They break 17-year jinx at Chepauk with a 50-run victory
Chennai: Skipper Rajat Patidar’s fortuitous fifty received excellent support from an unerring set of bowlers as Royal Challengers Bengaluru snapped a 17-year winless streak at Chepauk with a huge 50-run victory over Chennai Super Kings here on Friday.
Having fought their way to a competitive 196/7, RCB applied the perfect squeeze on CSK with early strikes and the five-time winners crumbled without any resistance, making 146/8.
CSK’s defeat to RCB in the “Southern Derby” in their own “Anbuden” (Den of Love) was their first since the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008 and it was also their biggest reversal at home thus far.
RCB’s bowlers executed their plans to perfection, dismantling CSK’s top order within the first two overs. Josh Hazlewood (3/21) set the tone, removing Rahul Tripathi (5) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (0) in quick succession. Bhuvneshwar Kumar added to CSK’s misery by dismissing Deepak Hooda, reducing the hosts to 8/3.
Despite a brief fightback from Rachin Ravindra (41 off 31 balls) and Sam Curran (8), CSK struggled to build momentum as the required run rate climbed steeply. In the ninth over, Curran’s attempt to counterattack backfired when he fell to Liam Livingstone (2/28), caught at long-on by Krunal Pandya. The regular loss of wickets stifled CSK’s chase, with Ravindra’s dismissal in the 13th over off Yash Dayal (2/18) sealing their fate.
Dayal continued to exploit the mounting pressure, dismissing Shivam Dube (19) in the same over. CSK’s decision to send in R Ashwin ahead of MS Dhoni signaled their surrender with 116 runs still needed from seven overs. RCB’s Impact Sub Suyash Sharma further tightened the noose with an economical 4-0-32-0.
Dhoni provided some late fireworks, smashing 30 off 16 balls, including three fours and two sixes, to become CSK’s highest run-scorer in IPL history, surpassing Suresh Raina. However, his effort was purely academic as CSK fell well short of the target.
Earlier, Patidar (51 off 32 balls, 4x4s, 3x6s) made the most of three dropped catches to anchor RCB’s innings. His crucial knock, combined with a late flourish from Tim David (22 off 8 balls), propelled RCB to a formidable total.
