RCB vs CSK, IPL 2023: Chasing 227, Bangalore fall short by just 8 runs as Chennai win at Chinnaswamy

It is CSK who has won the game but both sides have plenty to ponder upon. RCB's bowling once against was not up to the mark CSK on the other hand despite creating enough opportunities their fielding has let them down. With the bat for RCB, it has been usual suspects Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik with a cameo at the end almost did the job. Apart from them none of the others raised their hands to contribute. MS Dhoni too would be going back to his drawing board and reassessing his side's bowling and fielding performance. However, having said all that it has been a terrific punching and counter-punching from two heavyweights of the IPL. The fans have been thoroughly entertained by the clash.

A much-needed shot! Tushar Deshpande lands this short and on middle, slower too, Suyash Prabhudessai waits for it and pulls it over the deep mid-wicket fence for a biggie. Wd W 1 0 Wd 6 2 1 = 12 from the penultimate over. 19 needed from the last

Pathirana picks up Shabaz. Wayne Parnell walks into the middle. The run-rate is going up again rapidly.

Tushar Deshpande picks up Dinesh Karthik. After getting dropped earlier in the over Dinesh Karthik eventually departs. Trying to slog sweep a delivery ends up giving a catch to Theekshana who dropped two catches early on in the evening. What a game this is turning out to be. IPL at its very best.  After 17 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 192/5

Both Theekshana and Jadeja are done with their spells. We have the last four overs to go. With the way, Karthik has hit the ball so far it seems like it is going to be RCB's game. However, we never know until it's done. After this RCB still has Hasaranga who can hit a few blows. For MS it seems like a simple decision give two overs to Pathirana and Deshpande. After 16 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 181/4

Mihir Vasavda: In the dugout, Stephen Fleming had a frown on his face. On the field, Moeen Ali stood puzzled and behind the wickets, MS Dhoni's eyes widened. They might be among the coolest minds in CSK's colours, but the trio reflected the mood within the team after being at the receiving end of Glenn Maxwell's onslaught. It took the Australian just three balls to get first of his eight sixes - it could've been nine if not for Rahane's acrobatic effort on the boundary line to keep one from sailing over the ropes. It was an innings that swung the momentum in RCB's favour and just when it looked like he'd single handedly help them cross the finish line, Maxwell was caught out. It took a loud call from Dhoni as three CSK players tried to get under the ball. The captain did well to catch the skier, as the ball swerved in the air. Maxwell's innings may have ended, but he did have a quick word with incoming batsman Shahbaz Ahmed before returning to the dugout. No wonder Shahbaz's first big shot was a six. After 15 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 169/4

Moeen Ali picks up Faf du Plessis. The English off-spinner tossed the ball up which gripped. The ball suddenly started to turn here in M. Chinnaswamy. Once again going to back the first innings when Faf was extremely reluctant to use his spinners. This now might be extremely difficult for RCB from here on.  After 14 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 159/4

The off-spinner is the most relieved man on the planet. He dropped the catch in the previous over in the context of the game Maxwell did not do much damage after that. A brilliant catch from MS Dhoni. later in the over MS Dhoni gets a review wrong when Shabaz tries to reverse sweep one and the ball hits the pad. The CSK team appealed for LBW when the ball is clearly missing the leg-stump. After 13 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 146/3 

Mahesh Theekshna dropped a simple caught and bowl chance of Maxwell. Immediately after the drop the Aussie hits him for a maximum adding insult to injury. This is the second dropped catch from Theekshana in the evening. The run rate for the first time in the chase has gone under 11. There seems to be no change from Maxwell he is just going at it. After 11.2 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 139/2 

Glenn Maxwell now goes past his landmark of just 24 balls. The 100-run partnership comes up between the Faf and Maxwell. This a master-class of range hitting from the duo. CSK bowlers have to take the blame for not bowling good lines and lengths. MS Dhoni has used all his resources now and none of them looked like they are going to pick a wicket. After 10.1 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 122/2 

