IPL 2021, RCB vs CSK as it happened: Chennai Super Kings bag 6-wicket win with clinical performance

CSK win by 6 wickets!

MS Dhoni (11* off 9) and Suresh Raina (17* off 10) finish off the chase. The men in yellow continue their fine form and return to the top of the points table. RCB, meanwhile, have a lot to ponder over.

CSK 155/4 after 18 overs: Two fours for Dhoni! The first with a pull and the second with a flick past the keeper. Siraj was a bit all over the place in that over. CSK need just two runs now.

CSK 145/4 after 17 overs: Four and six! Hasaranga troubled Raina in that over but the veteran got the upper hand at the end. First a misfield at the long-on fence by Padikkal and then a slog sweep for a maximum. CSK are almost home, they need 12 off 18.

CSK 133/4 after 15.4 overs: WICKET! Harshal Patel gets another one as Ambati Rayudu (32 off 22) pulls it straight to AB de Villiers at mid-wicket. CSK need 24 off 26 with six wickets in hand. MS Dhoni has joined Suresh Raina at the crease.

CSK 125/3 after 15 overs: Shot! Raina gets going with a vintage drive over cover for four. He tried to whack the last ball of that Chahal over into orbit but got the inside edge. CSK need 32 off 30.

CSK 118/3 after 14 overs: WICKET! Harshal Patel strikes as Virat Kohli takes another catch. Moeen Ali walks back with CSK needing 39 off 36. It was a slower ball and Moeen tried to flick it but got the edge and the ball went high up.

CSK 112/2 after 13 overs: Shot! Back-to-back sixes for Chennai as Moeen sweeps the first ball of that Hasaranga over for a maximum. CSK are back in control of the chase, RCB need quick wickets again.

CSK 100/2 after 12 overs: Rayudu goes big! Maxwell was about to finish a tight over but the right-hander slammed the last ball over long-on for fix. CSK need 57 off 48.

CSK 90/2 after 11 overs: Six! Terrific shot from Moeen. Chahal pitched it up and outside off, the left-hander leaned forward to drive it stylishly over long-off for a maximum. CSK need 67 off 54.

CSK 78/2 after 10 overs: Rayudu walks out to the middle and whacks his first ball for four. Chennai have Moeen at the other end now. But that was a crucial over by Maxwell for Bangalore.

CSK 71/2 after 9.1 overs: WICKET! CSK have lost both their openers in two overs! Kohli brings Maxwell on and the move works immediately. This time it’s du Plessis (31 off 26) walking back after finding the fielder. Sharp catch by Saini at short-fine.

CSK 71/1 after 8.2 overs: WICKET! A sensational catch from Kohli and RCB have the breakthrough! Chahal deceived Gaikwad (38 off 26) and Kohli put in an acrobatic dive at point to pull off a brilliant catch.

CSK 67/0 after 8 overs: Another good over for RCB, this time Hasaranga concedes just five. This was the phase of their innings in which RCB had slowed down as well. Chennai would want to avoid going into a shell. They need 90 off 72.

CSK 62/0 after 7 overs: Faf survives a close run-out call! It was a quick single and he just about made it in on time. Chahal joins the attack and concedes just three runs in his first over.

CSK 59/0 after 6 overs: Huge over for Chennai as Faf takes Saini apart. A sumptuous six straight over followed by boundaries either side of the pitch. CSK’s openers have given them another superb opening stand. The men in yellow are in complete control of the chase in Sharjah.

CSK 43/0 after 5 overs: Harshal bowls a no ball and Gaikwad slaps the free hit straight back for four. But the right-arm pacer does well to concede just three runs in the rest of the over.

CSK 35/0 after 4 overs: Brilliant from Gaikwad! Wanindu Hasaranga joins the attack and the right-hander starts the over with a sweep for four before ending it with a six straight back.

CSK 23/0 after 3 overs: Tidy over from Siraj, just five runs from it. RCB need wickets, though. Chennai have the luxury of pacing their innings comfortably.

CSK 18/0 after 2 overs: Du Plessis with a wonderful ramp scoop for six off Saini. That was the highlight of the over. Otherwise steady stuff. But the CSK opener’s would have got their eye in now. They need to make the most of the Powerplay overs.

CSK 8/0 after 1 over: Steady start by CSK. One loose delivery from Siraj and it was put away by the in-form Gaikwad.

End of innings

RCB finish with 156/6. Dwayne Bravo returns with terrific figures of 3/24 from his four overs as Harshal Patel perishes off the last ball. A brilliant performance from CSK despite conceding a 111-run opening stand.

RCB 154/5 after 19.2 overs: WICKET! Maxwell is gone! Superb from Bravo as he finds the blockhole, while Jadeja doesn’t make a mistake at the mid-wicket boundary.

RCB 154/4 after 19 overs: Sensational over from Chahar, just four runs and a wicket from it. He finishes with figures of 1/35 from his four overs. Bravo to bowl the last over of the innings with Maxwell on strike and Harshal Patel at the other end.

RCB 150/4 after 18.2 overs: WICKET! Tim David’s debut with the bat doesn’t last long as Deepak Chahar strikes. The right-hander didn’t connect with the slower ball and ended up offering a simple catch to cover. The RCB innings is falling apart.

