Dubai: Ruturaj Gaikwad’s maiden half-century and Sam Curran’s handy bowling on Sunday helped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 8 wickets in game 44 of the IPL 2020 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
RCB won the toss and decided to bat first. The openers of Royal Challengers Bangalore — Devdutt Padikkal (22 off 21 balls) and Aaron Finch (15 off 11 balls) — failed to give their team a good start. However, the celebrated pair of Virat Kohli (50 off 43 balls) and AB de Villiers (39 off 36 balls) were briefly entertaining but Chennai Super Kings managed to restrict Royal Challengers Bangalore to 145 for 6 in their stipulated 20 overs. Sam Curran was once again brilliant up-front and also at the death, finishing with figures of 3/19 in three overs.
On the contrary, Chennai Super Kings got a solid start from its openers. Both Ruturaj Gaikwad (65* off 51 balls) and Faf du Plessis (25 off 13 balls) smashed Royal Challengers Bangalore bowlers, giving a fiery start to their side. Apart from the openers, Ambati Rayudu (39 off 27 balls) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (19 off 21 balls) played crucial knocks to help Chennai chase 146.
The win was a must for the Chennai Super Kings. After this win, Chennai has gained 8 points with 4 wins in 12 matches and has reached number 7. Apart from this, Hyderabad and Rajasthan also have 8-8 points.