New Delhi . Defending champions Chennai Super Kings' dreams of qualifying for the playoffs in IPL 2024 were shattered. CSK, led by Rituraj Gaikwad, suffered a 27-run defeat at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 68th match of IPL 2024 on Saturday. After CSK's defeat, captain Rituraj Gaikwad expressed his pain and said that his team has been facing challenges since the very first match of the season.Let us tell you that Chennai Super Kings got a target of 219 runs at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, chasing which the Yellow Brigade could score only 191 runs in 20 overs by losing seven wickets. Even if CSK had scored 201 runs, it would have qualified for the playoffs. CSK failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third time in IPL history.

Statement of Ruturaj Gaikwad

“This wicket was good. The spinners were getting help here because the ball was getting a good grip. We were happy with the target. But we were unfortunate that we missed out on achieving it. Talking about the season, we won seven out of 14 matches, we are very happy with this.”

“We faced challenges from the very first match. Devon Conway was out due to injury, which made a big difference. Pathirana was injured. We also missed Mustafizur Rahman. When your players are injured, it becomes difficult to balance the team. We could not cross the target, but it happens. We are disappointed with our defeat.”

On May 18, the same thing happened again...

Chennai Super Kings and RCB have clashed on 18 May on two occasions in IPL history. The advantage for RCB is that they have never lost on 18 May in IPL history. CSK had lost to RCB on 18 May both the times before. On Saturday, both the teams were face to face for the third time on 18 May and the result once again went in favour of RCB.

dhoni's last match

After Chennai Super Kings' elimination, the most talked about topic is MS Dhoni's retirement. It is believed that Mahi played his last match in CSK jersey on Saturday. 42-year-old Dhoni was participating in all the matches in the current season despite being injured. But now that the team is eliminated, the announcement of his retirement can come at any time. However, looking at Dhoni's fitness, many cricket pundits believe that he can play two more seasons.