A/N: Instagram edits give me false hope and I've been in rotten mood thanks to Man Utd(bastards) they're having a 2019 RCB like season across championships and it's breaking my heart. So here's an OS where in some universe one team in red FINALLY wins something.
Also after 2015 playoffs where we got knocked out by CSK, Virat said this one thing
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
He wasn't lying about coming back batter the next time. He carried us through all the way in 2016 only to get let down by his team.
(Watto I'm looking at u. We needed some of that 2018 CSK like finish from u. But nahh 20th over went for a toss and then the batting collapse).
IPL-2024 (A/N Let me dream)
For once the boys in red had been performing like a proper team unit for the entire season and Faf was so proud. He and Virat were the ever explosive openers, Rajat at 3, Maxi at 4 and utilizing Will Jacks as their finisher in few games did work out. They had made many bold calls dropping under performing players before the auction and bringing in new, young players who showed promise. Starkey back in their side, they were lethal.
They flew through the group stage with a few hiccups in between, but they looked almost as strong as GT, CSK and MI. With a new management their approach changed from safe and cautious to just playing freely. Of course the first few games it didn't work out instantly but they took their time and they had won almost all their matches. But then came playoffs. Having been 2nd in the table they had to face off the number 1 team GT in the first qualifier.
Their last virtual knock out encounter still haunted them. Virat sitting in the dugout, tears in his eyes, Shubman following in his big brother's footsteps of scoring a century and taking the game away from them. The fanwars, everything, they remembered it like it was yesterday.
Faf and Virat stood in the dressing room balcony staring at the slowly filling Ahmedabad stadium,
"We need to win it today and just get done with it. Too many times have we lost matches coming to Qualifier 2 Faf."
"We'll do it Vi. I know we will."
RCB won the toss and chose to field first putting in GT to bat.
Shubman who was having a great season himself grinned widely watching how even though Faf was captain, both Virat and Faf looked like leaders in that huge stadium. But butterflies fluttered around in his stomach, RCB had been consistent be it chasing or defending and while they were strong and had already beat out RCB once in the league stage they saw how the match came down to the last ball, had Jacks not been dismissed by the point fielder the match was gone, having needed 2 off the last ball and that ball looking ready to travel to the boundary only that one handed stunner could have stopped it.
And he wasn't wrong. Starc ever so lethal with the new ball in powerplay cleaned up their top order scalping 2 wickets and Siraj with 1 wicket for the paltry score of 40-3 by the end of 6 overs. But Shubman built a partnership with Miller and took them to a total of 187.
