IPL is the toughest competition in the world : Dwayne Bravo

CSK vs RCB, IPL 2021 :

Chennai Super Kings produced a clinical all-around performance to humble Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets and claim the top spot in the IPL points table here on Friday. RCB skipper Virat Kohli (53) and young Devdutt Padikkal (70) struck brisk half-centuries in an impressive 111-run partenrship but CSK came back in the game to restrict RCB to 156 for six after electing to bowl.

The in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad sparkled again with a quick 38 while Faf du Plessis made 31 at the top to lay a strong foundation for CSK to chase the modest target in 18.1 overs. The win took CSK to the top spot with 14 points. They overtook Delhi Capitals, who also have 14 points, but the yellow army has a better net run rate of 1.185, compared to 0.613 of the Delhi team.

While it was the second consecutive win for CSK, the RCB now have lost both the games post the league’s resumption. Gaikwad and Du Plessis added 71 runs in 8.2 overs and later Moeen Ali (23) and Ambati Rayudu (32) also got starts but could not convert those into big scores. Suresh Raina (17) and skipper MS Dhoni (11) ensured that there was no twist in the tale, taking the side past the finish line.This scene of Raina and Dhoni finishing the match gave many cricket fans a nostalgia.

Neither Mohammed Siraj nor Navdeep Saini could trouble the CSK openers. Whether the ball was pitched up, short or bowled at good length, Gaikwad and his South-African partner treated them with equal disdain. Gaikwad punched the ball hard and even reverse swept with ease before Kohli pulled off a stunning low catch off wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.

Realising that spinners may turn the game around, Kohli handed the ball to off-spinner Glenn Maxwell and the Australian responded with the wicket of du Plessis, who was punished for playing a loose shot. However, Rayudu and Moeen did not show any respect to the slow bowlers. They worked the ball around to keep the scoreboard moving and also got the big shots.

Bravo’s bowling made a huge difference to the conclusion of the RCB innings as he conceded only 24 runs in his four overs and also added the wickets of Glenn Maxwell (11) and Harshal Patel (3). CSK had no lack of quality bowlers with Deepak Chahar and Josh Hazlewood opening the attack but Bangalore openers — Kohli and Padikkal — went about striking the ball cleanly.

Dwayne Bravo declared Man of the Match

Speaking in the post match presentation on being awarded MoM award, Bravo said,

“IPL is the toughest competition in the world. It works on some days and on some days it doesn’t. My pride and my love for this game keeps me going. Virat was a very important wicket and RCB are a big side. I just wanted to keep it simple. As I said, preparation is the key for me.

I practice in the nets, keep myself healthy and use my experience to come up in these situations. That gets the batsmen thinking about where it will go. Experience will always get us through in this franchise. The message from the coach in the dressing room is that we might not always be the quickest, but we will get the job done. We need to stay safe from the over-rate fines as well (laughs).”