It was a typical MS Dhoni finish as he smacked a six to take his side to yet another last over win. His opposite number though- Virat Kohli could only watch the ball sail over the stands.
The hosts failed to defend 205 on a night where sixes came coming. The Bangalore batters were on song, as Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers scored their respective fifties, providing a solid platform for Mandeep Singh to finish their innings with solidity.
For Chennai, Dwayne Bravo scalped two wickets and as the least expensive bowler, going for 8.25 runs per over. Chasing a massive target, Ambati Rayudu anchored the innings with a gutsy 82 off 53 balls. Dhoni remained unbeaten on 70 off 34 balls.
Kohli wasn’t happy with the way his bowlers went about things. The visitors were restricted to 72/4 at one stage but came back in the game with the Dhoni-Rayudu stand. “Many things we can look at from this game. The way we bowled was just not acceptable, giving that many runs, in the end, was criminal. It is something we need to look at and address going forward. If we can’t defend 200 then it’s a problem after 72 for 4 when the lower middle order does that to you.” he said.
“We have to back the guys and have enough confidence in them and they need to be clear in their head to execute things. The pitch played really well, spin played a massive factor. Some quality batting with both sides getting 200.” Kohli added after losing yet another crucial tie.
Kohli on Rayudu’s knock
On being asked regarding the knock (Rayudu’s 83) that hurt RCB the most, Kohli credited the middle-order batter and said that he is a quality player.“Rayudu is not young, he’s been around for 15 years now. He’s a quality player and he’s done well for India. You never know who gets a chance somewhere and I’m happy for him. Dhoni is looking in really good touch, he’s hitting the ball really well this IPL but not great to see it against us.” Kohli said.
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