CSK fall short by 1 run despite Dhoni's Heroics

A nail biting finish saw RCB prevail over the mighty CSK by 1 run. The evergreen Dhoni once again almost won it for CSK but Umesh held his nerve after getting hit for 24 runs of the first five balls in the final over.

Chasing a target of 162, CSK started in very bad fashion losing four wickets in the powerplay and it was again down to Dhoni and Rayudu to sail the ship over the line. CSK has now lost the most wickets (21) in PPs this year and adding to that they have the worst run rate (5.95), among all teams. Steyn’s return has been a fabulous one. He removed Watson with a brilliant outswinger followed by Raina. Soon Du plessis and Jadhav got out in quick succession leaving CSK in a spot of bother. RCB registered their best bowling figures in PPs this year to rattle CSK to 28/4.

Dhoni had no choice but to take the game deep and he had an able partner in form of Rayudu but when Chahal removed Rayudu in the 14th over the run chase was going out of hand. The required run rate kept on climbing and but Dhoni found boundaries somehow. It was down to 2 from 1 ball but Umesh was courageous to bowl a perfect slower ball.

RCB too didn’t have a great start to their innings, losing Kohli to Chahar in the 3rd over itself.  Chahar has now taken the most wickets 10 in PPs this year, among pacers who have bowled a minimum of 100 balls. ABD took charge and tried to get back momentum by hitting some lusty blows before out to Jadeja in the 7th over not before taking RCB’s total to 58.

The incoming batsmen Akshdeep continued with the same tempo while Partiv was playing the anchor’s role. All the remaining batsmen chipped in with handy contributions to ensure that RCB don’t loose their way. Parthiv played a measured innings of 37 ball 53 to hold one end before finally getting dismissed by a slower ball from Bravo. In the end a 16 ball cameo of 26 by Moeen Ali ensured that RCB breach the 160 mark.

Momentum Shift 

When ABD was dismissed by Jadeja in the 7th over RCB’s winning probability dropped by 7 % from 40 to 33 % given that ABD is such a valuable asset in RCB’s batting lineup.

In the second innings when Du plessis mistimed a hook shot and hold out to De Villers, CSK’s winning chances tooka huge dip from 39 to 26 %.