RCB wicketkeeper-batsman's half century and last-ball run out of Shardul helps Bangalore beat brilliant Dhoni's CSK
MS Dhoni slams one against RCB yesterday. Pic/PTI
The Royal Challengers Bangalore put up what would on most nights days have gone down as a modest 161 but there was something about the Chinnaswamy Stadium track last night that was different. It was sluggish to begin with but quickened up later. Perhaps, it had to do with the rains in the last couple of days or maybe it was the dew that started coming down even before the first ball of the match had been bowled.
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Whatever the case, it was also about some inspired bowling led by that man Dale Steyn that allowed last-placed RCB pull off a last-gasp one-run victory, a result that mathematically keeps them in contention for a playoffs spot. It also served to silence the highly partisan crowd — yes the CSK fans easily outnumbered that of home team RCB — that had broken into thunderous celebrations when Virat Kohli, yes Indian skipper, had fallen cheaply.
Royal Challengers Bangalore's Parthiv Patel en route his 37-ball 53 against Chennai Super Kings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium yesterday. Pic/AFP
The same crowd went mad again when MS Dhoni walked out with his side in a very poor state and all but took his side home with some unbelievable hitting in the final overs before a last ball run out gave RCB the vital win.
Dhoni made 84 not out (48b, 5x4, 7x6) and scored 24 in the final over bowled by Umesh Yadav when 26 were needed but the blows by Steyn first who removed opener Shane Watson and one-drop Suresh Raina off successive balls in the very first over and Yadav later, which reduced CSK to 32 for 4 when the six Powerplay overs ended, were just too much to recover from.
Earlier the RCB effort was built around Parthiv Patel but he found very little support from the other end, fellow opener Kohli making just nine before chasing a wide away swinger from the dependable Deepak Chahar (4-0-25-2). AB de Villiers, fit and back in the side, fell to the guiles of Ravindra Jadeja after briefly threatening with a 19-ball 25 (3x4, 1x6) but the plot was well and truly lost when young Akshadeep Nath (24 off 20 balls) first and Marcus Stoinis (14 off 13 balls) later took up too many balls for too few runs.
It all left Patel (53, 37b, 2x4, 4x6) with too much to do even as Moeen Ali, RCB's most impressive hitter this season, was given too little time to do what he does best. But Ali's 16-ball 26 (5x4) did play its part eventually.
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