Dhoni's men beat Kohli's boys by six wickets to make it two wins in a row

Sharjah:  Chennai Super Kings (CSK) middle-order delivered after Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis provided a fantastic start with the bat as the team in yellow chased the target of 156 in 18.1 overs, defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 6 wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter here at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.

After this victory, CSK returns to the top of the table ahead of Delhi Capitals (DC) on Net Run Rate (NRR). For RCB, things are getting a tad trickier, and they will need to get back to winnings ways soon, as the rest of the pack are catching up on them. For Chennai Super Kings, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ambati Rayudu scored innings of 38 and 32 respectively. Faf du Plessis also scored crucial innings of 31 while MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina lead the team across the victory line with winning runs. For RCB Harshal Patel scalped two wickets while Yuzvendra Chahal and Glen Maxwell returned with one wicket each.

Chasing 156, Chennai had a brilliant start as Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis took apart the RCB bowlers in the first six overs of the match. After the first powerplay, the CSK score read 59/0.

The duo continued with their carnage for a couple more overs as Yuzvendra Chahal provided the RCB with the much-needed breakthrough in the 9th over of the match. Virat Kohli took a sensational catch as Gaikwad walked back after scoring 38 off 26.

In the very next over, spin again did the trick for the team in red as Glen Maxwell removed du Plessis (31 off 26) after the South African found the fielder at short-fine. After losing two quick wickets, Ambati Rayudu and Moeen Ali stabilised CSK’s innings.

Harshal Patel struck as Virat Kohli took another catch to dismiss Moeen Ali on 23. The Englishman walked back with CSK needing 39 off 36.

In the 16th over Harshal Patel got another one as he removed dangerous-looking Ambati Rayudu (32 off 22). Rayudu handed a simple catch to AB de Villiers at mid-wicket.

MS Dhoni joined Suresh Raina at the crease with CSK needing 24 off 26 with six wickets in hand. In the 17th over, Raina after being held by Wanindu Hasaranga in the first four balls smashed 10 runs in the last two balls to take the momentum towards the team in yellow.

In the next over by Mohammed Siraj, Dhoni smashed two fours as CSK then required two runs in the last two overs of the match. CSK then easily scored the remaining runs to steal the two points.

Earlier, Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli starred with the bat as Royal Challengers Banglore (RCB) posted the score of 156/6 in their allotted twenty overs.

Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli scored innings of 70 and 53 respectively for Banglore. The duo made a 111-run opening stand. But RCB middle-order failed to gain the benefit from the start provided by the openers. For CSK, Shardul Thakur scalped two wickets while Dwayne Bravo returned with three.

Put in to bat first, Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal provided a brilliant start to the RCB. The duo played some stunning shots and powered their team to a strong position in the first six overs. After the end of the first powerplay, the RCB score read 55/0.

The pair continued their carnage after providing a rollicking start to the team in Red. In the 12th over of the innings, Devdutt Padikkal raced towards his half-century. The left-hander brought up his sixth IPL half-century off 35 deliveries.

In the very next over, RCB captain Virat Kohli completed his half-century. Dwayne Bravo got the breakthrough for CSK in 14th over after he removed Kohli for 53 (41 balls).

In the 17th over, Shradul Thakur dismissed AB de Villiers and Padikkal on two consecutive deliveries. Padikkal departed for 70 off 50 while ABD made 12. Tim David’s debut with the bat didn’t last long as Deepak Chahar removed him in the penultimate over of the innings. Chahar just gave four runs and returned with a wicket in the 19th over.

Bravo then removed Maxwell and Harshal Patel in the last over as RCB finished with 156/6 even after such a good start provided by the openers.

Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Banglore (Devdutt Padikkal 70, Virat Kohli 53; Dwayne Bravo 3-24, Shardul Thakur 2-29) vs Chennai Super Kings (Ruturaj Gaikwad 38, Ambati Rayudu 32; Harshal Patel 2-25, Yuzvendra Chahal 1-26) .