Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings
The reverse fixture of Southern Derby was played at iconic Sharjah Cricket Stadium. As the history of this ground suggests, it was expected to be a high scoring thriller but this pitch got rather slow after few overs with the ball gripping in the wicket.
With the mid table teams closing in, RCB needed this win to have good chance of top 2 finish. It was CSK who came out victorious from this battle and reached at top position in the table.
MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bowl first keeping in mind the dew factor during run chase. They played with an unchanged 11 from previous match. RCB on the other hand, made 2 changes. Kyle Jamison made way for Navdeep Saini and hard-hitting all-rounder Tim David came in place of Sachin Baby.
Teams
RCB: Virat Kohli ©, Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat (wk.), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Tim David, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal.
CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni ©(wk.), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood.
1st innings
Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal started the proceedings for RCB and straightaway lived up to the expectations of high scoring match at this ground. Virat just flicked a full ball in front of his pad to the boundary. Runs kept coming thick and fast as both batters were hitting occasional boundary and kept rotating strike.
Devdutt Padikkal hit a glorious lofted drive for six in 4th over followed by another maximum from Virat in next over. He slogged Thakur over deep mid-wicket. RCB scored 55 runs at end of powerplay without losing any wicket. Josh Hazlewood was only threating bowler (3-0-22-0) in powerplay but couldn’t get breakthrough for his team. Both batsman got a flying start with Kohli (33/21) and Devdutt (21/15) by the end of 6th over.
MS introduced Jadeja right after field restrictions got over. Both batters maintained the scoring rate as RCB reached 90/0 at the end of 10 overs. They kept getting one odd boundary every over. Virat Kohli (44/30) and Devdutt (43/30), both got a much needed start for RCB. From there on, CSK kept bowling tight lines. Virat Kohli and Padikkal scored their fifty but RCB could only score 21 runs in next 3 overs.
RCB skipper (53/41) couldn’t cash on his start as he succumbed to pressure and handed a catch straight to Jadeja at deep mid-wicket of Dwayne Bravo. AB de Villiers was the next batsman in the middle. Devdutt Padikkal kept the score board ticking but CSK were very much back in the game by 16th over. RCB were 131-1 by then.
They had well-set batter in Devdutt and AB but 17th turned out to be a game-changer. Thakur got both de Villiers and Devdutt in last 2 balls of his brilliant spell (4-0-29-2).
CSK restricted RCB to 156 at loss of 6 wickets. Bravo was pick of the bowlers with his spell of 4-0-24-3. He broke the century partnership with Kohli’s wicket. Also, took 2 wickets in last over while giving away just 2 runs. Devdutt Padikkal (70/50) was the highest run scorer from RCB.
Watch : CSK vs RCB highlights
2nd Innings
Mohammad Siraj took the new ball against consistent opening pair of Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Both openers were looking good inside the powerplay, dealing in boundaries. Faf du Plessis took on Navdeep Saini in 6th over as he scored 16 runs. CSK completed powerplay on a high with score of 61/0.
Virat introduced Chahal straight after powerplay and he made quick to make impact. Sharjah is conventionally known to be graveyard for spinners but veteran RCB bowler mixed up things nicely and got good turn from the wicket. He broke 71 run partnership with a leg-break on which Virat took a stunner at backward point. Moeen Ali was the new batsman in.
Glenn Maxwell gave another blow to CSK as their set batsman du Plessis (31/26) got caught at short fine leg. CSK’s both openers got out at 71 in 10th over. Both new batters Ali and Rayudu counter-attacked RCB spinners as they added 41 runs in next 4 overs.
Leading wicket-taker of this season, Harshal Patel broke the partnership in 14th over, got Moeen Ali (23/18) at mid-wicket. He took another wicket in form of Ambati Rayudu (32/22). They were 133/4 and very much in control of the chase.
CSK skipper joined Suresh Raina in the middle for finishing the job. CSK chased the score at 18.1 and won the match with 6 wickets. All top 4 batsman from CSK contributed in this well managed run chase. Dwayne Bravo was awarded player of the match for his wonderful spell. He provided much needed breakthrough to CSK and paved their path for recovery.
Key Points
- RCB were very much in the game when Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal were batting. This opening partnership of 111 runs was broken in 14th over.
- CSK displayed a controlled bowling effort in the second half of RCB innings. Giving away just 66 runs along with 6 wickets; they ensured that CSK has an upper hand while going for chase.
- Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj gave consistent start to CSK throughout this season. 71-run opening stand from the made this chase a cakewalk for their team.
~ Divyansh (Team Member, Beyond the Matches)
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