CSK vs RCB: Three epic IPL matches

The 12th edition of the IPL is less than 10 days away and every cricket fan is geared up to witness the mega event. Due to the general elections in the country, the tournament was pre-scheduled to start on 23rd March and will go on till early May, after which the international players will travel to England for the World Cup. The auction for this edition took place in December 2018, at Jaipur. Jaydev Unadkat was again the costliest buy, with the Rajasthan Royals shelling ₹8.4 crores for him, while Varun Chakravarthy was sold to Kings XI Punjab for the same amount. The schedule for the first 17 matches was released in Feb 2019 with each team playing a minimum of 4 games, while two teams (Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore) play 5 matches. The campaign kicks off with the biggest rivalry in the IPL between RCB and Chennai Super Kings, often called the ‘El Clasico of IPL’ in Chennai. The teams have faced each other in 22 matches, with the Men in Yellow winning on 14 occasions, while RCB have managed only 7 victories. But the contest is a lot closer than what the scorecard suggests. It’s time for us to look back at the three best encounters between them:

#3 RCB vs CSK, match no.70 in Bengaluru (2013)- RCB won by 24 runs:

This was a must-win game for RCB as they faced CSK at the Chinnaswamy stadium to keep their playoff hopes alive. The unpredictable Bengaluru weather played its part with the match getting reduced to 8-overs-a-side. RCB batted first and put up 106 in 8 overs, thanks to captain Virat Kohli’s 56 off 29 deliveries. He promoted himself up the order and opened the innings for the team which proved to be a difference. Dhoni’s plan of bowling Ashwin initially to counter Chris Gayle didn’t bear fruit as the duo put up 67 runs in 5.2 overs, which was followed by a cameo by Moises Henriques that took the team to a winnable total. In reply, CSK didn’t get the start they needed as they lost two wickets in the second over. Vijay was the top scorer with 32 runs in 19 balls, but that wasn’t enough. Captain Dhoni’s efforts (24 off 10) went in vain as the visitors lost the match by 24 runs.

Also see: CSK vs RCB head to head

#2 CSK vs RCB, match no.12 in Chennai (2012) – CSK won by 5 wickets:

CSK vs RCB 2012

If Kohli wants to forget something in his life, it would be his bowling performance against CSK in that group stage match in 2012. It was the 13th match of that edition and RCB, having won the toss, elected to bat. Mayank Agarwal and Gayle gave the start the visitors needed, scoring 53 runs for the first wicket partnership. Then came in Kohli, who along with Gayle ripped apart the Chennai attack with a 110-run partnership. Gayle top-scored with 68 runs off 35 balls, while Kohli made 57. They witnessed a collapse in the final overs, losing 5 wickets in six balls and ending up with 205 on the board. In response, CSK got off to a flyer, thanks to Faf Du Plessis' 71 off just 46 balls, as he held onto one end, while the team lost some important wickets. In spite of all the efforts, the hosts needed 43 runs off the last two overs and what happened is history. Everyone thought it was RCB’s game when Kohli came into bowl the 19th over. Albie Morkel, who had just come in to bat, hit 3 sixes and 2 fours, and scored 27 runs in the penultimate over, with 15 more to get. Dwayne Bravo finished the match in style as he scored the required runs in the final over.

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#1 CSK vs RCB, match no.42 in Ranchi (2014) – RCB won by 5 wickets:

AB De Villiers

It was a low-scoring encounter that took place on a turning Ranchi track between two giant teams. It was a game that had everyone on their toes. CSK batted first but failed to get a big start, with both the openers getting back to the pavilion by the 5th over. Suresh Raina and David Hussey steadied the ship by putting up a 75-run partnership for the third wicket. The batsmen struggled a lot with their timing as the pitch was on the slower side and RCB could put only 138 runs on board in 20 overs. It wasn’t easy for RCB either, with Ashwin bowling beautifully with the new ball and giving away just 3 runs in 3 overs. He also got the important wickets of Gayle and Parthiv Patel, while Ravindra Jadeja got rid of captain Kohli. AB de Villiers came in the 15th over and scored a quickfire 28 off just 14 balls which brought the required run-rate down to six-an-over before holing to the deep. RCB needed 10 runs off the final over, with Yuvraj Singh on strike. Dhoni surprised everyone by going to David Hussey instead of his strike bowlers. He missed the trick as RCB pulled off an improbable victory on the penultimate ball.

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