Bengaluru complete IPL playoff lineup

ROYAL CHALLENGERS Bengaluru captain Faf du Plessis showered praise on the team's middle order after they grabbed the final playoff spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) following a stunning turnaround in the tournament.

A top-four finish looked like a distant dream for the star-studded squad after they succumbed to their sixth consecutive defeat of the season against table-topper Kolkata Knight Riders last month.

Bengaluru, chasing their maiden IPL title, staged a remarkable turnaround and Saturday's (18) 27-run victory against defending champions Chennai Super Kings in a virtual playoff shootout was their sixth victory on the trot.

Du Plessis (54) and the league's leading scorer Virat Kohli (47) gave Bengaluru a strong start and their middle order followed suit to steer the team to a commanding 218-5 in their final group match.

Chennai managed 191-7 in reply in the rain-affected match as Bengaluru joined Kolkata, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the playoff.

"It felt like a day-five test match," du Plessis said explaining how difficult the pitch was to bat on after rain interrupted play.

"For me and Virat to just get through it and find a way somehow...and then in the back end to get a 200-score was unbelievable."

Middle order batters Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik and Glenn Maxwell produced breezy cameos to take Bengaluru past the 200-mark.

"That's been our last six games, hasn't it? Contributions from many batters with good intensity and good strike-rates," player-of-the-match du Plessis said.

"At the beginning of the season, we felt like we were a little slow and we wanted a bit more intent in our batting innings. And to have done that again is awesome."

(Reuters)