RCB vs CSK: India captain Kohli’s RCB face former India captain Dhoni’s CSK in a heavyweight clash tonight! Here is one of the most memorable matches in their rivalry.
It’s time for the Southern Derby on Friday night, as RCB face CSK in a second vs third clash. These two teams have given their fans some of the most memorable encounters in the recent past.
We look at one such encounter tonight from the year 2019.
The Prelude
This was Match No. 39 of IPL 2019, and was played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. CSK captain MS Dhoni won the toss and sent in RCB to bat. RCB were coming into this match, having not won against CSK since the year 2014!
So Kohli’s men had a lot to play for.
RCB stutter early, then recover
Deepak Chahar got rid of skipper Kohli in the 3rd over and RCB were down to 11-1. AB de Villiers came out to bat at No.3 and steadied the ship with Parthiv Patel, with a 47-run partnership.
Jadeja with twin strikes, Parthiv scores 50
Ravindra Jadeja got rid of ABD first, and then Akshdeep Nath soon after. RCB were on 99-3 with almost 13 overs done. They did not look like putting up a big score on the small Chinnaswamy ground.
Also Read:Â RCB vs CSK in IPL 2021: 5 Key Players to Watch Out For in Tonights Game between RCB vs CSK
However, Parthiv continued his good opening form all season and scored a well-deserved 50. When he got out, RCB were 124-4 with just above 4 overs left.
Moeen provides a flourish
Moeen Ali scored 5 fours as he was unbeaten at 26 off only 16 balls, ensuring that his team got a decent total of 161-7. At the short ground, the Chennai batsmen knew they were in with a good chance to chase the sub-par score down.
CSK make a mess of the chase
RCB bowlers were all over the Chennai batsmen in the powerplay as they took four wickets, powered by a brilliant performance from Dale Steyn. Chennai do bat deep but it looked like the chase was already out of their hands!
Rayudu, Dhoni stem flow of wickets
Ambati Rayudu got along with his captain and helped CSK out of troubled waters. They were involved in a decent 55-run partnership. But when Rayudu got out, CSK were 83-5, still needing 79 off just 41 balls.
Wickets kept falling at the other end, but Dhoni continued with his batting, true to his style of taking the game deep. After 19 overs, the equation read – CSK needs 26 runs off 6 balls to win.
Dhoni (almost) finishes off in style
Umesh Yadav bowled the last over, and Dhoni was ready. He dispatched Yadav for 3 sixes and a four, to get the equation down to 2 runs needed off the final ball.
Yadav bowled a slower delivery which Dhoni did not connect, but the batsmen ran to ensure at least a tie. Shardul Thakur, who was on the other end, could not reach the crease on time. Parthiv from behind the stumps threw a direct hit to catch him short of his crease.
The match swung like a pendulum, but finally fell RCB’s way! It also gave them their first victory against CSK in 5 years!
Dhoni ended up unbeaten on 84 off just 48 balls, making it his highest score in T20 cricket.
Can we expect something like this from Thala again tonight? We’ll have to wait and tune in tonight!
