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CSK raze down 206-run target with a blaze of sixes
Agencies
Bengaluru
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) picked up their fifth victory through thunderous performances from two heroes - Ambati Rayudu and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni - in an explosive performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.
It was a mid-week entertainment for the packed house as CSK rained fours and sixes in a chase of the big 206-run target. And Rayudu (82 off 53 balls; 3x4s, 8x6s) and Dhoni (70 n.o. off 34 balls; 1x4, 7x6s) made nearly half of that.
CSK which had earlier come under an AB de Villiers onslaught, recovered well to chase just a little over 200, when it could've been much more.
Then they slipped to 74 for 4 in nine overs, but yet managed to find themselves back courtesy a blazing 101-run stand between Dhoni and Rayudu that brought them to within touching distance.
Dwayne Bravo, as he so often does, then brought out a couple of big hits to deflate RCB. Dhoni then finished it off in his signature style a six over long-off to seal the win with two balls to spare.
CSK are now at the top of the table with 10 points from six games, while RCB have only 4 points from the same number of matches.
De Villiers and Quinton de Kock struck breezy half centuries to power RCB to a mammoth 205-8 after being put into bat.
De Kock (53, 37 balls; 4x1, 6x4) played the perfect supporting role in the 103-run second wicket stand with de Villiers (68 off 30; 4x2, 6x8), who started from the word go to bring up his half century in just 23 deliveries.
RCB got off to a decent 35-run start by skipper Virat Kohli (18) and de Kock before Shardul Thakur saw the back of the Indian captain, thanks to a smart catch by Ravindra Jadeja.
But the visitors wouldn't have imagined what was coming their way, as de Villiers started off by clobbering Harbhajan Singh for two consecutive sixes before launching left-arm spinner Jadeja to the skies.
Such was the dominance from the former Proteas skipper that the hosts raced to 87/1 midway into the innings, with both de Villiers and de Kock nearing their respective fifties.
Despite being overshadowed by his senior partner, the southpaw brought up his half century in style, tonking Shane Watson for a six over deep mid-wicket.
On the first ball of the very next over, de Villiers, who had earlier clobbered leg-spinner Imran Tahir for two massive sixes, took Thakur to the cleaners thrice consecutively to bring up his half century.
With both the RCB batsmen going hammer and tongs, CSK skipper Dhoni threw the ball to his West Indian all-rounder Bravo, and he responded in style by packing back de Kock with a smart catch off his own follow through.
Tahir then joined the party by bagging the prized scalp of de Villiers and new man Corey Anderson (2) in the very next over to restore parity into the match. De Villiers miscued Tahir's tossed-up delivery pitched outside off-stump for Sam Billings to complete the formalities at deep cover.
Tahir immediately got rid of New Zealand's Anderson with a googly as Harbhajan Singh completed a brilliant catch at slip.
With the hosts comfortably placed at 142/4, Mandeep Singh (32 off 17; 4x1, 6x3) and Colin de Grandhomme (11) struck a few lusty blows towards the end, even as two run-outs and a wicket in the final over could not stop RCB from crossing the 200-run mark.
Scores: Chennai Super Kings 207 for 5 (Rayudu 82, MS Dhoni 70*) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 205 for 8 (De Villiers 68, De Kock 53, Bravo 2-33) by five wickets.
