Image Credit- BCCI
Virat Kohli appeared almost emotional. Faf du Plessis’s happiness was uncontrollable. Following the match, MS Dhoni was nowhere to be found. All of it encapsulated Bengaluru’s wild night as Royal Challengers Bengaluru eliminated Chennai Super Kings from the IPL 2024 by winning their sixth straight game.
This season, Kohli has transformed himself unlike anyone else. With 37 runs scored this season, he leads not only the group of run scorers (708), but also the group of six-hitters. A couple of length balls were given by Tushar Deshpande, who properly placed them into the stands. When rain stopped the RCB’s onslaught at 31 for 0 in three overs, Du Plessis also took one off Shardul Thakur.
Maheesh Theekshana and Mitchell Santner have each bowled seven wickets in the two overs since the restart, suggesting that the 40-minute break appeared to have altered the course of events. With sixes off Santner and Ravindra Jadeja, Kohli attempted to break the chains, but he holed out to wide long-on. However, after being on 29 off 28 at one stage, Du Plessis struck two sixes and a four of a Jadeja over to reach a 35-ball fifty.
It’s no secret that Patidar is a formidable spinner; he demonstrated this by hitting a huge long-off blow off Theekshana, the most economical bowler for CSK. He enjoys playing quick bowlers more, though. And that aspect became evident when he easily struck Simarjeet Singh for a four and a six in back-to-back balls. Along with Green, who unleashed his power game, he continued his unrelenting strokeplay against Deshpande and Thakur to turbocharge RCB’s advancement.
The result? CSK leaked 63 at the death (overs 17 to 20), the most they conceded in the phase in the entire season. The presence of dew meant they were not able to grip the ball and use the assistance the pitch had, especially when off-pace length balls were dug in.
Following the first ball that was hit by Glenn Maxwell, who was brought back in place of Will Jacks, Ruturaj Gaikwad was caught at short fine leg. Daryl Mitchell then miscued to wide mid-off for Dayal. Rachin Ravindra led CSK’s push in the powerplay, with Ajinkya Rahane providing some support.
Rahane took aim at Dayal, hitting him for two well-timed fours and a six. Along with Ravindra, whose strategy appeared to be very straightforward—slice the length balls square through off—he contributed 66 off 41 for the third wicket.
He reached his half-century off of 31 balls and appeared to be the game-winning strike until he was run out due to a mix-up with Shivam Dube.
Because Dew was always in the middle, RCB was hesitant to bowl spin. This made it easier for Ravindra Jadeja, who took over when Ravindra was fired, to settle in right away. He started going with an off drive against Green and went on to hit sixes off of Dayal, Siraj, and Lockie Ferguson. Even with a lot of things tempered, it was insufficient to carry the side through.
The two teams’ differences were evident in the middle overs. In overs 7 to 16, RCB amassed 113 runs while losing just two wickets. However, CSK was unable to fully profit on the phase, managing to score just 80 points. Additionally, they dropped four wickets in the phase—one in the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth overs. As a result, in just 13 balls, CSK surged from 115 for 3 to 129 for 6.
Dhoni decided to step out to bat as soon as could this season because of it. And if there is a fairytale ending at all, even his 25 off 13 was insufficient.