RCB Skipper completed his half-century off just 23 balls. This has been excellent counter-punching innings by Faf against his former side. Things looked a bit grim after two wickets fell in the powerplay. However, now Maxwell and Faf have dragged RCB right back into it. With a few more overs of this game is nicely set-up for Dinesh Karthik to come and finish.  After 9 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 105/2  

Pathirana is brought into the attack. He started and finished the over well. However, in the middle of the over he tried a few variations which went to boundaries from the bat of Glenn Maxwell. The build-up to this game of being one of the best has delivered so far. For all the momentum CSK had in the first innings RCB has pulled this game back nicely. After 8.2 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 101/2  

Ravindra Jadeja bowled an excellent over after the Powerplay gave away no boundary. He varied his pace nicely and kept his lines and lengths on the stumps. For all the smashing from the RCB players the required run rate is still over 11. A couple of quite overs here may shift the pressure back on the RCB immensely. After 7.1 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 81/2 

MS Dhoni looking to stop the flow of runs have gone to his mystery spinner Theekshana. Both Glenn Maxwell and Faf took liking to his spin and smashed him for a six each which brought the fifty-run partnership. Faf here is looking in ominous form. CSK needs to break this partnership as quickly as possible. If this duo can carry on for another couple of overs CSK may be on the back foot. After 6 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 75/2 

The skipper feels there is no point hanging around and building a partnership here. He decided to utilize the powerplay to the full extent and smash the bowlers all over the park. He is showing his full range of shots for the Bangalore crowd here. If RCB has to get close to the target this is the partnership that has to do it. After 5 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 61/2

A boundary. A wicket. And a dropped catch. Akash Singh was subbed in as an Impact Player for Ambati Rayudu and the CSK pacer made an instant impact. It looked ominous for a second when Kohli charged forward and smashed him for a boundary off the second ball. If Kohli thought his aggressive approach would upset the young bowler, he was mistaken. Akash got the big wicket soon after, with Kohli getting an inside edge, which first hit his front leg then the back leg before rolling on to the stumps. The 20-year-old, who plays for Nagaland, punched the air and jumped in joy right in Kohli's face, unable to contain his emotions. It could well be the moment that'll mark a giant career leap for the super sub. After 4 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 45/2

Glenn Maxwell is one of the marquee players in this lineup. If at all RCB needs his batting power it is today. They want him to play a match-winning inning. It will be also interesting to see how Faf du Plessis will go about things. This is the partnership for RCB which has to do it a wicket here may turn the game hugely in favour of CSK. After 3 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 28/2

Tushar Deshpande picks up Lamror. The left-hander trying to pull a short ball gets a top edge and ends up giving a simple catch to Gaikwad. Glenn Maxwell has walked into the middle. This is a top start for CSK. RCB needs to build a partnership here and take things from there rather than keep attacking. After 2 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 15/2

Akash Singh picks up Virat Kohli. The star batter tried to hit the ball into the mid-wicket region and gets a bottom edge and the ball hits the stumps. Huge wicket for CSK. In the final ball of the over Akash creates another opportunity howeverTheekshna drops the catch. This is an excellent start for CSK. After 1 over Royal Challengers Bangalore 6/1

Mihir Vasavda: They may be die-hard supporters of their own city franchise but one man seems to unite Indian cricket fans - MS Dhoni. It's almost become a ritual at all grounds to celebrate the dismissal of a CSK player just so that the paying public can catch a glimpse of Dhoni, who is on his farewell lap across the country. It doesn't matter if it's Wankhede, Ahmedabad, Chepauk or, as was the case on Monday, Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium. They made short trips from Goa and took long-haul flights from US to see Thala in the flesh. And they very nearly returned home disappointed - until Jadeja holed one to the deep. The home crowd went berserk but not because their team had taken a wicket - it meant they could, after all, get to watch Dhoni bat. It didn't matter that it was anti-climatic - there was no six as the crowd demanded instead just a single off the only ball he'd faced. But with every match CSK play, one thing's getting certain: most fans may be divided by teams, they are all united by Dhoni.

