not be enough.

Not only do Bengaluru require a win, they need to beat Chennai by a decent margin to take their net run rate above that of Chennai. If they bat first, Bengaluru need to win by 18 runs or more and if they chase, they need to reach the target with nearly two overs to spare.

In case of a washout, Bengaluru will be out of the race.

Weather forecast in Bengaluru

Two matches have already been abandoned in the IPL because of rain this week and it looks like the weather is likely to have a say on Saturday as well.

Bengaluru is expected to receive rain this weekend. The Indian weather department has forecast spells of rains with chances of thundershowers on Saturday. According to the BBC, there is 70 per cent chance of rain in the evening.

However, the drainage at the Chinnaswamy Stadium is excellent so the chances of the match resuming after heavy rain is high, even for a five-over match.