Things finally worked for the Yellow Army as Ravindra Jadeja’s Chennai Super Kings registered their first win under new skipper with a crucial victory against the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai. CSK took full advantage of the fact that RCB were without their X-factor, Harshal Patel.
Chennai walloped the RCB bowling line-up, with Shivam Dube and Robin Uthappa, both former Bangalore players themselves, getting very close to centuries. The bowling was mediocre for both sides, with the exception of Maheesh Theekshana for the Super Kings, who turned things in his side’s favour with a magnificent four-wicket haul to claim a 23-run victory. Dinesh Karthik was finally dismissed, but not without a stellar performance, as he came very close to taking RCB to the finish line.
Faf du Plessis won the toss against his former franchise and decided to bowl first, sticking to the popular choice. The RCB bowling was very good for the first eight overs, where Ruturaj Gaikwad got dismissed for another low score, and a brilliant fielding effort from Suyash Prabhudesai, who came in place of David Willey, got rid of the dangerous Moeen Ali.
It was after this phase that Chennai set things ablaze, as Uthappa was set, and with Dube in good form, the boundaries started flowing. As the overs progressed, the flow of boundaries also increased.
The bowling from the Royal Challengers was nothing to write home about, as captain du Plessis’ plans appeared to have backfired. Uthappa and Dube were both fed spin in the middle overs, which the duo gladly accepted. RCB persisted with the decision, although it was one destined to fail. The error would cost RCB dearly, as both men crossed their half-centuries, neither looking in any mood to stop.
Akash Deep had an absolute nightmare, as his 18th over went for 24 runs as the Chennai score crossed the 200-run mark. Uthappa was eventually dismissed for a fantastic 88, while Dube carried on till the end, looking to hit a six off the last ball to get to three figures, only to hand a regulation chance to du Plessis, who made a meal of it. It was a perfect summation of RCB’s evening, as the Yellow Army scored 156 in the last 10 overs, with not a single over going for less than 10.
Tasked with a daunting target of 217, RCB started slowly, as Faf and Anuj Rawat took their time to settle in. The South African did not last too long, however, giving long-on a simple catch off mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana. Virat Kohli also went back as quickly as he came in, giving deep square leg the simplest of chances as he handed Mukesh Choudhary a priceless wicket.
Rawat also went back in after a struggle for a 16-ball 12, as Glenn Maxwell presented some hope to the RCB faithful. The Australian struck some huge sixes in his short stay, before he was dismissed by Jadeja.
Suyash Prabhudesai and Shahbaz Ahmed also provided the RCB with some hope, as the two kept the run rate up during the collapse to hold the RCB innings together. The two batted beautifully, scoring at a fantastic rate as the pressure was climbing on the CSK bowling. However, just a few quiet overs forced the inexperienced pair to panic, and the two threw away their wickets shortly after one another, both getting cleaned up by the in-form Theekshana.
Karthik was brilliant once again, as he struck a 14–ball 34 to get RCB in a challenging situation for the win. That was not to be, as an attempted slog-sweep over deep square leg proved costly, ending his innings. Mohammed Siraj and Josh Hazlewood could not do much, but the boundaries that Siraj struck towards the end could prove to be very valuable, despite RCB’s 23-run win.
Brief scores
Chennai Super Kings 216 for 4 (Dube 95*, Uthappa 88) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 193 for 9 (Shahbaz 41, Karthik 34, Theekshana 4-33) by 23 runs
