During the 24th match of the 11th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Bengaluru, Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 5 wickets in a daunting chase.
After Mahendra Singh Dhoni put the home team in to bat, Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 205-8 in their allotted quota of 20 overs. Their innings was powered by AB de Villiers in its true sense, who ended up scoring his 25th IPL half-century.
In reply, Chennai Super Kings lost wickets at regular intervals which hurt their chase to a large extent. Had it not been a 101-run partnership between Ambati Rayudu and Dhoni, their chances of sealing this chase appeared bleak. The Super Kings achieved the target with five wickets in hand a couple of balls to go.
Now, we will look at the hits and flops players in this match.
Hits
AB de Villiers (RCB) – AB de Villiers did not just score his 25th IPL half-century, he clobbered it in front of his home ground. Coming in to bat at No. 3 in the fifth over, he ended playing an innings which was driven by nothing else but entertainment. He ended up scoring 68 (30) with the help of two fours and eight sixes in a spectacular innings.
Ambati Rayudu (CSK) – Ambati Rayudu is playing a stellar role for the Super Kings this year. His varying batting positions seem to have no effect on his form whatsoever. Watching wicket fall at the opposite end didn’t probably affect Rayudu as played an unhindered innings in a tough chase. He scored 82 (53) with the help of three fours and eight sixes which helped him to bag the ‘Orange Cap’.
MS Dhoni (CSK) – Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain of Chennai Super Kings, played an evocative knock which made the memories of the yesteryear’s Dhoni afresh in the minds of the fans of not just Dhoni but the game as a whole. He came in to bat at No. 6 after Ravindra Jadeja was dismissed on the last ball of the ninth over. Dhoni shared a match-winning 101-run partnership with Rayudu. Playing an archetype role of a finisher, he scored 70* (34) with the help of one four and seven sixes in a ‘Man of the Match’ performance.
Flops
Corey Anderson (RCB) – Coming in to bat at No. 4 in the 14th over, Corey Anderson ended up scoring 2 (8). With the ball in hand, his match figures read 3.4-0-58-0. The numbers are evident enough to the unforgettable match that the Kiwi all-rounder played for RCB.
Ravindra Jadeja (CSK) – Another all-rounder in this list, Ravindra Jadeja too failed to stand tall on the expectations bestowed upon him Bowling a couple of overs, Jadeja conceded 22 runs and failed to pick up a wicket. In the second innings, he was promoted up the order at No. 5, but failed to make a substantial contribution as he got out on 3 (5).
Mohammad Siraj (RCB) – In a match where his team had to defend 205 runs, all Mohammad Siraj had to do was bind one end up, at least for the four overs the he bowled. Continuing on his reputation of leaking runs, he gave 48 runs in the four overs that he bowled at a soaring economy rate of 12.
