IPL 8 RCB vs CSK: Chennai Super Kings outfield Royal Challengers Bangalore to seal a win
Bengaluru: Suresh Raina struck a blistering 32-ball 62 to help Chennai Super Kings post 181 which proved too much to handle for Royal Challengers Bangalore as they lost the game by 27 runs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Wednesday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore 154/8 (20 overs).
Manvinder Bisla wasted no time as he hit two boundaries in the first over bowled by Ishwar Pandey. Rossouw took Mohit Sharma to the cleaners.
WICKET! Is this man insane or what! Faf du Plessis spoilt the lovers of good fielding. He ran backwards as Bisla’s hit looked fine to clear the mid-off. Faf did not give up and plucked out ‘a don’t try this at home’ catch. Surreal.
WICKET! Ashish Nehra struck again. The ball kept low and Rossouw could not do much about it. The timber was disturbed and CSK had two wickets in an over.
(Photo: BCCI)
Virat Kohli cut loose and put Ravichandran Ashwin under pressure by smashing 17 runs in his first over.
WICKET! Incredible stuff this is from Bravo. Karthik tried to tonk Ishwar Pandey but failed to middle the ball. Bravo ran in from the deep, dived forward to take a fine catch.
(Photo: BCCI)
AB de Villiers hardly ever needs any time to settle in. He swept Jadeja for a huge six. Then hit a beautiful cover drive for the maximum off Pandey's bowling.
WICKET! Smart work from Dhoni and AB de Villiers was run-out. Kohli called the South African for the second run, then sent him back. Dwayne Smith threw a bullet from the deep and Dhoni just directed the ball onto the stumps.
WICKET! Some pretty shots from Sarfaraz on his IPL debut but the excitement and required run-rate got better of him.
Kohli was the lone ranger and he knew it too. The RCB skipper brought up his fifty and continued to give the home fans some hope.
WICKET! Big one. Ashish Nehra struck on his first ball of the new spell. Kohli chipped one over the in-field but Smith kept his calm to take a fine catch near the boundary rope.
WICKET! There was no stopping Nehra when he had a ball in his hand. The lanky pacer got his fourth wicket as Harshal Patel rushed into the shot. Bravo took a catch and broke into a dance.
Chennai Super Kings struck on the final ball of the game to dismiss Wiese and won the game by 27 runs.
Chennai Super Kings 181/8.
Put into bat after a 25-minute rain-delayed start, Chennai rode on Raina's brilliant attacking half-century and his 54-run quickfire partnership from just four overs for the third wicket with his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (13).
Chennai lost a bit of momentum in between with quick dismissals of Raina, Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja (8) but they still scored 181 for eight with Faf du Plessis remaining not out on 33 from 18 deliveries.
Chennai were 81 for two at the halfway mark and added exactly 100 in the next 10 overs. Opener Dwayne Smith made a handy contribution of 39 from 29 balls.
Raina came in at the fall of other opener Brendon McCullum (4) in the second over and after settling down, he set the Chinnaswamy Stadium on fire with some lusty blows all over the park. He hit four boundaries and six sixes in his 32-ball knock.
Raina struck three sixes off successive deliveries in the 13th over bowled by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. He reached to his fifty with the first six of the over in the second ball and then followed up with two more.
But Raina was out while trying for one big hit too many as he holed out to Rilee Rossouw at long off in the fifth ball of the 13th over.
Chennai then lost Dhoni and Jadeja in quick succession -- in the 15th and 16th overs. Dwayne Bravo (5) and Ravichandran Ashwin (5) also did not last long but du Plessis held one end together to take his side to a challenging total.
For Bangalore, Chahal was the most successful bowler by grabbing three wickets though he conceded 40 runs in his four overs. Iqbal Abdulla took two wickets while Mitchell Starc, Harshal Patel and David Wiese got a wicket each.
