CSK vs RCB: Royal Challengers Bangalore handed Chennai Super Kings their eighth loss of the season, despite Moeen Ali’s all-around performance. CSK was held to 160 in a 174-run chase at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Wednesday, thanks to a collective batting effort and Harshal Patel’s triple strike.
CSK vs RCB: Kohli, du Plessis provide a strong start
After RCB was called in to bat, the veteran opening pair of Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli put on a 62-run stand for the first wicket in only 44 balls. Kohli struggled to keep the tempo up even after getting off to a good start with a flip for a boundary through a deep backward leg. The RCB captain, who paced into his innings with ease, scored a lot of runs. He took Mukesh Choudhry for a ride in the fifth over, smashing two boundaries and a six to get RCB underway in their innings.
CSK vs RCB: Patidar, Lomror become middle-order support
Two domestic cricketers were tasked with keeping the tempo in the middle overs, despite a very star-studded batting line-up. In only 31 balls, Mahipal Lomror and Rajat Patidar skillfully stabilized the innings with a 44-run partnership for the fourth wicket. They began to accelerate after a steady start, and in the 15th over, they took their opportunities against Maheesh Theekshana, selecting him for 13 runs in the over.
They were unable to maintain the offensive, however. Patidar’s tenure was ended by a forward diving catch by Choudhary at deep square leg. Despite this, Lomror kept the onslaught rolling, hammering Dwaine Pretorius for 18 in the 18th over.
CSK vs RCB: The momentum change of RCB in the end
In the penultimate over of the innings, Theekshana, who had been dismissed for 25 in his first three overs, put a stop to RCB’s momentum. The spinner took the wickets of Lomror and Wanindu Hasaranga in quick succession, before finishing the over with Shahbaz Ahmed. Shahbaz was cleaned up for 1 while the first two were caught slogging to Ruturaj Gaikwad at long-off. In the midst of it all, he only gave up two runs to end a great over.
CSK vs RCB: Moeen Ali shines with the bat as well
Moeen Ali, who had returned to the team, had already made an impression with the ball earlier in the day. After that, the all-rounder grabbed command of CSK’s run chase. After a half-century opening stand, the momentum had flipped in RCB’s favor as they were reduced to 75 for 3 in the 0th over. Moeen and Conway, on the other hand, made sure they maintained picking limits again and over. Conway was slog sweeping to the deep mid-wicket fielder by Hasaranga shortly after his half-century.
That dismissal was the start of a new downward spiral. Ravindra Jadeja, who survived a tight run-out opportunity early in the innings, was unable to capitalize on the opportunity. Soon after, Harshal Patel’s slower delivery threw him off as he skied a ball to Virat Kohli. Harshal also stopped Moeen’s threat in his next over. Moeen miscued a delivery wide outside the off stump to the fielder on the inner ring only a ball after carting the medium pacer for a six.
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CSK vs RCB: The derailed chase by CSK
The chase was derailed by regular wickets taken by RCB in the final quarter of CSK’s innings. Even when the pitch improved for batting, CSK’s demise was precipitated by contested shot-making. In the end, the lower order was left chasing too much for their comfort due to a lack of batting muscle. Despite being knocked around a lot in the last over, Harshal was able to keep CSK from reaching the mark, reducing them to 160 for 8.
CSK vs RCB: Brief scores
Brief scores First Innings: Royal Challengers Bangalore 173/8 in 20 overs (Mahipal Lomror 42, Faf du Plessis 38; Maheesh Theekshana 3-27, Moeen Ali 2-28)
Second Innings: Chennai Super Kings 160/8 in 20 overs (Devon Conway 56, Moeen Ai 34; Harshal Patel 3-25, Glenn Maxwell 2-22) by 13 runs
