CSK-RCB IPL: CSK beat RCB by six wickets to reclaim top spot
Sharjah/UNI: Chennai Super Kings were back at the top of the IPL 2021 points table on Friday after the MS Dhoni-led side defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by six wickets in a match that was delayed by 15minutes at the start due to sandstorm.
Despite the loss, RCB remain third on the table with five matches of their league stages left to play.
Opting to bat first after winning the toss, RCB skipper Virat Kohli (53 runs) and Devdutt Paddikal (70) laid a solid foundation for a big total. However, a middle-order collapse, triggered by Dwayne Bravo (3/23) and Shardul Thakur (2/29) restricted them at 156/6.
Chasing the total, in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad (38 off 26) and opener Faf du Plessis got off to a blistering start by adding 59 runs during the powerplay.
Spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Wanindu Hasaranga then stopped the flow of runs once the fielding restrictions were off.
The mounting pressure of boundaries drying up soon got Gaikwad, who was removed by Chahal after Kohli took a blinder at the point position in the ninth over.
Du Plessis (31 off 26) then fell to Glenn Maxwell in the next over, leaving CSK in a spot of bother at 71/2.
However, 29-ball 47 crucial stand between Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu took the side closer to the target. By the time Ali (23 off 18) was dismissed by Harshal Patel just 32 runs were needed in the last five overs.
Patel then picked his 19th wicket of the tournament in Rayudu (32 off 22). That was the last of joy RCB felt on the night as Suresh Raina (17 off 10) and MS Dhoni (11 off 9) chased down the target with 11 balls to spare.
Earlier making the most out of the fresh Sharjah surface, Kohli and Paddikal provided a strong start to RCB on with 55 runs off it after opting to bat first. The free flow of runs started from the word go with Deepak Chahar conceding three boundaries in the first over.
Introduction of spinner Ravindra Jadeja, after the field restrictions being off, did little to stop help CSK with the RCB duo smashing nine boundaries and three sixes by the 10th over to take the score to 90.
Paddikal then was the first to reach his fifty through a boundary at the end of the 12th over. Kohli did the same at the beginning of the next over to reach his half century but fell to Dwayne Bravo right after at 53 runs.
The crucial wicket slowed down the run rate with Paddikal (70 runs off 50 balls) and AB de Villiers (12 off 11) stitching a 23-ball 29 partnership for the second wicket.
The duo fell in the 17th over of consecutive deliveries to Shardul Thakur, leaving RCB suddenly stuttering at 140/3.
CSK bowlers further tightened the noose by giving away just 16 runs in the last three overs to restrict CSK at 156/6.
RCB's debutant Singapore cricketer Tim David had a forgettable outing with just 1 run to his name before falling to Chahar (1/35) in the 19th over.
Bravo (3/24) gave away just two runs in the last over of Glenn Maxwell (11 off 9) and Harshal Patel (3 off 5).
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