IPL 2020 Highlights, RCB vs CSK Match, Full Cricket Score: Gaikwad's unbeaten 65 guides Chennai to eight-wicket win over Bangalore

This is RCB’s seventh defeat in Green Jersey out of 10 IPL matches where they won the Green Jersey.

Chennai Super Kings win by eight wickets!

Chris Morris is out to bowl the penultimate over. He starts off well, with a dot, but is then hit over midwicket for four by Ruturaj Gaikwad. Chennai need just two more runs to secure what is only their fourth win of the season. Will they wrap it up in this over? Yes they will, and in some style! Gaikwad pulls over long leg for a six! Chennai win!

FOUR! Ruturaj Gaikwad nonchalantly hits over midwicket to put CSK within two runs of a rare win. CSK 144/3

After 18 overs,Chennai Super Kings 140/2 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 55 , MS Dhoni (C) (W) 19)

I apologise for my comment about Dhoni being slow with the bat, he hammers a boundary over wide mid-off. That was hit with some strength, it was almost a six. With that said, the next five deliveries are all dots, so make of that what you will. CSK need 6 runs in 12 balls.

FOUR! MS Dhoni absolutely wallops a length ball over mid-off! CSK 140/2

After 17 overs,Chennai Super Kings 136/2 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 55 , MS Dhoni (C) (W) 15)

Chahal’s final over. He’s got a wicket already, and he’ll need to add to that tally in the next six deliveries if his team have any hope of winning this. No wickets though, just singles. For once, MS Dhoni’s lethargic, lumbering approach to batting this season is working in Chennai Super Kings’ favour. Five runs from the over.

After 16 overs,Chennai Super Kings 131/2 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 53 , MS Dhoni (C) (W) 13)

More and more it’s looking inevitable that Chennai will reach the finish line. RCB desperately need wickets now. Kohli throws Saini back into the mix, can he come up with something special? All six deliveries are good, they’re tight, well pitched, but they’re not enough. Four runs come from the over, and CSK now need 15 runs in 24 balls.

After 15 overs,Chennai Super Kings 127/2 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 51 , MS Dhoni (C) (W) 11)

Been a while since we last saw Chris Morris. He starts off his third over with a dot, followed by a single and then a wide. The required run rate is 5.06, there’s absolutely no reason to be giving away extras. He retakes the ball, and it’s a single. A dot in between, before MS Dhoni hits him for back-to-back fours, Chennai are really cruising here. 19 runs from 30 needed.

FOUR! Identical boundary for MS Dhoni! He’s showing real aggression here. CSK 127/2.

FOUR! Four for MS Dhoni, and it’s executed very very well. He pulls a bouncer past long leg. CSK 123/2.

After 14 overs,Chennai Super Kings 116/2 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 50 , MS Dhoni (C) (W) 2)

Bit of a hold-up here, Ambati Rayudu’s not back out after the timeout. Didn’t seem like it was an injury, maybe it’s just a bad stomach or something. We’ve all been there, no one’s judging, we can cut him some slack. I suppose we’ll find out soon enough. Anyway, he’s back on the pitch, it’s Yuzvendra Chahal’s third over. First two balls are singles, before Rayudu’s sent packing by a crafty delivery from Yuzvendra Chahal! Big wicket this for RCB, and Kohli’s loving it. Might be too little too late though. MS Dhoni replaces the departing Rayudu. Can he and Gaikwad see this through now? Gaikwad brings up his maiden IPL fifty with a single on the penultimate ball of the over. What a performance it’s been from the young lad tonight, if CSK win this, he’s bound to be at the top of the list for MoTM.

FIFTY! It’s been a great innings from Ruturaj Gaikwad, and he has his maiden IPL 50 in 42 balls.

OUT! Ambati Rayudu’s gone! Gorgeous, delicate delivery from Chahal, he takes the off stump clean. Ambati Rayudu 39 (27b)

After 13 overs,Chennai Super Kings 111/1 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 48 , Ambati Rayudu 38)

Final over now for Washington Sundar. He’s not had the sort of outing Virat Kohli would have hoped for. It’s not a terrible over all said and done, there are four singles in it, as well as a couple of runs on the final delivery. No boundaries, but to be honest, Chennai don’t even need them all that much right now. 35 runs from 42 required for MS Dhoni’s side, and we head into a timeout. What can Kohli come up with here?

