Chasing 214, CSK needed 15 off the last over with Ravindra Jadeja and M.S. Dhoni at the crease. But Yash Dayal dismissed Dhoni, survived a monstrous six from Shivam Dube off a no-ball to carry his side home.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) emerged on the right side of a capricious Indian Premier League match as it pipped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by two runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Chasing a Romario Shepherd-powered target of 214, CSK needed 15 off the last over with Ravindra Jadeja and M.S. Dhoni at the crease. However, Yash Dayal – also the hero in the same fixture last year – dismissed Dhoni and survived a monstrous six off a no-ball from Impact Player Shivam Dube to fashion a win for his side.
For significant periods, CSK had the chase under control. The teenaged talent of Ayush Mhatre blossomed (94, 48b, 9x4, 5x6), and the 17-year-old combined for an excellent 114-run stand (64 balls) for the third wicket with Jadeja (77 n.o., 45b, 8x4, 2x6).
But with 43 needed from 24 balls, Lungi Ngidi dismissed Mhatre and Dewald Brevis off consecutive deliveries to bring RCB back in. Jadeja was dropped twice, including by the usually reliable Virat Kohli in the 19th over off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but RCB held on and ensured that the absence of the injured Josh Hazlewood wouldn’t prove costly.
Earlier, after losing yet another toss at home, the RCB innings went through a boom-bust-boom cycle. Jacob Bethell (55, 33b, 8x4, 2x6) and Kohli (62, 33b, 5x4, 5x6) put on 97 golden runs for the opening wicket.
Kohli’s 62nd IPL fifty had his trademark flicks and drives while the promising Bethell, who replaced Phil Salt for a second straight game, brought up his maiden IPL fifty (55, 33b, 8x4, 2x6).
But left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad (4-0-26-1) and Matheesha Pathirana (4-0-36-3) brought CSK back by limiting RCB to 159 for five after 18 overs.
When all hopes of a competitive score for RCB seemed to rest on Tim David’s bludgeoning blade, welcomed as he was by a thunderous applause from the crowd, it was Shepherd who stole the show with a stunning 14-ball unbeaten 53 (4x4, 6x6), the second joint-fastest fifty in IPL (alongside Pat Cummins and K.L. Rahul).
The Guyanese plundered 32 runs off an already-expensive Khaleel Ahmed in the 19th over before smashing Pathirana for 20 in the last. The 54 runs RCB scored in the last two overs were the most across overs 19 and 20 in IPL history.
The 30-year-old Shepherd did not middle every ball but swung the bat like an almighty axe, and it was his brute power that carried the ball long distances. By the looks of it, it might just have carried RCB into the playoffs too.
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