IPL 2018, CSK vs RCB: 5 talking points

Chennai Super Kings edged closer towards their qualification for the playoffs by defeating the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 6 wickets at Pune. Batting first, all of RCB's recognised batsmen struggled except for Parthiv Patel who scored a well-made 53 from 41 deliveries.

After Parthiv's dismissal, RCB were in a tough spot at 87/7. However, Tim Southee did some hitting during the death overs and took Bangalore to 127/9.

In reply, CSK lost Shane Watson early but Rayudu and Raina put them in a decent position. After losing three wickets in quick succession, MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo started slowly before the former smashed three sixes off Yuzvendra Chahal to level the scores. CSK then won the match with two overs to spare.

The win took CSK to the top position while RCB remained at the 6th spot. Here are 5 talking points of the match.

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#5 Parthiv Patel makes a decent start to IPL 2018

The 33-year-old was RCB's lone wolf till the first 13 overs as he played some brilliant shots while his partners were going back to the dugout in quick succession.The Royal Challengers were without keeper Quinton de Kock today as he flew home to attend a wedding. Parthiv Patel took his place and was playing his first match of the tournament.

Patel smashed 5 fours and two sixes as he scored his 11th IPL fifty. The keeper-batsman went on to score 53 before being caught and bowled by Ravindra Jadeja.

Had Parthiv Patel stayed longer, then maybe RCB could have posted another 25-35 runs on the board.

#4 RCB's big guns fail to fire

Virat Kohli scored only 8 with the bat

RCB's batting was simply lacklustre today. A lot was needed from the likes of Brendon McCullum, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers but none of them were able to deliver.

McCullum began well with a boundary but was soon dismissed by Lungi Ngidi for just 5 thanks to an overhead catch from Shardul Thakur at mid-on. RCB captain Virat Kohli also hit a boundary but he was bowled for 8 thanks to a crafty delivery from Ravindra Jadeja who knocked out Kohli's off-stump.

AB de Villiers was in the playing XI today after missing RCB's previous two games due to viral infection. However, he could score only 1 as he was dismissed by Harbhajan Singh thanks to a quick stumping from MS Dhoni.

#3 Tim Southee impresses with the bat but flops with the ball

Southee was very expensive with the ball today

RCB were 85/6 when Tim Southee came in to bat. Within the blink of an eye, they were 89/8. There was a good chance that RCB might not even reach 100. However, Southee played some brilliant shots and scored 36 from 26 deliveries to take them to 127/9.

With the ball, Southee conceded 9 runs from his first over before bowling an economical second over from which he conceded only 5 runs. However, his third over turned out to be very expensive as he conceded 16 runs from it that included two fours and a six from Ambati Rayudu. Southee was not called to bowl another over.

#2 MS Dhoni's sublime finishing touch

Dhoni smashed three sixes off Chahal

When MS Dhoni came in to bat, he began very slowly. He did not score a run until his 6th delivery. He was batting very calmly as there was no pressure on CSK at that moment. The required run rate was low and they had wickets in hand.

Anyway, MSD batted on to 12 from 17 deliveries by the end of the 17th over with Chennai needing 22 from 18 balls. Yuzvendra Chahal came in to bowl his penultimate over. After a wide and a dot, Dhoni hammered a massive six over midwicket before Chahal bowled a no-ball.

MSD then hit sixes off the next two deliveries with the first one sailing over long off and the second one being skied over midwicket. CSK now needed just two runs from 14 balls. Singles were scored off the remaining two deliveries and Chennai registered their 7th win of the tournament. Dhoni ended with 31 from 23 deliveries.

#1 The impressive bowling by Jadeja and Harbhajan

Jadeja and Harbhajan were spectacular with the ball

One of the key reasons behind Chennai's win was the brilliance of Ravindra Jadeja and Harbhajan Singh with the ball. Jaddu conceded just 18 runs from his four overs and took three wickets while Bhajji conceded 22 from his four and took two wickets.

Jadeja first knocked the off-stump of RCB skipper Virat Kohli before dismissing Mandeep Singh. His third scalp was the most crucial one of the innings as he dismissed the well-settled Parthiv Patel.

Harbhajan's first scalp was the dangerous AB de Villiers who fell victim to a stumping from an agile MS Dhoni. His second wicket was another stumping by Dhoni. This time the wicket was Murugan Ashwin.

Dhoni was certainly impressed by the work of both spinners as he had nothing but praise for them during the post-match ceremony.

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