After 12 overs,Chennai Super Kings 105/1 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 44 , Ambati Rayudu 36)

Mohamed Siraj is back, and it’s a bit strange watching Royal Challengers Bangalore bowl. They’re putting some real pace on the deliveries, which at the moment, is helping the CSK batsmen more than anyone else. Siraj is hit for a four past mid-off before he realises he should probably be slowing it down. He does well to do that in the following deliveries, but Ambati Rayudu still manages to absolutely hammer a maximum over long-on! 41 now needed off 48.

SIX! Big, big six from Ambati Rayudu to bring up 100 runs for Chennai! CSK 105/1.

FOUR! More excellent hitting from Ruturaj Gaikwad, he transfers his weight on to his front foot and strokes wide of mid-off**. CSK 96/1.**

After 11 overs,Chennai Super Kings 91/1 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 39 , Ambati Rayudu 27)

Washington Sundar’s back, and he’s greeted with an elegant sweep by Ambati Rayudu, who sends the ball racing to the square leg boundary! There are no more boundaries in the over, but a single on each and every other ball, making it another good over for CSK. The required run rate is at about a run a ball, which should be doable, even in today’s conditions.

Four! Rayudu carries on with his hitting from the last over, sweeping a Sundar delivery to the square leg boundary! CSK 86/1

After 10 overs,Chennai Super Kings 82/1 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 37 , Ambati Rayudu 20)

Navdeep Saini comes into the bowling attack. He’s performed really well for RCB in high-pressure situations, and this is definitely one of those. The first couple of balls are venomous, with inch-perfect placement and a whole lot of speed. The third is just as fast, but it’s a wayward bouncer, and it’s easy pickings for Ambati Rayudu, who whacks it for a six! Another good dot ball in there, before a wider delivery is sent through point for four! Another over with double digit runs off it, CSK’s looking dangerous.

FOUR! Ambati Rayudu joins Gaikwad in the hitting, this ones hit up and over point for four. CSK 81/1

SIX! Ambati Rayudu upper-cuts a bouncer, and there’s enough pace on the ball to carry it over the boundary rope. CSK 77/1.

After 9 overs,Chennai Super Kings 71/1 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 37 , Ambati Rayudu 9)

Great over for Chennai Super Kings, 12 runs come off it. They looked a bit shaken by the loss of Faf du Plessis’ wicket, but Ruturaj Gaikwad has taken it upon himself to get his side back into the team. He hits Moeen Ali for a huge six on the very first ball, before a fortunate outside edge for Rayudu gives CSK another boundary. If they can keep going like this, there’s no reason for them to not win the match. Strategic timeout now.

FOUR! A very fortuitous outside edge for Ambati Rayudu, that one races to the boundary! CSK 70/1.

SIX! Ruturaj Gaikwad hits Moeen Ali for a maximum over long-off!

After 8 overs,Chennai Super Kings 59/1 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 30 , Ambati Rayudu 4)

More Chahal for us to enjoy, this Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling line-up is quite something. First ball’s a dot, second one hits the pads, but Ambati Rayudu was a long way down the pitch. Chahal wants it, the umpire’s not interested. Neither is Kohli, no review. Next ball’s a single, before Gaikwad gets down well to sweep past deep midwicket with ease, that was smooth! It’s four runs for Chennai, the first since the wicket fell. 6 runs from the over.

FOUR! Gorgeous from Gaikwad, he sweeps past deep midwicket with elegance! CSK 58/1.

After 7 overs,Chennai Super Kings 53/1 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 25 , Ambati Rayudu 3)

Right arm off spin now, as Moeen Ali gets a go. He’s a clever customer, can he get RCB well and truly back into the driver’s seat with a wicket or two? His first three deliveries all yield singles, before a lovely bit of fielding from Padikkal at short cover ensures a dot. Two more singles to wrap off the over, five from it.

