IPL 2021: Bravo leads CSK to victory over RCB

Dwayne Bravo delivered the goods with the ball as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Match 35 of the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Needing 157 runs to win, CSK chased down the target in 18.1 overs, with six wickets in hand, and pocketed two more points.

The CSK opening pair of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis set the tone for CSK’s chase. The two went about their business in some style, cashing in on every scoring opportunity, guiding CSK to 59-0 after six overs.

But their opening stand was broken in the ninth over as RCB captain Virat Kohli took a stunning diving catch as Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed Gaikwad. In the next over, Glenn Maxwell gave RCB their second success with the ball as Navdeep Saini completed the catch to get du Plessis out.

Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu then joined forces and put up a quickfire 47-run stand to take CSK close to 120. However, the two departed in the space of 15 runs as Harshal Patel struck at the either side of the strategic time out.

Suresh Raina and CSK skipper MS Dhoni then added an unbroken 24-run stand and took the team home.

Earlier, after a sandstorm delayed the proceedings, CSK put RCB into bat. Kohli set the ball rolling for RCB as he creamed two fours on the first two deliveries he faced. Devdutt Padikkal struck his first four on the final ball of the first over.

The two hit a four each in the third over and then followed it up with a six each over the course of the next two overs before RCB moved to 55-0 at the end of the Powerplay.

Padikkal brought up his sixth IPL fifty in the 12th over as the pair completed a superb 100-run stand. In the next over, RCB captain moved past fifty.

But CSK started to pull things back as Bravo broke the opening stand, dismissing Kohli for 53 as Ravindra Jadeja took the catch in the deep.

AB de Villiers, who replaced Kohli in the middle, creamed a six in the 16th over, while Shardul Thakur’s twin strikes in the 17th over saw the back of ABD and Padikkal, who got out after scoring a breezy 70.

CSK continued to tighten the screws – with Bravo, who picked three wickets, conceding just 24 runs, leading the charge – and limited RCB to 156-6. (IPL)