CSK vs RCB: Why did Kohli, Du Plessis & co. wear black armbands? Was it for Harshal Patel?

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were crushed by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium on Tuesday. RCB lost the game after Chennai scored a massive total in the first innings of the game, breaking the 200-run barrier for the 21st time in their IPL history.

The absence of RCB's premier bowler Harshal Patel was one of the causes of the team's bowling woes that saw CSK players score runs all over the park.

Harshal was unable to play last night's game due to an unfortunate incident that occurred on Saturday. According to reports, Harshal Patel's sister, Archita Patel, died on Saturday while the pacer was playing against the Mumbai Indians. In their game against CSK last night, RCB players were observed wearing black armbands. The gesture was made to show support for Harshal and his family, who are now going through a difficult time.

Harshal left the IPL bio-bubble shortly after their match against Mumbai when he was informed about the tragedy back home. The 31-year-old is expected to rejoin his squad after a few days but he will again have to undergo a three-day quarantine in order to do so. Harshal has been one of the key bowlers for RCB ever since he rejoined the franchise ahead of IPL 2021. The right-arm pacer finished the last edition of the cash-rich tournament as the highest wicket-taker, which helped him earn his first India call-up. 

RCB vs CSK

As far as RCB is concerned, the Faf du Plessis-led side lost last night's game against CSK by 23 runs. The high-scoring thriller saw CSK score 216/4 in 20 overs after being asked to bat first. After losing two early wickets, Robin Uthappa and Shivam Dube forged a crucial 165-run partnership to ensure their team didn't suffer yet another batting collapse. The duo took Chennai from 36/2 to 201/3. While Uthappa scored 88 runs, Dube remained unbeaten on 95 off 46 balls. Only Josh Hazlewood and Wanindu Hasaranga picked up wickets for RCB. 

RCB started the chase by losing an early wicket in the form of Faf du Plessis, who was dismissed by Maheesh Theekshana in the third over. RCB lost two more wickets in Anuj Rawat and Virat Kohli before Glenn Maxwell and Shahbaz Ahmed forged a short-lived partnership.

After Maxwell's dismissal, Shahbaz forged another partnership with debutant Suyash Prabhudesai. Dinesh Karthik came towards the backend of the innings and scored a quickfire 34 runs. RCB somehow managed to breach the 190-run mark but failed to chase down the target. 

Image: iplt20.com/BCCI