After 6 overs,Chennai Super Kings 48/1 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 23 , Ambati Rayudu 0)

Chris Morris is back after a slightly expensive first over. Can he be more miserly on his second try? He can do even more than that, he’s just taken a wicket! It’s Faf du Plessis who walks back, and this is excellent for Bangalore, the South African was looking in fine form. Du Plessis tries to go back, but miscues his shot and hits it high into the air, for it to be collected by a scrambling Siraj. The rest of the over is watertight from Morris, who gives away just two runs.

OUT! Faf du Plessis is gone! Huge wicket for RCB and Chris Morris, as the in form South African is caught by Siraj at cover. Du Plessis 25 (13b)

After 5 overs,Chennai Super Kings 46/0 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 21 , Faf du Plessis 25)

Yuzvendra Chahal brought into the bowling, and Virat Kohli clearly wants to nip this free-scoring start in the bud. Chahal’s been excellent in the tournament so far. If he can get a wicket here, it would be huge, but at this point, even a fairly economical over would do. Four singles and one quickly run double after a fumble means it’s six from the over.

After 4 overs,Chennai Super Kings 40/0 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 17 , Faf du Plessis 23)

What a start this has been for the Chennai Super Kings! Both Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad look hungry, they’re sending anything and everything that comes their way racing off towards the boundary lines. Mohammed Siraj is given a baptism of fire, as he’s hit for a delicate four over cover by Gaikwad, before du Plessis hits a four and a six in back-to-back deliveries to make it 15 runs off the over. Where has this Chennai been all season long?

SIX! What a shot from du Plessis! It’s a bouncer, and he sends it over short fine leg with consummate ease. CSK 40/0

FOUR! Oh that was just delightful! Faf du Plessis gets down on one knee and scoops it over short fine leg! CSK 34/1

FOUR! Gaikwad moves his feet really well, comes down the pitch and then lifts his shot over cover! CSK 29/0

After 3 overs,Chennai Super Kings 25/0 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 12 , Faf du Plessis 13)

Great batting from Gaikwad, as he cleverly lifts a shot over mid-off for six on the second ball of Sundar’s over. CSK have begun with some intent, they’re clearly in it to win it. Du Plessis and Gaikwad grab a couple more quick doubles, as well as a single, to make it 11 runs off the over.

SIX! Great work from Gaikwad! Lofted over mid-off. CSK 20/0

After 2 overs,Chennai Super Kings 14/0 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 3 , Faf du Plessis 11)

Chris Morris joins Sundar, and the duo of du Plessis and Gaikwad run well to take three singles in the first three balls. A dot on the fourth, before du Plessis glances a wayward yorker fine of short fine leg for a boundary. He then lifts the very next ball over midwicket for a big six. Promising signs early on from Chennai.

SIX! Back-to-back hitting from du Plessis, this one is lifted over midwicket! CSK 14/0

Four! First boundary for Chennai Super Kings, and it’s Faf du Plessis who casually flicks it down leg. CSK 8/0

After 1 overs,Chennai Super Kings 1/0 ( Ruturaj Gaikwad 1 , Faf du Plessis 0)

Aaand we’re off! Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad will open for the Chennai Super Kings, while Washington Sundar gets the Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling attack underway. The required run rate is in and around the 7.5 mark, so CSK can afford to take an over or two just to settle in. Seems like they’re doing just that, Gaikwad faces four dot balls before getting off the mark with a single on the fifth. The final ball of the over is a dot as well, great start for Sundar.

Players to hit 200-plus sixes in IPL:

Chris Gayle
AB de Villiers
MS Dhoni
Rohit Sharma 
VIRAT KOHLI*

Most sixes against CSK in IPL:

35 : VIRAT KOHLI*
34 : Kieron Pollard
30 : Chris Gayle

After 20 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 145/6 ( Gurkeerat Singh Mann 2 , Washington Sundar 5)

RCB finish with 145/6 at the end 20 overs. Chahar picked up his second wicket in the over in form of Morris. Just 1 run off the first three balls before Sundar came and collected the boundary off the first ball he faced. Just seven in total. Good show from CSK with the ball. We will be back with the chase soon.