It was amazing for me, playing at this stadium, on this wicket and in front of this crowd. I mentioned it before that I back my strengths and that was what was needed today. Definitely, I believe it is not easy to stop me when I get going, that’s what I believe and the team believes. The size of the ground and the wicket was good, and the freedom I got was something I enjoyed. 226 on any track should be enough, but we need to bowl in the right areas. Since childhood, I have had this power. My dad has given me enough protein because he knows what is needed at this level.

Harshal has been discontinued from the over after bowling a couple of no-balls. Glenn Maxwell finished the over. The over had 10 deliveries in it. Despite starting poorly Maxwell completed the over without not a lot of damage done. This has been a brutal batting performance from CSK. They have posted an excellent total now the onus is on the bowlers to get the job done for CSK. After 20 over Chennai Super Kings 226/6  

RCB bowlers have been again poor on the night. In addition to their bowling display, Faf's tactics have been questionable on stages of using his bowlers. CSK has posted a pretty decent total. MS Dhoni might be using lot more spin than Faf who despite having Hasaranga in the attack only used a couple of overs of him. After 19.2 over Chennai Super Kings 215/5  

After hitting a couple of boundaries Ambati Rayadu departs. Brilliant leg-cutter from Vyshak. Ravindra Jadeja comes into the crease he will be looking to hit a few hefty blows as well. CSK is looking well on course to go past the 220-run mark. This might be a difficult run-chase for RCB. After 18 over Chennai Super Kings 200/5  

Tushar Bhaduri: Shivam Dube's weakness against short-pitched stuff aimed at his body is common knowledge now, so much so that opposition captains employ this tactic as soon as the left-hander comes to the crease. But  RCB captain Faf du Plessis seemed to have not read the book. So he confronted Dube with the off-spin of Glenn Maxwell, probably thinking the ball spinning away will be effective.

Wrong choice. Dube hit the roof of the stadium with a six that went more than 100 metres. Harshal Patel tried change of pace and yorkers, but the ball travelled the distance. Even Mohammed Siraj was thumped down the ground, and when he did try the bouncer, Dube saw it well enough to hook it over square-leg for the maximum. He was looking unstoppbale, and du Plessis may be regretting letting him settle at the crease. The 80 runs in the third-wicket stand with Devon Conway came off just 37 balls before the New Zealander departed for 83 off 45 deliveries. After 17.5 over Chennai Super Kings 199/5  

Wayne Parnell provides the breakthrough for CSK. Dube after completing his fifty in style with a six tried to keep the momentum going however, the ball takes the toe end of the bat and Siraj takes an excellent catch on the boundary. Moeen Ali walks into the middle he knows this ground pretty well he might do some damage to RCB bowlers. After 17 over Chennai Super Kings 186/4   

Harshal Patel picks up Devon Conway. It is Harshal's go-to delivery where the ball dips at the last moment. Nevertheless sensational innings from Conway. He laid a solid foundation for CSK. They still have set-batter Dube at the crease. They should be looking to score over 220 runs from here on. After 16 over Chennai Super Kings 172/3   

Faf du Plessis is scratching his head at the moment. Yes, it is a high-scoring ground but things are looking ominous at the moment for RCB. Devon Conway and Shivam Dubey are smashing the bowlers all over the park. The wicket seems to be excellent for batting. Irrespective of dew coming in or not in the second innings CSK is looking like they will be posting a total which can be defended.  After 15 over Chennai Super Kings 165/2   

Harshal Patel has been brought into the attack and he bowled one in the arc of Shivam Dube which he smashed for a massive six. Faf du Plessis would be revesiting the first six overs where he used three overs of Wayne Parnell. He has been missing his experience and pace in these middle overs as CSK is racing away.  After 13 over Chennai Super Kings 132/2   

CSK is all set for posting a huge total on the board. With the likes of Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayadu and MS Dhoni yet to follow they might be looking to score around 220 runs. However, with their bowling will it be enough is a different matter altogether. RCB bowlers have tried everything they could but the surface seems too good to miss out. After 12 over Chennai Super Kings 123/2   

