IPL 2018, CSK vs RCB: 5 reasons why Bangalore lost 

In a day-night encounter at Pune, Chennai Super Kings were hosting Royal Challengers Bangalore in a crucial encounter for the visitors.

Chennai won the toss and asked Bangalore to put some runs on the board. The decision paid rich dividends as the spinners came to the party, dismantling the batting order with a total of five wickets between them. It was a failure for the batters as they eventually crumbled to 127 in their 20 overs.

Chasing 127 on that Pune surface was a tricky task in hand. But a sensible start and winning some decisive moments was the ley for Chennai to script another victory over RCB. However, they tried their every bit to mess up with the things until MS Dhoni took them home with six wickets to spare.

Let’s take a close look at some of the reasons that propelled a Bangalore loss:

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#1 Big guns failing to fire for RCB

It was a rare sight for any RCB fan to see none of their big guns firing in their game against Chennai at Pune. In a day-night encounter, the opposition came on top as they were able to restrict the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Brendon McCullum to some paltry individual scores.

The going became tough for the batters as they failed to adapt to the situation and went for some careless shots despite losing wickets in the early overs. In hindsight, shot making wasn’t that difficult as even Tim Southee managed to get a handy knock to give his side a real chance in the game.

#2 Losing the plot in the middle overs (7-15)

Things went as per plans for the men in red as they started well in the first six overs. The score which read 47 for the loss of a solitary wicket after powerplay, was to see a flurry of wickets in the next eight overs. It wasn’t a nice outing for the batsmen as they succumbed under pressure.

In the next eight overs, from 7 to 15, RCB lost their way after a much decent start. They lost the plot and didn’t even manage to up the ante of runs. In due course, they lost six key wickets for just 42 runs. It was then some late blitz from the bowlers that helped them go past that 120-run mark.

#3 Jadeja’s dream spell of four overs

It was one of those days when the seasoned campaigner in Ravindra Jadeja showed why he was one of the retained players for his franchise. He came good in his spell of four overs, getting some crucial breakthroughs to prevent batsmen from going anything big in the innings.

His gave just 18 runs at an economy of 4.5 in his quota of overs to take 3 important wickets for his team. The southpaw was amongst the wickets after quite a long time. This was also the first occasion in three years when Jadeja managed to pick three wickets in an IPL game. He looked in absolutely stunning form, setting aside all the disappointments from the last game.

#4 RCB sloppy in the field

Defending a paltry score of 127 against a formidable Chennai lineup, it was essential for RCB to come good in both the other departments in the field. A track that lives with a reputation of witnessing low score being defended here was a certain chance with RCB bowlers hitting good lengths in the first six.

However, they didn’t sound like a good fielding side with a lot too many mistakes committed in the second innings. There were occasions when fielders coasting the boundary region dropped dollies and gave the batsmen a chance to explode later on. They even missed the crucial run-out of Suresh Raina and were short in many instances to go for the catch.

#5 MS Dhoni holds his cool

There was a phase in the second innings when CSK lost two wickets in the span of two overs with just four runs being put on the board. It was a state where any youngster could have panicked to open the gates for RCB to stage a comeback into the game.

However, with MS Dhoni being in the middle of things, he kept things simple and rotated the strike with some ease. In his very old style, he was cool as a cucumber to take the game till the end and finish it off in style by taking the attack to the leg-spinner. His innings of 31 runs from 23 deliveries, brushed aside every chance of Bangalore making a comeback into the game.

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