FOUR! Great shot, room and Washington Sundar, new man in, playing his first ball, eases it over cover for four runs

OUT! Full and straight from Chahar to Morris and he castled the stumps. Yorker spot on. Morris has no answer to it. Chris Morris b Chahar 2(5)

After 19 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 138/5 ( Chris Morris 2 , )

Fifty for Kohli before he got out. He came to bat in the fifth over of the innings and has completed his fifty in the 19th over. Tells you about the nature of the pitch. Wicket on first ball of the over for Curran and the last ball. He has bowled well today. Just 3 overs for him and he took two wickets for just 19 runs. Six off the over.

OUT! End of Virat Kohli after he goes past his fifty, fuller ball and he glided it to long on where Faf du Plessis took another good catch. 
Kohli c du Plessis b Sam Curran 50(43)

OUT! Curran gets his countryman Moeen Ali! Slower from Curran, Moeen danced down the wicket and hit it directly to the man at long off. Easy catch that one. Moeen Ali c Santner b Sam Curran 1(2)

After 18 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 132/3 ( Virat Kohli (C) 48 , Moeen Ali 1)

Chahar back on. Kohli looking to use his feet more often now but could not connect properly. ABD is gone. Moeen comes in to bat. He is off the mark with a hack to mid on. Kohli unable to collect boundaries but like always he is running hard between the wickets and ensuring there are no dots. Seven off the over.

OUT! AB de Villiers is gone. He was under pressure to play the big shot and it was about time, knuckle ball from Chahar, ABD came under the ball and used power to clear the man at long on, but the pace on the ball did not help him time the ball well and he is caught. de Villiers c du Plessis b Chahar 39(36)

After 17 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 125/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 42 , AB de Villiers (W) 39)

Jadeja continues. Kohli finally breaks the shackles and hits his first maximum. His 200th six in IPL. Has joined an elite list of players with most sixes in IPL that included Gayle, Dhoni and Rohit. 11 off the over.

SIX! Virat Kohli’s 200th six in IPL this one, goes down the track and hits Jadeja straight down the ground for a maximum.

After 16 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 114/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 33 , AB de Villiers (W) 37)

Monu Kumar who has bowled just one over returns to the attack. Two runs off the first two balls before Monu goes wide again down the leg. He has bowled three already today and needs to work hard on that front. He bowls one over the waist to ABD who somehow manages to evade. ABD finishes the over with a boundary to fine leg. Good over for RCB. 13 off the over.

After 15 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 101/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 30 , AB de Villiers (W) 29)

Jadeja continues, starts off with two dots. ABD picks up a single on the third ball. Kohli next ball wanted to go big over long on, could not connect, and the ball reached at two bounce to Curran over there. RCB go past 100. Four off the over.

After 14 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 97/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 28 , AB de Villiers (W) 27)

Proper batsmanship from ABD in the over. Gets a fuller length and drives it, beating the man at extra cover for four runs. He is finding the gaps and is looking in good touch, in complete contrast to Kohli, who finally collected his first boundary today on the last ball of the over. Tahir finishes with figures of 0 for 30. 11 off the over.

FOUR! Kohli steps down the wicket and hits Tahir straight down the ground for four runs. His first today.

RCB’s SR of 108.54 during middle-overs (7-15) is the lowest among all the teams so far.

FOUR! Brilliant timing and placement from ABD, fuller and he hits it wide of the fielder at extra cover. Great shot.

After 13 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 86/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 24 , AB de Villiers (W) 20)

Ravindra Jadeja, left arm orthodox, into the attack for the first time today. Another drop. Kohli gets another chance. And it is another caught and bowl chance also. Jadeja failed to get hold of the reflex catch in his follow through. The man at short mid off playing on the mind of Kohli it seems. Just five off the over. Kohli is 24 off 26 balls and he needs a move on.

After 12 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 81/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 21 , AB de Villiers (W) 18)

Tahir has just bowled a yorker to ABD. A spinner bowling a yorker. Anything to stop Mr 360 actually. Dhoni sticks with short mid off to Kohli, he hits it straight to Tahir who fails to catch it and then Santner misfields but recovers in time to stop the ball from rolling over to the ropes. Six off the over and yet again all singles.

