CSK vs RCB

Match No. 70

Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

All the Bangalore fans had their hearts in their mouth when it was raining heavily in Bengaluru. What if the rain did not stop? What if RCB could not play this match? Could they still qualify for the Qualifiers? were some questions being asked around.

All answers were dependent on the match. But to their relief the rain stopped and we had our first reduced over match of this edition's IPL. It was an 8 Over game per side.

The captain Virat Kohli and the Coach Rey Jennings were looking very desperate and tensed before the start of the match. They were rightly so because it was the most important match of this season for the.

Why? Because this would give them a hope to be in the play offs. The only hurdle in their way was the rain. And the happiness was clearly seen on everyone's faces as soon as the rain stopped.

The toss took place at 22:40 (local time) and CSK won the toss and decided to field first, which seemed a good option as the opposition had Gayle, Kohli and Devilliers as their hard hitters, perfect for this occasion.

First Innings ( RCB Batting)

Virat Kohli plays a shot during his 56 run score

The First over of the match was bowled by R.Ashwin. A brave yet risky decission taken by the Indian and the CSKian Skipper MS Dhoni, but to his pleasure this over was a decent one as Ashwin just conceded 6 runs. The first ball gripped the surface and turned sharply towards Kohli and left him astound. It felt as if rain had it's effect on the pitch and it would be difficult to score runs on this pitch. But who knew that a storm was about to come after the rain.

The Second over was bowled by Chris Morris which conceded 11 runs. In this over Gayle hit a mistimed shot which landed for a six on he off side.

The Third over was bowled by Ashwin and this over unleashed the Kohli storm as he sent two balls for FOUR over deep mid wicket and straight mid wicket and a lofted SIX straight down the ground. This over conceded 16 runs in total.

The Fourth over was bowled by Chris Morris. May be Dhoni bowled out Ashwin and Morris in the first four because he wanted wickets? Well whatever may be the reason Morris bowled his last ove conceding 13 runs of it and again Kohli bagged a boundary and a SIX from this over . At the half way stage the scorecard read 46/0 with Kohli [33 of 17 balls (4x4, 2x6)] and Gayle [9 of 7 balls( 1x6 )]

The Fifth over was given to the West Indian young pacer Jason Holder.

This was the beginning of the carnage about to come. The first three balls just conceded 2 runs but BOOM the fourth was a slower short ball, Gayle picked it up early and launched it over deep mid wicket for a SIX. The next ball was on to the pads, easy work for Gayle as he flicks it away for a SIX almost into the second tier. The last ball of the over was a bouncer but wasn't executed properly by the bowler and Gayle made it three in a row as he hit this one in the same area as the previous two.Holder went for 20 of his over.

The Sixth over was bowled by Dwayne Bavo, Dhoni's rescue man. He could have got wicket of his first ball but a difficult chance dropped by Dhoni as Kohli got an outside edge for 1 run. Will this be a turning point in the game?

But not to worry because he gets a wicket of his second ball as Gayle hits it hard straight to M.Hussey. RCB now 1 down for 67.

In came De-villiers who made his intentions clear by hitting a FOUR of the very first ball. Another FOUR by Kohli in this over as he hits a slog sweep toward long on. This over went for 10 runs but got the important wicket of Chris Gayle.

The seventh over was the responsibility of one the newest finds of this year's IPL. Mohit Sharma. Mohit Sharma to De Villiers, and De Villiers is OUT as he mistimes a slower delivery and gets caught by Sir Ravindra Jadeja. The next three balls conceded two runs including a WIDE. But the last three balls were dispatched for three consecutive FOURS as Moises Henriqes took on the charge.

The last over was given to Bravo, Dhoni hoping to end the innings with a wicket or two. Kohli batting on [40 of 23 balls (5x4, 2x6)]. The first two balls were kept towardds the off stump and Kohli charging in could not get to it. The third ball, Kohli waits for it to come on to the bat and Whack!!! a cracking shot for SIX. The next ball appeal from Bravo for caught behind. No reaction from Dhoni or the Umpire. Fifth ball of the over, full length delivery, Kohl hits it for a SIX and that's his FIFTY. What an innings from the young captain. And that too at the right time, when his team needed him. The last ball goes for another FOUR. 

So this ends the proceedings of the first innings. Kohli unbeaten on 56 of 29 balls (6x4, 4x6)

and Moises Henriques 12* 3 balls (3x4).

The score for the RCB is 106/2 from 8.0 overs. Very difficult for Chennai. And remember Kohli was dropped when he was on 34.

Second Innings(CSK Batting)

Chasing a stiff target of 107 runs, CSK fans wished they saw their Captain Dhoni to open the innings but instead it was the usual pair which opened up. Michael Hussey with Murli Vijay.