Tushar Bhaduri: Ajinkya Rahane seems to have a point to prove this IPL. Almost the forgotten man in Indian cricket, he would have not left the bench if Chennai Super Kings were not hampered by so many injuries. He has been known as a dependable player at the top of the order, but his strike rate has been a revelation in the three knocks he has played this year. The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is a venue where even 200+scores are never safe. Hence, teams batting first like to be on the charge from the start. But CSK, who lost the prolific Ruturaj Gaikwad early, were stalling at 25/1 after four overs. Devon Conway had hit a few boundaries, but it was Rahane's all-out aggression that put the Royal Challengers Bangalore bowlers on the backfoot. It needed a Wanindu Hasaranga's googly to get rid of the veteran for a 20-ball 37, but he had injected the much-needed momentum in the innings. After 11 over Chennai Super Kings 107/2  

Hasaranga picks up Ajinkya Rahane. The right-hander trying to keep the momentum going eventually perishes. He tried to hit the ball into the stands misses the ball completely and gets bowled. On the other hand, consistent Conway completes yet another half-century for CSK. This has been brilliant innings from him once again holding an end up. After 10 over Chennai Super Kings 97/2  

RCB has been chopping and changing the bowlers in the middle overs here. Now they have used three different bowlers after the Powerplay. Harshal has been pretty good in the middle overs for RCB however, his main role which is death bowling which has been a concern over last couple of seasons. After 9 over Chennai Super Kings 83/1  

Both Rahane and Conway have been circumspective against Hasaranga the rotated strike in the over and there was no sign of aggression from either of the batters. The partnership has now gone past 50-runs. The experienced duo is laying a solid foundation for CSK to score a massive total on this good surface. After 8 over Chennai Super Kings 69/1  

Faf du Plessis went to Glenn Maxwell as his first spin option after the powerplay. There has been not a lot of turn for Maxwell. The partnership is looking ominous now. The RCB skipper might be looking at Hasaranga and bring him in as quickly as possible to break this partnership. After 7 over Chennai Super Kings 62/1 

Interesting tactics by Faf du Plessis giving the third over to Wayne Parnell. This might be a move hoping Parnell could pick a wicket which might push CSK onto the backfoot. However, things did not manifest as per the plan as Rahane loves the ball coming on to bat. It is spin bowling he had troubles against in the past. RCB is playing to the sthrenghts of Rahane at the moment. After 6 over Chennai Super Kings 53/1 

Vyshak has now been brought into the attack. After having an impressive first game the seamer was taken apart by Conway and Rahane. He tried to bowl a few slower balls which skidded on nicely to the bat. He tried to bowl a short one to Rahane which he pulled for a six and the ball hit the rooftop. After 5 over Chennai Super Kings 38/1 

RCB's new ball bowlers have started well once again. they have picked an early wicket once again in the tournament and have bowled tight lines and lengths not letting the batters get a move on. CSK batters too have been patiently waiting for loose balls to come their way rather than trying and be proactive. After 4 over Chennai Super Kings 25/1

Mohammed Siraj provides the breakthrough for the hosts. It is a huge wicket for RCB as Gaikwad has been in brilliant form. Ajinkya Rahane has walked into the middle. The experienced campaigner would love the pace on the ball. He and Conway have calm head on their shoulders and would be looking to build a partnership here. After 3 over Chennai Super Kings 19/1

Wayne Parnell has taken the new ball from the other end. He too has pitched up a few delivers hoping the ball would swing however, Devon Conway stuck him for a sumptuous boundary and six later in the over proving whatever little the surface had to offer has now vanished. After 2 over Chennai Super Kings 16/0

Mohammed Siraj has been fabulous with the new ball in this season's IPL. Once again today he could extract something from the surface which has no grass on it. He seems to be in red-hot form in the past few months. du Plessis would be hoping he can break this opening partnership for CSK. After 1 over Chennai Super Kings 3/0

This promises to be a blockbuster clash on a magnificent Monday evening. Openers Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad walk out to the middle. The opening duo for CSK has been in splendid form. Mohammed Siraj is to take the new ball for RCB. He too has been in brilliant form with the new ball for the hosts.  

Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana

Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik(w), Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Wayne Parnell, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Mohammed Siraj

The toss does matter because this is a venue where it is difficult to contain batters in the second innings. And not to forget dew. I think what's important is not looking ahead, maybe 180-200 is a par score but we need to keep re-evaluating every 3-4 overs on where we stand and what would be a good total to get to. That is a better way to approach, rather than keeping a total in mind. One change -Magala is injured and Pathirana comes in. The good think is all the players who have come in to replace guys have performed well. But these injuries haven't been ideal, but that's what happens because the IPL comes at the end of the cricket season.

Incredible noise!! We will bowl first. I think the nature of pitches will turn, but 180-200 will be a nice target to change. It is quite a small ground and the ball travels, the surface is good and a little bit of dew could help. No changes in our starting XI but got some tricks up our sleeve for the impact player.

Royal Challengers Bangalore unchanged for the game

Chennai Super Kings bring in Mathesh Pathirana for injured Magala

The atmosphere here in India, being here, people being crazy about cricket, just seeing games sold out. This year's IPL ... games going down to the wire every single game is really awesome. The mantra for myself is to always look to contribute and think like a leader. Doing that in the SA20 was really special. Coming here back into the IPL after such a long time is really good, really fun as well. I'm just trying to contribute every single day, trying to get better. I think MS Dhoni just walked out now, you can hear the massive noise. Just trying to really have fun. It's about trying to block out the noise, which will be really difficult. Chinnaswamy is such an amazing stadium, the noise moves around the stadium which is really awesome. It's sold out, so everyone's looking forward to it.

It won't be too soothing for the bowlers because this ground is known for sixes - one six every 12 balls. That's because the leg side boundary is just 60m and the other side isn't much further at 66m. The longest hit is straight down the ground at 71m. The pitch looks very good, there is a 20 run difference between the day games and the night games. DC got knocked over under 150 but that is not relevant because this is night time and there is huge potential to get big runs today. The only concern as a batter is that the middle areas of the pitch look very dry, and it is extremely hard. From the other end though it looks like a batting paradise. How much is enough? 212 wasn't enough that day and today also it is a batting paradise.

 

 

 

 

 

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RCB had put faith in Anuj Rawat as their Impact Player, but the southpaw had failed to live up to the potential. In this match, RCB can give a chance to Suyash Prabhudesai, who might replace one of the bowlers when they chase and be an effective No 7 if they bat first.

Kohli vs CSK: 979 runs at an average of 39.16 with 9 fifties. 

Dhoni vs RCB: 838 runs at an average of 39.90 & strike rate of 140.84

It feels really good talking to Mohammed Siraj. He's an amazing bowler, he's the No.1 ODI bowler and he's been doing well for RCB for quite a long time. He just told me, first game there'll be nerves, 'so you don't worry about that. Believe in yourself and do whatever you've been doing all this while. And just enjoy yourself.' Every time he came and spoke to me , he said the same thing: 'Enjoy yourself and execute whatever you want to do

We've had some classic contests with them in the past, whether in Chennai or here in Bangalore. So we are expecting nothing different. The main message to the players is to enjoy it because you don't get a chance to play in these sort of environments too often, so really try and execute your skills as well as you can but really enjoy the experience because it's a fantastic occasion to be a part of. 

The Chinnaswamy track is usually full of runs and the ball often skids on under lights in dewy conditions. Fifty-seven sixes have been hit across three matches at the Chinnaswamy – the most at a venue this season

With the ball, Mohammed Siraj has been the stand out bowler and breathed fire in his opening spell against Delhi. The team would be hoping its death overs specialist Harshal Patel returns to his best having leaked close to 11 runs per over over the past four games.

Like CSK, RCB's middle-order is yet to unlock its potential. Glenn Maxwell has batted at an impressive strike rate but the likes of Shahbaz Ahmed and Mahipal Lomror can do better. Dinesh Karthik too has under-performed in the finisher's role and will be itching to change that.

Virat Kohli's form has been the biggest positive for them.  Kohli collecting boundaries with his sumblime off side play is enough to create discomfort in the opposition camp and will be fired up for an encore against CSK. 

RCB got a much-needed win on Saturday afternoon and will be aiming to build on the performance against Delhi Capitals.