After 11 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 75/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 17 , AB de Villiers (W) 16)

Santner completes his spell. Kohli and ABD going well but going slow as well. It is as if they know the pitch is playing slow and anything around 160 can be defended. There is no real urgency in their batting so far. 1 for 23 from four overs of Santner. Three off the over.

After 10 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 72/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 15 , AB de Villiers (W) 15)

Tahir continues after the end of first time out. Kohli guides the first ball to third man for a single. Risky run could have cost ABD his wicket but Jadeja missed to hit the stumps. Dhoni kept a short mid off for Kohli but that had no effect on him in this over. Nine off the over.

FOUR! Short ball from Tahir and ABD cuts it beautifully for four runs

After 9 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 63/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 11 , AB de Villiers (W) 10)

Santner finishes his third consecutive over. Looks like Dhoni will bowl him out and why not? He is bowling well. ABD and Kohli going at the same pace. Kohli yet to score his first boundary. Right now he is happily collecting singles. Time out called. Eight runs off the over.

FOUR! Poor effort from Tahir, ABD plays an inside out and it travels faster to deep extra cover, Tahir gives chase from covers but never puts in a dive.

Kohli v Santner in T20Is:

Runs : 45
Balls : 27
Dismissals : 1
SR : 166.67

After 8 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 55/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 9 , AB de Villiers (W) 4)

More spin as Imran Tahir, right-arm leg break, comes into the attack now and this will be an exciting contest. Tahir against Kohli. More like Kohli against leg spin. He collects a single off the first ball to get to the non-strikers end. ABD defends first ball he faces from Tahir and then collects a single. Quicker one from Tahir almost had ABD. It skidded off the pitch as well. Good start from Tahir. Just four off the over.

After 7 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 51/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 7 , AB de Villiers (W) 2)

Santner gets his first wicket in IPL 2020, courtesy brilliance of Faf du Plessis. Padikkal is the man out, could not connect well and picked the longer boundary to hit the six, perished. AB de Villiers has now joined Kohli in the middle. And he is off the mark with a push for single. A wicket and five runs from the over. RCB go past fifty.

OUT! Brilliant from Faf du Plessis, Santner tosses the ball up, Padikkal dances down the track and plays the big shot, it appears travelling over cow corner but it falls inches before the ropes where Faf lines himself up and takes the catch, falls near the ropes, throws the ball to Gaikwad who completes the relay catch. Umpires go upstairs to confirm and third umpire gives the red signal. Devdutt Padikkal c Ruturaj Gaikwad b Santner 22(21)

After 6 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 46/1 ( Devdutt Padikkal 22 , Virat Kohli (C) 4)

Curran continues. Kohli as usual, shuffles in his crease, covering the off stump to play the deliveries, plays an off drive first ball for a single. Gorgeous flick from Padikkal on the fourth ball which was slanting in to him from Curran, lovely use of wrists to collect four. End of powerplay. Eight off the over. RCB lost just one wicket in the first six.

FOUR! Lovely shot, beautiful wrists from Padikkal, angling in to him, on pads and he flicks it so well for four runs. Majestic to watch.

After 5 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 38/1 ( Devdutt Padikkal 16 , Virat Kohli (C) 2)

Mitchell Santner, Left arm orthodox, comes into the attack now. Kohli off the mark with a tap to the off side. Padikkal shows his class again with a terrific shot. Santner is the right bowler for CSK, especially against Kohli, who can give you a chance or two against spinners early on. Seven off the over.

FOUR! Terrific shot, fuller from Santner and on middle leg stump, Padikkal sweeps and sweeps well for four runs

After 4 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 31/1 ( Devdutt Padikkal 11 , Virat Kohli (C) 0)

Sam Curran, left-arm fast medium, into the attack now, has replaced Monu, who was struggling to find the right line. Curran continues to target the stumps. Finch tried to gave charge to him and that brought his end. Clever from Curran to cut the pace off the ball last minute and Finch could not find it any timing eventually. Kohli has now joined Padikkal in the middle. Five off the over and a wicket.

