Before the RCB-CSK rivalry got down to the wire on May 4 in Chinnaswamy where Yash Dayal triumphed over the caliber and experience of MS Dhoni, Romario Shepherd drove RCB to ascendancy in the first half even as the young Ayush Mhatre nearly superseded his efforts. However, the night ultimately belonged to the hosts as they completed the league double over CSK for the first time in IPL history.
What was the determining factor?
The back end of the innings. While Shepherd’s range-hitting prowess delivered a stellar finishing kick, Lungi Ngidi, Suyash Sharma and Dayal played their roles to perfection to deny CSK a consolation victory.
Kohli, Bethell tee off in the PowerPlay
MS Dhoni expected the pitch to behave in a sluggish manner, but his reading of the conditions wasn’t quite up to the mark as Khaleel Ahmed leaked runs after CSK opted to bowl. He was hit for three fours in his first over and three sixes in his second as Jacob Bethell and Virat Kohli blazed off the blocks. When Bethell miscued a big hit in the nascent stages of the game, Ravindra Jadeja and Matheesha Pathirana collided in an attempt to catch the ball and the opportunity went abegging. CSK’s wayward bowling continued all through as Bethell thwacked Noor Ahmad for a 14-run over before Kohli rounded off an awesome PowerPlay by taking 11 off Anshul Kamboj.
Kohli, Bethell depart after scorching fifties
Phase score – 73/2 [RR: 8.11, 4s/6s: 7/3]
Jadeja seemed to have applied the brakes with a two-run over in the seventh, but Sam Curran was ground to dust in the following over. Bethell greeted him with a four and Kohli was wise to his slower ones as he bludgeoned him over deep mid-wicket. Jadeja managed to get the ball to grip off the surface and kept the well-set openers in check, the slight pressure bringing forth a wicket as Dewald Brewis chimed in from deep square leg and dived forward to snaffle a catch just inches off the ground. The partnership was just three runs away from touching the three-figure mark, albeit Kohli responded to Bethell’s exit – on 55 off 33 – by attacking Jadeja and tarnishing his figures with a 17-run over that glided RCB past 100 in 11 overs. A slower bouncer from Curran eventually dismissed the man in form, who has registered seven 50-plus scores this season.
Romario Shepherd drops jaws to the floor
For all the progress RCB had made, it still looked like CSK could restrict them to a total around 180 by excelling in the slog overs. However, Romario Shepherd’s mind-boggling 53* off 14 balls – the joint second-fastest half-century in IPL history – catapulted RCB to 213/5. A flurry of wickets had seen RCB trip from 144/2 in 15 overs to 159/5 in 18 overs before the West Indian subjected Khaleel to a a 33-run penultimate over where he created room to free his arms and sent the ball soaring deep into the stands. Tim David wasted little time in putting Shepherd back on strike in the last over, which resulted in two fours and two sixes. In a devastating 57-run stand for the sixth wicket, David was a mere spectator as Shepherd flipped the game on its head.
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Romario Shepherd thrilled the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium with a 'blink and you miss' knock 🫡🔥
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Ayush Mhatre, CSK’s enforcer in the PowerPlay
CSK haven’t been at their best this season with the willow but their promising openers showed they meant business on this night. Shaik Rasheed pulled Dayal for a six and a four in the third over, whereas Mhatre’s phenomenal knock took off against the veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was clobbered for five fours and a six in the fifth over by the talented 17-year-old. Krunal Pandya and Lungi Ngidi offered RCB some breathing space, dismissing Rasheed and Curran while conceding merely nine runs.
Mhatre-Jadeja put RCB under the pump
Krunal and Ngidi would have hoped to continue bowling in the same vein but their aspirations were met with resistance from the two batters as Mhatre collected an ungainly six off the spinner and Jadeja fetched a couple of fours off the pacer. Mhatre accomplished his 25-ball half-century off Suyash Sharma before giving Shepherd a taste of his own medicine in the 10th over – with two sixes and a four. It ushered CSK past the 100-run mark in 10 overs, keeping them abreast with the asking rate. Suyash and Ngidi proved expensive and even Bhuvneshwar’s return for his third did not alter the course of the chase as Mhatre hammered the experienced campaigner for a six. In the same over, Jadeja raised a 29-ball half-century as CSK walked into the death overs needing 54 off 30 balls.
Dayal holds his nerve at the death
After Rajat Patidar dropped Mhatre off Dayal, Ngidi put down a dolly at third man to hand Jadeja a life in the 16th over. Although the Proteas quick redeemed himself instantaneously, with a slower change-up putting paid to the brilliance of Mhatre for a 48-ball 94. On the next ball, Ngidi had an LBW shout against Dewald Brevis adjudged in his favour to rock CSK further. What added insult to injury for the chasing side was the fact that Brevis ran out of time to use the DRS facility and the replays showed that the on-field umpire’s decision would’ve been overturned on review.
Suyash bowled an economical over to Jadeja and MS Dhoni, leaving the stalwarts with an equation of 29 in two overs. That came down to 15 off 6 as Jadeja hit a four and Dhoni whacked a six off Bhuvneshwar in the 19th over. The pressure-cooker environment was getting to everyone, even those with ice in their veins as Kohli missed a sitter to blow up a chance to dismiss Jadeja. The complexion of the game changed dramatically in the final over as Dayal sent Dhoni packing but also conceded a six off a rubbish waist-high no-ball to Shivam Dube, leaving CSK with a manageable requirement of 6 off 3. Dayal, under significant pressure, steadied himself to deliver three superb full length balls that the CSK batters failed to get underneath.
