Dwayne Bravo hails CSK’s bowling show:
Dwayne Bravo got the crucial and much-needed first breakthrough in the 14th over when he dismissed Virat Kohli for 53 runs. And then the tide turned in CSK’s favour from thereon.
After Virat Kohli was sent back, Shardul Thakur dismissed AB de Villiers (12) and Devdutt Padikkal (70) in quick succession and brought CSK back into the game. Then, Dwayne Bravo removed RCB all-rounders Glenn Maxwell (11) and Harshal Patel (3) to help CSK restrict RCB to 156/6 in their 20 overs, which was a below-par total considering RCB was very comfortably placed at 111/0 in 13.1 overs.
“I think it was a great team performance, we showed a good bowling display at the backend of the RCB’s innings. It put us in a good position at the halfway stage. We had to chase 157 on a small ground like Sharjah.
“We will take it every other day. As a bowling group, we pride ourselves on the backend of the innings, we know it is tough. When you come up against quality batters, you have to just back your skills,” Dwayne Bravo told teammate Ambati Rayudu in a video posted on iplt20.com.
“For me, before the game, I try bowling around the wicket in the nets session and I try to land wide yorkers just to try to mix up the angles and give myself the best option to go straight or wide. It worked against RCB, Jadeja’s spell was very crucial. We tried to shut RCB down and it worked,” Dwayne Bravo added.
Earlier, Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli scored 70 and 53 respectively to help RCB post 156/6 in the allotted twenty overs. Both openers shared a stand of 111 runs for the first wicket, but Dwayne Bravo’s spell of 3-24 helped CSK restrict RCB under the 160-run mark. CSK will next square off against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL on Sunday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Ruturaj Gaikwad And Faf du Plessis Gave CSK A Solid Foundation
Chasing RCB’s 156, CSK openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis gave Chennai Super Kings a solid foundation Ruturaj Gaikwad (38 runs off 26 balls) and Faf Du Plessis (31 runs off 26 balls) took CSK to 71/0 in 8.1 overs. But RCB hit back by removing the duo in quick succession. So the score suddenly went from 71/0 to 71/2.
Yuzvendra Chahal deceived Ruturaj Gaikwad with flight and turn as he attempted a drive but got a thick edge, and Virat Kohli, who was fielding at backward point, dived forward and took a brilliant catch. Faf du Plessis then tried to play a sweep off Glenn Maxwell but got a top edge and gave an easy catch to Navdeep Saini at short fine leg as the brakes were applied on the CSK innings.
Moeen Ali (23) and Ambati Rayudu (32) gave the yellow brigade a solid partnership as the duo put on a 47-run stand for the third wicket. However, Harshal Patel eventually dismissed both batsmen. Still, Suresh Raina (17) and MS Dhoni (11) ensured no more setbacks, as CSK completed a six-wicket win in 18.1 overs to register their second consecutive win in as many matches in the UAE leg of IPL 2021.
Chennai Super Kings 157 for 4 (Gaikwad 38, Rayudu 32, Harshal 2-25) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 156 for 6 (Padikkal 70, Kohli 53, Bravo 3-24, Thakur 2-29) by six wickets.