OUT! Finch is gone, he was coming down the pitch, Curran cut the pace off the ball, bowled it short and Finch carried on with his shot, but ended up hitting it high and it came down to Gaikwad inside the 30-yard circle on the off side. Finch c Ruturaj Gaikwad b Sam Curran 15(11)

Aaron Finch’s batting average of 23.3 and SR of 112.6 in this year IPL so far – the lowest for him in an IPL season where he played atleast 10 innings.

After 3 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 26/0 ( Devdutt Padikkal 9 , Aaron Finch 13)

Chahar continues. First ball, Padikkal makes room and tries to hit it over covers but fails to connect. Gets some room on the second ball and he dispatches it over covers for six. CSK cannot afford such loose deliveries. Better strategy from Chahar as he slants it into Padikkal on back to back deliveries. The last ball cut Padikkal into half, superb away swinger, pitched on middle and leg. Eight off the over.

Aaron Finch v Deepak Chahar in T20s:

Runs : 13
Balls : 16
Dismissals : 2
SR : 81.25

SIX! Got the room from Chahar this time Padikkal and he hit it with a lot of power over covers for a flat six. First of the day.

After 2 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 18/0 ( Devdutt Padikkal 2 , Aaron Finch 12)

Monu Kumar, right-arm medium, comes into the attack. He is playing his first game. He is a short man and is generating good pace off the pitch, consistently seaming it away from the left-handed Padikkal. Bowls a huge wide down the leg to Finch. Finch heaves on the next ball, misses it completely. But Monu is failing to find the right line while bringing the ball into Finch. Seven off the over.

FOUR! Monu strays on the line, and Finch flicks it away for four runs to fine leg off his legs.

After 1 over,Royal Challengers Bangalore 11/0 ( Devdutt Padikkal 1 , Aaron Finch 8)

Chahar tries to swing it in to Padikkal but the line was outside the off stump. The next ball goes the other way. As expected, Chahar brings it into Finch, who is weak against the ball coming in and he walked into the shot, a technique which he has adopted in last few games to deal with the swing. Dhoni sees it and comes up to the stumps. It works more for Finch than Chahar as the bowler pitches it up and Finch collects two back to back boundaries. 11 off the first over.

FOUR! Pitched up again by Chahar and on the legs, Finch flicks it away for four runs. Back to back boundaries.

FOUR! Pitched up by Chahar and Finch comes right under it, connects well and hits it over mid off for four runs.

Alright then, Aaron Finch (RHB) and Devdutt Padikkal (LHB) come out to open for RCB. Deepak Chahar, right arm fast, to bowl the first over.

CSK XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Ambati Rayudu, N Jagadeesan, MS Dhoni(w/c), Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir, Monu Kumar

RCB XI: Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers(w), Moeen Ali, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Virat Kohli, RCB Captain: We will bat first. Even if you have dew, the surface should allow ball to come well on the bat. Even with dew, bowlers have bowled well. Just one change, Moeen comes in for Udana, just because of conditions. 

MS Dhoni, CSK Captain: Initially, we wanted to chase then we were forced to. We would have also loved to bat first. The pitch slowed down considerably in last game in second innings and chances are it will slow down today as well. Mathematically yes, we are still in but we had decided five matches before that we will take one game at a time. We are looking to give chances to guys who have not got games so far. Mitchell Santner and Monu Singh come in for Shardul Thakur and Josh Hazlewood.

Toss news: Virat Kohli has won the toss and Bangalore will bat first.

Pommie Mbangwa and Kumar Sangakkara with pitch report: Very hot in Dubai. Short boundary 68 meters. Long boundary 81 meters. Any batsman will target the shorter side. Important to make batsmen hit to the longer side. The pitch is hard and the pitch has been playing quick under lights, but in day’s game, captains winning the toss should bat first.

Last night, Varun Chakravarthy spun KKR to victory against DC and KXIP bowlers held their nerves to win a close contest against SRH. There were some nerve-racking moments and exceptional performances in both the games.

