Match 24 of Vivo IPL 2018 as Royal Challengers Bangalore host the Chennai Super Kings. CSK will be looking to win to go up top whereas RCB will be desperate to get a much-needed victory. Check out the hard-hitting by both sides as CSK won by 5 wickets making it the match with most number of sixes.
Build Up
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings – it doesn’t get better than this in the IPL. This is a huge game for Kohli’s men. They are placed in the second half of the table after winning just two games and on the other hand, CSK are flying high. Both the teams won their last match as RCB won comfortably against DD. CSK won against SRH by just 4 runs.
Toss
Chennai won the toss and elected to bowl. Karn Sharma and Faf du Plessis make way for Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir. Colin de Grandhomme makes his debut for RCB.
AB de Villiers’ Class
On a flat home surface, Royal Challengers put up a big score for the away team. The home team started well as Kohli and de Kock opened the innings. Unfortunately for RCB, Kohli departed after making just 18. AB de Villiers joined his countryman in the middle.
The two South Africans brought carnage as they destroyed the bowling. Quinton de Kock made 53 in just 37 balls, hitting 1 four and 4 sixes. With a strike rate of over 220, AB smashed 8 sixes and 2 fours as he made 68 in just 30 balls. Mandeep Singh and Sundar closed the innings as well as the team ended with 205 with 8 wickets down.
Chennai’s Bowling
Dhoni shuffled his bowlers around but that didn’t work as AB and de Kock smashed them all over the park. Thakur got the important wicket of Virat Kohli. But from that period, it was just dominance. Imran Tahir got two important wickets of AB and Corey Anderson as him and Bravo pulled things back for the home team. Both Tahir and Bravo got a couple of wickets each and a couple of run outs helped Chennai’s case to limit RCB to 205 when they looked set for something close to 250.
Chennai’s Chase
With a big target in front of them, Chennai would like their openers to give them a good start. But to their disappointment, Shane Watson was back in the hut in the first over. CSK stumbled as they lost a flurry of wickets but Ambati Rayudu was keeping things going at the other end. Ambati Rayudu gave his all as his fabulous innings came to an end as he was run out by Umesh Yadav. He scored 82 off 53 balls with 3 fours and 8 sixes. Dhoni’s hard-hitting took CSK to their 5th win in 6 games, taking them on the top of the table.
Dhoni scored 70 in just 34 balls with 1 four and 7 sixes, with a strike rate of over 200. Ambati Rayudu is the new holder of the Orange Cap.
RCB’s Bowling
The Bangalore bowlers had a big total to defend and the bowlers started off well as Negi to the huge wicket of Shane Watson. Inside the first 9 overs, CSK had lost 4 wickets. The track was spinning and Kohli was taking full advantage of that as Chahal got 2 crucial wickets for this team. RCB lost it towards the second half of the innings as Rayudu and Dhoni took it to the bowlers. With 16 runs required from the last over, it was Chennai who just snatched victory of the last over. There were a total of 33 sixes hit in this match. The most in an IPL match ever.
Man Of The Match
It was MS Dhoni’s 70 from 34 with 7 sixes that took CSK to an amazing victory as he won the Man of The Match.
Click here to see how SRH were victorious in this low scoring match.