Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Royal Challengers Bangalore have earned two points to secure their position amongst the top four teams in the 15th edition of IPL after comprehensively beating defending champions Chennai Super Kings by 13 runs on Wednesday evening at MCA, Pune. Mahipal Lomror (42 off 27) and Dinesh Karthik (26 off 17) helped Bangalore reach 173/8 in 20 overs, while Harshal Patel took three wickets for 35 runs in his four-over spell to script the sixth victory for his side.
With that loss, Chennai Super Kings has almost shown an exit door and will be out of the playoffs race. They have now lost seven games out of ten and have mere 6 points on the team's log sheet. Chennai won the toss earlier and opted to field first, but Virat Kohli (30 off 33) and Faf du Plessis (38 off 22) provided a solid start to their innings. However, quick wickets after the powerplay meant Bangalore was in a dangerous situation, but Lomror played one of the finest innings and built a crucial partnership with Rajat Patidar (21 off 15) and later, with Dinesh Karthik (26 off 17).
For CSK, M Theekshana and Moeen Ali took three and two wickets, respectively. In response to 173, CSK got the flying start as Ruturaj Gaikwad (28 off 23), and Devon Conway (56 off 37) added 54 runs for the first wickets. But the abysmal performance from the middle-order meant CSK was losing one more match. Harshal Patel and Glenn Maxwell starred with the ball, as they picked three and two wickets, respectively.
Let's take a look at the points table after game number 49.
Changes in Points Table
Bangalore has earned two valuable points and climbed the ladder to fourth place. The franchise has a -0.444 net run rut and will be hoping to show some consistency in order to qualify for the playoffs. Meanwhile, CSK continued their poor performance throughout the tournament despite a shuffle in captaincy and currently are placed at 9th position with six points. They have a net run rate of -0.431.
What did the captains say?
After winning the game, Faf du Plessis confessed that the top four need to buckle up and be consistent as the tournament progresses. "We want one of the top four to bat through. Need to keep playing the positive brand of cricket. Once you get an opportunity to think of the run rate in a match, you will be able to put on the gas and go for it," he concluded.
Meanwhile, MS Dhoni highlighted that poor shot selection from the batters in the middle-order consisted of the game. "We had to get off to a good start, everything was up to the mark, and what let us down was the batsmanship. When you are chasing, you know what is required, and at times you have to curb your instinct and see what the situation is demanding rather than playing your shots," Dhoni said.
Today's matchup
Delhi Capitals will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai in match number 50 of the tournament. Kane Williamson's side will look to get back their winning ways by outplaying Rishabh Pant and Co. to better their position in the points table.