Click here to know the full story of yesterday’s matches in our photo story.

Two very important games today. CSK would look for a win in order to stay afloat in the tournament, even if so minutely. RCB, on the other hand, will be pressing for a victory as well. If they win, they are through to the playoffs. MI will be eyeing the same result. Win for MI will pretty much end the road for Steve Smith and Co and guarantee a place in playoffs for Rohit Sharma’s men. 

Structured bowling plans, depth in bowling stocks have made Virat Kohli’s RCB a winning team

One of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) videos that went viral on social media before the commencement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 was titled the ‘yorker challenge’. The video shows each RCB bowler attempting to hit a target that is placed around the popping crease at the batsman’s end. While the bowlers go about their task the rest of the squad members sit alongside the pitch cheering each bowler on. It might not be the most creative of challenges, but the fact is Royal Challengers and bowling skills have never gone hand in hand.

For the duration of the IPL, Bangalore have always been a team that has built their foundation on batting. Their megastars have always been executioners that can wield their willows, but they have always found it difficult to find a series of bowlers that can perform at an admirable level. Before each season of IPL, the big question about the Royal Challengers is “they can always score the runs, but can they defend them?”.

IPL 2020 is different. Bangalore have won consistently matches on the back of their bowling. Last night they dismissed the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a paltry total of 84. The standout performer was Mohammad Siraj, who finished with figures of 3/8 from his four overs. It was Siraj’s only fourth match this season, but his control with the new ball was sublime as he sliced through the KKR’s top-order.

Click here to read more of Gaurav Joshi’s analysis of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s win over KKR.

We have not played to our potential this season, it hurts, says CSK captain MS Dhoni

The usually indefatigable Mahendra Singh Dhoni conceded to being hurt at the way Chennai Super Kings’ IPL campaign has hurtled from one disaster to another but ruled out benching himself from the remaining three games, saying “a captain can’t run away”.

CSK are all but out of reckoning from a play-offs spot and Dhoni said the three remaining games would be an exercise in understanding how the side should plan for the next season.

Click  here  to read more of MS Dhoni’s quotes on the subject.

MS Dhoni should stop blaming conditions, bad luck and own up to mistakes in CSK camp

Sam Curran’s brief cameo with the bat against the Mumbai Indians in the opening game had pleased Mahendra Singh Dhoni to a large extent. Not only was Curran the only youngster in the ageing XI, but Dhoni had found a power hitter in the lower order that he could base his batting around. For a while now, Dhoni has realised his reflexes and power have disowned him. He has needed a couple of strong hitters to rally around. In IPL 2020, those players were always going to be Kedar Jadhav and Ravindra Jadeja. After the first game, he had found another in Curran.

These three players were going to be his lieutenants. They would be the ones that would take the maximum risks while he holds up one end. It’s only when the situation is cut-throat in the last couple of overs, he unleashes his power game. In the past, even if those players have failed him, he had the presence to dig his team out of trouble. Now, he can’t.

Click here to read more of Gaurav Joshi’s analysis of Chennai Super Kings’ defeat at the hands of the Mumbai Indians.

Bruised CSK look for much-needed victory against high-flying RCB

Their house in complete disarray after eight defeats from 11 outings, Chennai Super Kings will look to give their forgettable campaign a semblance of respectability when they take on in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.

CSK, with six points from 11 games, still have a theoretical chance to make it to the playoffs, provided they do not lose any of their remaining three games, improve their net run-rate and all other match results go their way.

The three-time IPL winners have struggled in all departments of the game, leading to heavy criticism towards skipper MS Dhoni for not showing enough faith in the youngsters.

Click  here  to read more of the preview for this afternoon’s match.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the IPL!

It’s match 44 of the Indian Premier League coming up, and it will see the Royal Challengers Bangalore face off against the Chennai Super Kings. CSK have massively underperformed so far and find themselves at the very bottom of the points table in this latest edition of the competition. RCB, on the other hand, are currently having one of their best seasons, and find themselves level on points with MI and DC at the top of the table, meaning they could become outright leaders if they win today’s match. Stay tuned as we bring you all the updates from this high-stakes encounter.