CSK beats RCB by six wickets, moves top of the table

Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets in Sharjah on Friday to move to the top of the IPL 2021 points table.

Published : Sep 24, 2021 23:31 IST , CHENNAI

MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina took CSK past the finish line after Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis had got them off to a brisk start.

MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina took CSK past the finish line after Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis had got them off to a brisk start.

A brilliant bowling performance, led by Dwayne Bravo, whose 3 for 24 restricted Royal Challengers Bangalore to just 156/6, set the stage for a comfortable six-wicket win for Chennai Super Kings in Sharjah on Friday.

With this win, CSK once again moved to the top of the table with seven wins from nine matches.

As it happened|

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Asked to bat first, RCB started strongly in the first 10 overs making 90/0 before fizzling out. A sandstorm delayed the start of the match by 15 minutes before Virat Kohli (53) and Devdutt Padikkal (70) put on a 111-run stand for the opening wicket.

In reply, CSK openers Ruturaj Gaikwad (38) and Faf du Plessis (31) started with a quick 71-run stand. RCB had a semblance of a chance when the spinners removed the openers in successive overs. But Ambati Rayudu (32) and Moeen Ali's (23) valuable contributions ensured CSK stayed on course without further trouble.

Earlier, on a day where there was no swing, Deepak Chahar came under pressure as Kohli and Padikkal went after the pacer, picking five boundaries in his first two overs.

Exquisite strokes

Kohli was exquisite with his shotmaking as he used his powerful wrists to flick any deliveries on the stumps through midwicket and wide off long-on.

The shot of the day came in the fifth over when Kohli whipped Shardul Thakur over the long-on fence and didn't even need to look where it went.

At the other end, Padikkal played some elegant strokes hitting Josh Hazelwood and Ravindra Jadeja down the ground effortlessly.

However, after the PowerPlay, the openers did not take the attack to the CSK bowlers and let the Men in Yellow get in some quiet overs through Jadeja.

Bravo gave the breakthrough, removing Kohli, as he applied the squeeze with his slower ones and well-executed wide yorkers.

RCB lost momentum as Bravo, Chahar and Thakur chipped in with crucial wickets to bring CSK back into the game.

The Bengaluru side managed only 66/6 in the last 10 overs, with just six runs coming off the last two. And in the end, it did not have enough on the board to give a tougher fight.