WICKET!!!! Mandeep goes for 32 off 17 balls as 18 runs come from the 19th over and even though Mandeep is caught by Ravindra Jadeja at deep mid-wicket, that is a fabulous innings by Mandeep at the end of the innings and the type of push RCB needed to get near the 200-run mark. The score reads 191/5 after 19
9 runs from the Bravo over as CSK are very much back in the thick of things having picked the important wickets here going into the death overs. Grandhomme and Mandeep looking to finish as well as they can after the start the top-order batsmen gave them. The score reads 173/4 after 18 overs
7 runs from the Tahir over as the spinner finishes really well here with just 5 singles and a double taken from his last over in this game. RCB now need to start tonking the ball if they wish to finish with 200 on the board. The score reads 164/4 after 17 overs with 3 overs left in the innings.
MAIDEN WICKET!!! Bravo has done a great job here as he not breaks the partnership between de Kock and AB de Villiers as he dismisses the wicket-keeper with a slower delivery for just 53 off 37 balls, but also bowls a maiden over to pull things slightly back for CSK. The score reads 138/2 after 14 overs
50 with a SIX for ABD!!! Three back to back sixes as AB de Villiers is one a role here as this is also his 3rd 50 of this season. Shardul Thakur has no answers to the kind of rampage that is on at the Chinnaswamy at present. The partnership is going really well as the score reads 138/1 after 13
19 runs from the Tahir over as ABD says enough of respect and first hits a boundary, follows it up with a six into the stands and is not done yet as he hits the next one out of the ground. The new ball is asked for as RCB is looking to put up a winning total on the board. The score reads 106/1 after 11 overs
5 runs from the Tahir over here as both AB de Villiers and de Kock look like they are willing to play their spinning teammate from South Africa with a little respect as the run-rate is anyway well placed for RCB. The score reads 77/1 after 9 overs with ABD on 27 off 14 and de Kock on 32 off 25 balls.
5 without loss from the first over here as Kohli has come out to open the batting and starts with a whip to the mid-wicket boundary. Chahar looked a bit nervous as he even had a false start, but nothing too big here as the battle royale is underway. Kohli will look to take the initiative here
AT the toss, Virat Kohli: "Good to see the mix of yellow and red in the same stadium. Looking forward to a good game of cricket. We just need to focus on one game at a time. CSK have played some good cricket. Two teams play well and stay at the top and four others are fighting for two spots. We are in the group of four. We need to keep playing the kind of cricket we played in the last game. We have two changes as well. Pawan Negi replaces Manan Vohra, Colin de Grandhomme is playing in place of Chris Woakes."
MS Dhoni: "We will bowl first. It (the pitch) looks from the top, but when you rub the hand, it's slightly wet. It's a tough ground to defend. We have got equal amount of support (smiles). It's rare, when you come to Bangalore, you don't get this kind of support. It's good, generally it's a good crowd in Bangalore irrespective of which team is playing. It is one of the best stadiums to play in because of the crowd. I never felt it was about a personal rivalry (on playing against Virat). It's a sport that we are supposed to play in the right spirit. Couple of changes. Karn Sharma and Faf du Plessis make way for Harbhajan and Imran Tahir."
Playing XIs: Royal Challengers Bangalore: Quinton de Kock(w), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh, Corey Anderson, Colin de Grandhomme, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir
Deepak Chahar, who was the hero of CSK last time around, has credited Dhoni for the team’s good show this year. He said, “We take pride from these close finishes and feel better. Well, the reason why we keep winning such matches is we have MS Dhoni as captain. His advice during the huddles when Kane (Williamson) and Yusuf (Pathan) were batting well was just not to bowl to their strengths; to stick to a good line and length. And, importantly staying cool.”
Dhoni on bowlers: “Wickets have gone better. If you compare it to the first few editions of the IPL, these wickets are very good batting surfaces. You also need to give credit to the batsmen as they’re getting stronger. They’re making plans as to which bowler bowls what. As we get into the knockout stages, we’ll see the bowlers coming up with new plans and it won’t be easy for the batsmen to score the kind of runs they’re scoring so far.”
CSK coach Stephen Fleming ahead of the match: "It is a special match, given the proximity of the two cities. There is a lot of interest, a lot of emotion and we have always enjoyed the encounters and have seen some great ones over the years. I don't think this time it will be any different."
RCB star AB De Villiers ahead of the clash: “I know CSK have fans all over the country, and I believe they have a fair amount of support here in Bengaluru. But it will definitely be a home game for us. The crowd gets behind us when we get some momentum going. It's matter of playing well and I feel the crowd will lift us a lot.”
In total, RCB have scored 849 runs off the bat so far, with De Villiers and Kohli contributing 443 runs. The duo has scored 52.18% of RCB’s runs thus far. Kohli and de Villiers have scored 58 boundaries cumulatively which is two more than what the rest of the RCB team have managed together. The rest of the RCB batsmen score a boundary after every 5.30 balls, whereas Kohli and De Villiers score a boundary after every 4.98 balls cumulatively. Not just that, out of the top 3 partnerships for RCB this season, AB de Villiers and Kohli have featured in all three of them, together or individually.
Chennai Super Kings celebrate after picking a wicket. (BCCI)
| Rank | Team | Points | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 5313 | 121 |
| 2 | South Africa | 5154 | 117 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 3886 | 102 |
| 4 | Australia | 4599 | 102 |
| 5 | England | 5029 | 97 |
| FULL Ranking | |||
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