The proceeding started with Rampaul having the ball in his hand ready to charge in.

First ball of the second innings and Hussey  pulls it for a FOUR of the first delivery. The next ballgot an inside edge for one run and just kissed the leg stump but the bails did not come off. Sheer Luck for Hussey. The next four balls just conceded three singles making the score 8/0 off the first over. Not a very good start when you are chasing.

Welcome Zaheer Khan who is playing only is second match in this edition's IPL. And what time and way to announce his arrival as he gets Hussey and Raina in two consecutive deliveries. Hussey tries to cut the ball but ends up sending it to the keeper's gloves and Raina played a loose shot to end his stay. Raina goes for a duck, Out caught by Vinay Kumar. The score read 11/2 after the second over and the visiting side were in all sorts of trouble.

Next came in Unadkat to bowl his first over. What a delivery first ball, Pitched in the good length area from round the wicket and going away from the right hander. The first five deliveries just conceded 4 runs. Chennai in trouble now. The run rate climbing upto 18 runs. The last ball was hit for a FOUR by Vijay to loosen  up some pressure. But CSK needed more of them, atleast three every over to stay in touch with the required run rate.

The fourth over was also devoid of any sort of excitement except Bravo hitting a SIX of the 5th ball and getting OUT on the very next ball, to make the score 29/3 after 4 overs.Now Chennai were in real trouble as the required run rate had climbed up to 19.75, close to 20 runs an over.

The fifth over too was a quite one and only saw one boundary hit by Murli Vijay. The Kings were making it harder every ball. The run rate was pacing up high all the time. At the end of the 5th over the score was 37/3 with 71 required of 18 balls at 23.66 runs an over. Four sixes an over is what CSK needed to Win it on from here.

The sixth over by RP singh. Last hope for CSKK to Target and get 25-30 runs of an over. First ball sails over the top for a SIX. Beautiful shot by Vijay. Next ball: Ooopsss, a bad place to get hurt. M.Vijay gets Hit by the ball below the waist. The next ball, single by dhoni to bring Vijay back to strike. Fourth ball of the over goes for another SIX, and the Last ball for a four by Dhoni making it 19 off the over. Still not good enough by the Kings.

Now the equation was clear as CSK needs 52 runs of the last 2 overs making it 26 rpo.
The first ball of the 5th over bowled by Rampaul. and that's OUT. Vijay tries to nudge it towards on side. The ball goes high after getting an inside edge, Gayle calls for it and takes an easy catch to dismiss Vijay who goes for 32 or 19 balls (2x4 , 2x6).
The next three deliveries conceded 4 runs viz 1,2,1 respectively. 
And then Boom a MASSIVE SIX by Dhoni. What a shot. 105 meters.
The next ball was a wide and then a single of the last ball making it 12 runs of that Rampaul over.

The last over under way. Bowler = Zaheer.
Now only two results possible.
1.RCB wins
2.RCB wins by a big margin
CSK needed 40 runs of the last over and if no NO BALLS were bowled and 6 sixes were hit, still CSK would have landed 4 runs Short of victory.

Ball 1 : low fulltoss, Inside edge for FOUR
Ball 2 : Low full toss again, Sails over mid wicket region for a SIX
Ball 3 : No Run
Ball 4 : Bouncer to Dhoni, Connects it, but Caught at deep square leg by Unadkat. Dhoni                                                       
             Departs for 24 of 10 balls (2x4 , 2x6)
Ball 5 : Sir Jadeja sends the ball towards mid off for FOUR
Ball 6 : Sir Jadeja gifts his wicket to Zaheer Khan who takes a good fast catch of his own ball.

And the final result was that RCB beat CSK by 24 runs. A good margin of victory which will improve their net run rate.

The only HURDLE for RCB!!

After the handsome win over CSK, RCB still needs a bit of luck to qualify for the play offs and the last hurdle to this is the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

At present RCB and SRH both have 18 points. But RCB is a spot above the SRH because of their better net run rate.

Sunrisers Hyderabad's net run rate is in negative so it can not afford to loose it's last game. Now the end of IPL has beecome more interesting than one would have thought. The fourth spot is available to any one among the two teams i.e. RCB or SRH and it all depends on today's match. If Kolkata Knight Riders defeat the Sunrisers then Bangalore gets the ticket to play offs but if Hyderabad wins then it will have 20 points and it will comfortably overtake Royal Challengers who have 18 points with no more games to play.

At the post match presentation Virat in a Sarcastic manner said that "I'll personally call Gautam and ask him to win the match".

Amongst the Controversies IPL has still given us enough enjoyment and memories . And hope the best team wins. Foe now Best of Luck to RCB and Hyderabad who will be looking forward to today's  matches.