In the 49th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) beat Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 13 runs at the MCA stadium in Pune.
After winning the toss, Mahendra Singh Dhoni asked RCB to bat first. Both the openers, Virat Kohli (30) and Faf du Plessis (38) started off brilliantly in the powerplay. The duo together put up 62 runs for the first wicket partnership until the captain got out in the eighth over. RCB did a trick and sent Mahipal Lomror (42) to play a cameo knock in the middle overs. Lomror came out of the syllabus for CSK bowlers as the southpaw hammered bowlers all around the park. Rajat Patidar (21) and Dinesh Karthik (26*) in the end took the situation into their hands and smashed some crucial runs in the death overs. In the last over, Kartik was adjudged out by the on-field umpire but the decision was changed after the wicketkeeper-batter opted for DRS. The change of decision was based on a millimetre and after this, the veteran batsman smashed 16 runs which eventually turned out to be a game-changing one. After 20 overs, RCB had 173/8 on the scoreboard.
Chasing 174, once again opening pair of CSK were on a roll as they were scoring some clean boundaries all around the ground. Devon Conway (56) scored a half-century at the strike rate of over 150 but couldn’t take it ahead just the way he did against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Only Moeen Ali (34) looked in great touch from the middle order as he helped CSK reach near the target. In the end, some big hits by tailenders tried their best but it was just too much to get. CSK only managed to reach 160 and are now most likely out of the IPL 2022.
Harshal Patel was at his best today after some lost strings of matches as he scalped three wickets in his quota of four overs. Glenn Maxwell also had his best outing with the ball as he got two wickets to his name. Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed and Josh Hazelwood managed to get one wicket each.
For CSK, Maheesh Theekshana got three wickets in the first innings. Along with Theekshana, Moeen Ali got two wickets and Dwayne Pretorius also managed to get one wicket.
Harshal Patel was adjudged Man of the Match for his brilliant bowling performance. Following this win, RCB now have 12 points on the table and are once again in the fourth position.
Scorecard:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 173/8, Overs 20, Mahipal Lomror 42, Maheesh Theekshana 3/27
Chennai Super Kings: 160/8, Overs 20, Devon Conway 56, Harshal Patel 3/35