IPL 2018, RCB vs CSK: 4 things you might have missed

It was a Southern derby as Royal Challengers Bangalore were to host Chennai Super Kings at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. It was a battle between two skippers who have known to share a camaraderie for years after being in the same dressing room for the Indian team.

Men in yellow won the toss and asked the home team to bat first. After early dismissal of Virat Kohli in the first six overs, it was an absolute entertainment courtesy AB de Villiers who blazed his way to a 30-ball 68. Despite some later hiccup in the innings, RCB stood strong after posting 205 runs in their 20 overs.

With a daunting task at hand, CSK were off to a flier but lost control in the middle overs. It was before Rayudu and Dhoni came together to inflict yet another disappointment for the RCB fans as the home team succumbed to defeat by five wickets.

Let’s take a look at some of the things that went unnoticed during the game.

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#1 ABD smashes longest six of this year's IPL

It was a night to remember for all the RCB fans as they got their money’s worth by getting an opportunity to witness an AB de Villiers show. Mr. 360, as he is often regarded as, had a pure display of his masterclass as he torn apart the opposition bowlers to all parts of the ground.

In his 30-ball 68, he stroked 8 gigantic sixes with two boundaries. Amongst those eight, he smashed a 111m long six against Imran Tahir over the square leg region to send the ball out of the stand. This was the longest six in this year’s IPL as he surpassed his own previous best of 106m long six.

#2 Highest total scored with two wicket-maidens

It was one of those days at the office when we got to witness class from both the ends as batsmen showed their sheer brilliance by smacking bowlers all over the park and at times bowlers were banged on with their execution to choke the opposition with pressure.

In a high scoring game when RCB managed 205, even CSK bowlers were effective as they managed to bowl two wicket-maiden overs in the same innings. These came into effect in the 5th and 14th over of the innings.

First was Shardul Thakur’s second over of the spell that he delivered against the likes of Kohli and De Villiers. The second one came from DJ Bravo’s second over of the spell after bagging the wicket of De Kock, he escaped brilliantly with five dot balls against Corey Anderson.

#3 MS Dhoni going hammer and tongs from the beginning

MS Dhoni has earned the reputation as one of the best finishers in the limited overs format, the world has ever seen. It is more due to his effective planning and the trust in his ability to take the game till the very end and then stroke balls for fun.

But in past few games, we have witnessed a different Dhoni who is not leaving any opportunity to muster runs even at the beginning. It is much evident that the ‘Captain cool’ realizes his limitations of not able to finish games with a similar ease as in the past.

Even in today’s game, he made his intentions very clear to go after the bowlers from the ball one. The skipper has been instrumental in executing the same as he takes the attack to the bowlers.

#4 Rayudu registers his highest score as CSK wins

Being in a spot of bother after some quick wickets in the middle overs, the men in yellow saw a resurrection of their innings from the in-form opener who was then accompanied by the skipper. If it was Dhoni who once again finished it off in style, then Ambati Rayudu deserves the due credit for making it such a close encounter.

In due course, Rayudu even amassed his highest T20 score in the match against RCB. He smashed eight huge sixes along with three boundaries in his knock of 82, as he surpassed his previous best that he registered against the same franchise, six years ago.

It was a game that Ambati used it to the perfection to present a strong case for himself going ahead in his career for a spot in the reckoning in the Indian team and that too against a team led by the national skipper.

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