The Rajat Patidar-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ended their 17-year-long losing streak at Chepauk with a thumping 50-run win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their IPL match on Friday. What initially seemed like an uphill battle turned into a dominant performance as RCB posted an impressive total of 196/7. Their bowlers then stepped up brilliantly to defend the target, with the pacers doing most of the damage through precise execution, rather than the spinners.
When the required run rate was climbing to 15 runs per over, the CSK players tried to find gaps and rotate the strike. Even with MS Dhoni in the dug-out, the game was slipping away, and their approach felt like that the home team was looking to play out the overs and get as close to the target as possible without getting bowled out.
Josh Hazlewood’s twin strikes in the second over pushed CSK on the back foot. Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad both fell to short-pitched deliveries. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, returning from injury, dismissed Deepak Hooda to make it three wickets in the Powerplay. CSK never recovered from the early blows. Rachin Ravindra was CSK’s biggest hope alongside Shivam Dube, but another double-wicket over from Yash Dayal sealed the deal for RCB. From 80/6, CSK eventually finished at 146/8, with Dhoni hitting three boundaries in the last over.
Earlier, Phil Salt came out all guns blazing. There was a bit of swing that Khaleel Ahmed found in his first two overs. The left-arm pacer bowled well but without much luck. Alongside Virat Kohli, Salt once again gave his team a quick start. Just as he started looking dangerous, Noor Ahmad came into the attack and dismissed him. What made that wicket special was Dhoni’s lightning-quick stumping.
Devdutt Padikkal walked in and looked to take on the bowlers. His 14-ball 27 provided crucial impetus to the innings when Kohli was struggling to find boundaries. Soon, Kohli’s struggles came to an end with Noor dismissing him. Patidar was given three reprieves, and he made CSK pay by scoring a half-century. Liam Livingstone smashed a six but got out in the very next ball, giving Noor his third wicket.
CSK bowlers made a late comeback in the final few overs, but Tim David’s quickfire 22, including three sixes in the last over, made all the difference.