RCB 150/3 after 18 overs: Six! Bravo lands a slower ball in the slot and Glenn Maxwell whacks it over the mid-wicket fence. Tim David, on debut, is the other batter at the crease. Bangalore would want to get close to 180.

RCB 140/3 after 17 overs: WICKET! Two in two for Thakur! This time Padikkal finds the fielder and departs for 70 off 50. Thakur finishes with superb figures of 2/29. CSK on top!

RCB 140/2 after 16.5 overs: WICKET! Huge strike for Thakur as ABD is gone! The South African hit a six earlier in the over but got a top edge to the fielder this time. #CSK continue to impress with the ball.

RCB 131/1 after 16 overs: Six! Bangalore get a much-needed push as Padikkal slams one straight back for a maximum. The left-hander is batting on 67 off 47. Hazlewood concedes 13 runs in his last over and finishes with figures of 0/34.

RCB 118/1 after 15 overs: Second over without a boundary, this time Thakur concedes just four runs in his third. Bangalore need to up the ante big time. On a small, high-scoring ground, Chennai have done incredibly well with the ball in the middle overs.

RCB 111/1 after 13.2overs: WICKET! Kohli departs for 53 (41 balls) as Bravo gets CSK the breakthrough. The ball was flicked hard but it went straight to Jadeja at deep mid-wicket. AB de Villiers is the new batter.

RCB 111/0 after 13 overs: FIFTY for Virat Kohli! The RCB skipper hit the first two balls of the match for fours and hasn’t looked back. Some vintage strokeplay from Kohli tonight. Meanwhile, Jadeja finishes with good figures of 0/31 from his four overs.

RCB 104/0 after 12 overs: FIFTY for Devdutt Padikkal! The left-hander brings up his sixth IPL half-century off 35 deliveries. He has played some delightful strokes tonight. RCB are cruising and would want to up the ante. Chahar returns to the attack and concedes eight runs in his third over.

RCB 96/0 after 11 overs: Fine over from Jadeja, just six runs from it. The left-arm spinner mixed up his lengths and speeds wonderfully.

RCB 90/0 after 10 overs: Shot! Thakur returns to the attack and bowls one short and wide, Padikkal leans back and cuts it powerfully in the gap for four.

RCB 82/0 after 9 overs: Six! Padikkal steps out to Jadeja and hits it over long-on for the third maximum of the night. Bangalore have set themselves up for a huge total.

RCB 70/0 after 8 overs: Dwayne Bravo joins the attack and concedes nine runs in his first over. Kohli gets a delivery on a length and whips it over mid-wicket for four. He pierced the gap in the deep masterfully. Those wrists have been working overtime tonight.

RCB 61/0 after 7 overs: Ravindra Jadeja joins the attack and bowls from round the wicket to the left-handed Padikkal. He bowls one delivery a little too full and gets driven straight over for four. But that was a good over for CSK, just six runs from it.

RCB 55/0 after 6 overs: The end of a solid powerplay for RCB. Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal have played some stunning shots and powered their team to a strong position. Kohli with a pull through the gap for four in that Hazlewood over.

RCB 46/0 after 5 overs: That’s out of the stadium! Stunning shot from Kohli! Shardul Thakur joins the attack and pitches one in Kohli’s hitting arc, the RCB skipper keeps a strong base and hits it cleanly over mid-wicket for an 82-meter six.

RCB 36/0 after 4 overs: What a shot from Padikkal! The left-hander stands tall and drives a length delivery straight over for a maximum. Such elegance in that stroke. Hazlewood, though, does well to concede just two runs in the rest of the over.

RCB 28/0 after 3 overs: The boundaries are flowing for Bangalore! Another expensive over from Chahar. Padikkal first plays a superb cut in front of square for four, before Kohli steps out and whacks a slower ball over mid-wicket for four.

RCB 18/0 after 2 overs: Kohli has come to the crease with great intensity. He steps out to Josh Hazlewood and absolutely creams a punch which goes through Moeen Ali at cover for two. Hazlewood then does well to beat Kohli’s outside edge with the next ball.

RCB 13/0 after 1 over: Kohli gets going with back-to-back boundaries! Chahar bowls the first two balls of the match on the pads and Kohli clips the first one to the fine-leg fence before flicking the next one over mid-wicket. Devdutt Padikkal then ends the over with a gorgeous cover-drive for four.

7.45 pm: We’re ready for play, finally. Deepak Chahar has the new ball in hand with Virat Kohli on strike. Here we go!

Playing XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat (w), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Tim David, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood.

7.34 pm: CSK are unchanged. RCB have two changes: Sachin Baby and Kylie Jamieson make way for Navdeep Saini and Tim David. The match will start at 7.45 pm IST.

TOSS

MS Dhoni has won the toss and CSK will bowl first.

7.25 pm: The sandstorm seems to have cleared out in Sharjah. Toss to take place at 7.30 pm IST.

7.12 pm: The sandstorm hasn’t settled yet. The next inspection will be at 7.25 pm IST.

6.59 pm: Update from Sharjah – the toss has been delayed by 10 minutes due to a storm.

6.53 pm: Ravindra Jadeja was the star of the show in CSK’s win over RCB earlier in the season. Read all about the all-rounder’s brilliant performance in that match here.

6.50 pm: Hello and welcome to live coverage of match No 35 of Indian Premier League 2021. Tonight, Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.