Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings, 24th Match

RCB 205/8 (20 Ovs)

CSK 207/5 (19.4 Ovs)

Chennai Super Kings won by 5 wkts

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
MS Dhoni

Kohli will get a lot of flack for bowling out his key bowlers very early and the team selection of course, but come on, whatever your name is, you got to back yourself to defend 45 off 18 balls. Kohli wants his bowlers to learn, hopefully they do quickly. He was gutted in the interview post-match, but took it with a smile. By the way, Dhoni gave away some gems as to what the ideal role of a finisher is. Scroll down for a good read. On that note, we bid goodbye and enjoyed bringing this riveting contest to you. We'll back in a matter of hours with SRH v KXIP of course. Goodnight!

Phew! Why does this CSK team like to test our hearts everytime they go out to play? Five of their six games were decided in the final over. You definitely got to feel for RCB. 205 on the board, CSK literally down and out. Just a matter of getting Rayudu/Dhoni with about 100 runs needed in 7 overs, but Dhoni was just sooooo cool in the Garden city that was cooled by the rain in the evening. And hey, rain gods, thanks a lot for just watching the cricket from up above. You were kind!

Highest ratio of sixes to fours in an IPL match:
1.83 CSK v RCB, Bengaluru, 2018 (33:18)
1.55 CSK v KKR, Chennai, 2018 (31:20)
1.29 DD v GL, Delhi, 2017 (31:24)
1.18 KXIP v RCB, Indore, 2017 (20:17)

Highest successful chases by CSK in IPL:
206 v RCB, Bengaluru, 2018*
206 v RCB, Chennai, 2012
203 v KKR, Chennai, 2018
193 v KXIP, Dharamsala, 2010
188 v DD, Delhi, 2008

Dhoni (2/2): "Shardul will get better. The more he is under the pump, the better he will get as the tournament progresses. It's important to know the overs that are left and who will bowl the death overs, who is their best bowler on that particular wicket and who you can take on. You may win or lose, but it's about getting the process right.Not everybody knows what kind of a game is theirs and what really is their strength. You will score runs with the experience you have got, but if you can help the other batsman with what to play, run quicker between the wickets, tell what the bowler could do with his batting style etc. All these things really matter, and that's what I feel is the job of the finisher. It's not just about me batting at the death. Sharing the experience with the youngsters or whoever is batting and helping them getting the score is key, because tomorrow I may not be batting with him or I may get out, he needs to do the job. Rayudu's batting is very important for us, he keeps the scoreboard moving."

MS "Cool" Dhoni is the Man of the Match: (1/2) "I thought when we had the innings break this was difficult to chase because when I was keeping, I felt AB batted well to get them to 200 runs and it was tough to score. I thought it was 15-20 beyond par score. The key for us was the two left-handers but we lost them early. Just had to hang around there. This is a small ground, ball travels and there was just a bit of dew and it worked in our favour. Rayudu batted really well. Got a very good partnership and then Bravo striking at the end, overall it went perfectly according to the script. Not exactly as we had planned, but still the script was good. This was a slightly slowish wicket and that's why AB's knock was special. It wasn't an easy wicket, it was not a wicket where you could bat like that, credit to him. Happy that people are chipping in for us and we are chasing down big totals and at the same time it is a good exposure for some of our death bowlers."

Kohli (2/2): "Pitch has played really well, we are happy with that. Spin came as a massive factor, both for us and for them. But quality batting from both sides getting 200-plus. Great game for people to see but as a team, we are disappointed to not get across the line. (On Rayudu being another of the young batting talents) He is not young, has been around 15 years, been around forever (smiles). Quality player and we all know that. Has done well in the IPL and domestic, also has done well for India too. You never know who gets the opportunities. Deserves the applause. I am happy for him. (On MSD) Great to see him strike a few, not against us though. We wouldn't have liked that. He's hitting the ball really well this IPL. He is in a happy space, batting higher up and expressing himself. Seems to be enjoying it. Credit to him as well."

Virat Kohli (1/2): "(On the loss) Many things that we can look at. The way we bowled is just not acceptable. Just not good enough on the day, 72/4 and giving away runs like that for just 1 wicket is criminal. Something that we need to address going forward because we haven't bowled well. If we cannot defend even 200, it's a problem somewhere. It hurts at the moment, very tough for us to swallow but great game for Chennai. (Whether RCB has better bench strength) You have to back the guys who are on the park and need to give them confidence to execute what they have to. They need to be clear in their plans and execute well. We weren't brave enough with the ball, somewhere there was that hesitation of the opposition overcoming them."

Rayudu - Orange Cap holder: "Unbelievable. Lost a few wickets early. We were constructing the innings. We had the belief, but this ground made it really possible. I am hitting the ball well, so the batting position doesn't really matter to me. We were calculating how many overs each guy had and we wanted to play out Chahal because he was looking the most threatening there. Really happy that we won."

Post-winning scenes: Dhoni with his coolness and swagger was lifted by Harbhajan - must be said for the offie, that is a routine thing as far as IPL is concerned. Watson, Billings, Wood, Faf and Willey were up and shouting their lungs off as the ball left MS's bat. They were all sitting in a group.

After tonight's loss one has to wonder whether it is a mental thing with RCB losing to CSK. So many close games and every single time, they have come out on the losing end. It can't be skill or any other factor. Similar to South Africa in ICC events. There's something that the human brain can't comprehend! We'll leave it there and let you decide!

It was not all about Dhoni though. Rayudu played his part with a massive innings and he fed off MS's self-belief not to play the rash shot and gift his wicket away when his side were in trouble after losing four wickets. The asking rate was touching 14, 15, 16 at various points, but nothing flustered the duo. Maybe Kohli made a mistake by bowling out Umesh and Chahal but you can turn that around and say what if he was trying to get MS and Rayudu out. That would've sealed the game right there. Kohli was outstanding as captain but he met a bigger match in MS and that's where the game was won and lost.

23:52 Local Time, 18:22 GMT, 23:52 IST: MS Dhoni is the GOAT! As a finisher! GOAT in terms of being cool. In all sport! Just the swagger after he saw the ball go over wide long-on. A mischievous I know it I can win from anywhere smirk dotted his face. Unbelievable. Really. And he keeps doing it all the time. Never doubt the man. The way he took it to the end knowing his ability to finish it off against the likes of Siraj, Negi and Anderson at the end speaks volumes about the man's innate self-belief. Never doubted himself - not one second - when he was nudging, nurdling, dabbing, pushing and eking out singles, seeing out Umesh and Chahal in the middle overs is stuff of legend.