RCB end 17-year wait to win in Chennai, thrash CSK 50 runs

IPL 2025, CSK vs RCB SYNOPSIS: Having returned empty-handed from Chepauk since 2008, Royal Challengers Bengaluru put up a clinical show to decimate Chennai Super Kings.
One year ago, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, they dumped CSK out of the play-offs while reigniting a lopsided rivalry. On Friday, at MA Chidambaram Stadium, they tasted success against their Southern rivals for the first time since 2008. While the head-to-head read 22-11 in favour of CSK before this game, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium it was 8-1 in favour of the five-time champions. On Friday, RCB would finally put an end to that winless streak, and they did it in some style too. To silence Chepauk is one thing, but to walk out of the stadium with chants of “RCB, RCB” hanging in the air shows the dominant performance they put on that night. If the batting unit, led Rajat Patidar, delivered a power-packed show, the bowlers dismantled Chennai part part as they suffered their biggest defeat at Chepauk.
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As IPL turns 18, RCB fans would hope they have managed to turn the corner as the hope of a title win shines brighter than ever before with a balanced team in hand.
Top gear straightaway
In the years that RCB have gone without a win here, they have come across as a team that struggles to adjust to the pace of the pitches at this ground. After choking Mumbai Indians in their previous game on a slow turner, Chennai didn’t have a similar luxury on Friday. Instead, a belter of a pitch was on the offering, which straightaway put RCB in a comfort zone. It is a power-packed batting line-up with good depth, and with the pitch playing true to its characterics, RCB were able to proudly display their “Play Bold” tag. Unlike previous seasons, RCB have an excellent batting mix, where the likes of Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal are neatly sandwiched between power hitters and enforcers. If they stick to their roles, there is more chance of this batting unit carrying them into the play-offs.
Like they showed in their previous outing against Kolkata at the Eden Gardens, it was another night where their approach immediately put the opponent on the back foot. And much of it was down to Phil Salt, a gifted striker at the top, who can cause enough damage if he lasts the powerplay. On Friday, he lasted only till the fifth over, but then CSK were already pushed to the corner. In the first over, he picked up two boundaries off Khaleel Ahmed, and in the next, he greeted R Ashwin with a thumping six and collected two more boundaries to set the ball rolling.
If not for Dhoni’s lightning-quick stumping of Noor Ahmad off the last ball of the fifth over, Salt looked set to add more than the 32 he had off 16 deliveries.Story continues below this ad
With Kohli scraping his way, all eyes were on Padikkal, a batsman who seems to be losing his way in the IPL. In his second stint with the franchise, he is still finding his feet in the middle order, and a quickfire knock of 27 from 14 deliveries is definitely not a huge contribution, but those were rich if one considers the circumstances. But as Kohli struggled for timing, it was Padikkal who ensured that the run rate didn’t dip after Salt departed, hitting two boundaries and as many sixes.
Patidar rides on luck
There have never been any doubts over his batting credentials, especially in the T20 format, and when RCB retained him, it didn’t come as a surprise. Handed the captaincy armband, the only question is how he would respond to the growing expectations to deliver a maiden title for the franchise. In that sense, runs early in the season are bound to do a world of confidence for Patidar. And against their arch-rivals, Patidar put up a grand show with Chennai’s fielders giving him some support as Deepak Hooda dropped a sitter at long-on and Rahul Tripathi failed to catch hold of the ball after covering a good dance from deep point. These drops cost Chennai dearly as Patidar’s 52 kept pushing RCB to a total that would no doubt put the hosts under pressure. Beyond the luck, no other batsman looks in as much comfort as Patidar when it comes to playing the CSK spinners. He took his chances and was prepared to go inside-out to Jadeja and Noor while saving his best for Matheesha Pathirana, who was included in the XI in place of Nathan Ellis.
The departure of Patidar, though, allowed Chennai to make a comeback in the end as Pathirana delivered a 19th over, conceding just one run. However, Tim David provided the finish that RCB richly deserved, hitting three consecutive sixes off Sam Curran in the final over as RCB managed 196/7.
Killing the chase
The target was no doubt steep, but to overcome a rounded RCB attack was always going to be a huge ask for Chennai. Story continues below this ad
And truth to be told, the end of the powerplay, the game was totally in RCB’s bag. The two telling blows that rocked CSK early were provided Josh Hazlewood, who managed to extract a steep bounce on this pitch to remove Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad in his first over. Those blows meant Chennai could get nowhere near the start they would have hoped for. With the new ball offering movement, Patidar kept Bhuvneshwar Kumar for another over, and he responded removing Deepak Hooda in his third to sink Chennai further. At 29/3 at the end of the powerplay, Chennai were staring at the barrel.
From there on, the asking rate kept climbing as Rachin Ravindra and Sam Curran struggled to provide any momentum to the chase. They laboured on, forever searching for that one big over – that never arrived – that could potentially change the tide. Once their new ball bowlers did the job, Yash Dayal, Liam Livingstone and Suyash Sharma kept tightening the screws as Chennai could hardly get off their blocks.