Ruturaj Gaikwad
Ruturaj Gaikwad [Photo-Twitter]

A sumptuous maiden IPL fifty by Ruturaj Gaikwad [65 not-out off 51 balls] and brisk cameos from Faf du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu has helped Chennai Super Kings [CSK] consign the Royal Challengers Bangalore [RCB] to an 8-wicket win in Dubai on Sunday.

Chasing 146 on a slow track, CSK needed to make full use of the first powerplay. And, that is exactly what the duo of Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad did. While Gaikwad played some scintillating strokes, Du Plessis batted as if he was playing tennis against the likes of Mohammed Siraj.

The opening pair lasted for 5.1 overs in which they racked up 46 runs before Morris got rid of Du Plessis (25 off 13 balls)/thanks to a mistimed lofted cover-drive. CSK scored 48 runs in the powerplay but on what was a slow track, they needed to continue with the momentum against the spinners.

RCB, CSK
Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad [Photo-Twitter]
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ambati Rayudu scored 23 runs in the next three overs of Yuzvendra Chahal and Moeen Ali to take the score to 1-71 after nine overs.

Kohli brought Navdeep Saini into the attack after the Time Out and Rayudu ensured he cashed-in as he smoked him for boundaries to take the total to 1-82 in 10 overs.

RCB, CSK
Ambati Rayudu and Ruturaj Gaikwad [Photo-Twitter]
Rayudu continued with his merry way while Ruturaj Gaikwad displayed just why he is so highly rated in the domestic circle. He looked imperious against both pace and spin, and the manner in which he leaned so effortlessly into his strokes was a sight to behold. Nimble footwork and his inside-out strokes were the highlights of his innings.

The duo soon brought up their 50-run-stand and also the 100 runs for CSK in the 11th over courtesy of an audacious six by Ambati Rayudu, taking the equation to just 41 runs off 48 balls. Yuzvendra Chahal cleaned up Ambati Rayudu [39 off 27 balls] immediately after the second ‘Time-out’ before Gaikwad completed a much-deserved maiden IPL 50.

MS Dhoni smashed consecutive boundaries off Chris Morris to bring the equation down to 19 off the last 30 balls. The CSK skipper continued to flex his muscles in the end while Gaikwad ensured that he fittingly scored the winning runs and he did that in style courtesy a four and a six.

Virat Kohli’s 50 guided RCB to 6-145 against CSK

Batting first, Royal Challengers Bangalore got off to a brisk start as Devdutt Padikkal and Aaron Finch took the attack to CSK’s bowlers.

Padikkal once again enthralled everyone with his exquisite strokeplay while Finch too looked quite positive in his approach. Finch, however, failed to make the most of the start and was undone by Sam Curran, who after seeing Finch charge down the ground, shortened his length to induce a false stroke from the Aussie.

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RCB scored 46 runs in the powerplay but the advent of spin on what was a very slow track meant that they were not able to cash-in on the brisk start.

RCB, CSK
Faf Du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad. (Credits: IPLT20.com)

Devdutt Padikkal fell to Mitchell Santner thanks to a brilliant fielding effort by Faf du Plessis in the deep, which brought the duo of Virat and ABD together at the crease.

RCB, CSK, Virat Kohli, IPL
Virat Kohli [Photo-Twitter]
On a slow track, the duo maneuvered the ball in gaps for quick singles while finding an odd boundary. Kohli and de Villiers stitched an 82-run-stand for the 3rd wicket in 11.2 overs and during the process, Virat became the 5th batsman to notch up 200 IPL sixes.

That said, ABD and Virat failed to give RCB an ideal finish as both fell in an attempt to up the scoring rate. While de Villiers holed out at to Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli was also caught by the champion fielder after he had crossed his half-century.

RCB managed just 44 runs in the last five overs as CSK came back brilliantly to restrict them to 6-145 in 20 overs.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to Chennai Super Kings win over RCB:

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