Ever since Ravindra Jadeja took over the reins of Chennai Super Kings after MS Dhoni quit captaincy, it has been a story of struggle. Four losses out of four — one does not normally associate such a winless streak with the men in yellow. On the contrary, Royal Challengers Bangalore were on a three-match winning streak under new skipper Faf Du Plessis as they faced CSK at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The problem for Chennai has been their failure in all departments. Hence, there was a desperate need for Jadeja’s men to bring their A-game. Even the confidence level between the two teams were in contrast early during the contest. If Bangalore looked aggressive, Chennai was quite circumspect. It is the mindset, which stemmed from their recent results. It was quite evident that they were in need of something magical to lift the team. And who better to provide that than two former RCB players Robin Uthappa and Shivam Dube. They were involved in a 165-run partnership, as the right-hander hit a 50-ball 88 while Dube smashed 95 from just 46 balls, powering their team to a mammoth 216/4, which is quite extraordinary considering they were 35/1 during the powerplay.
Dube’s innings did not come as a big surprise with the tall batter having impressed earlier in the competition. The left-hander, who walked in at number four, felt the need to do something different, and he did so by attacking the bowlers, an element that was missing from the earlier batters, especially in the first six overs.
One could sense a shift in momentum, and Dube was central to it. With the southpaw having a good reputation for hitting sixes against the spinners in domestic cricket, his eyes lit up during the middle-overs when Glenn Maxwell and Shahbaz Ahmed were rolling their arm over. He used his long levers to up the run rate, dealing in sixes. Even the in-form Wanindu Hasaranga was not spared with the leg-spinner being hit for a six and four in his first over.
The confidence rubbed off on Uthappa too as he changed gears after getting his eye in. He hit Maxwell for three sixes in the 13th over and it proved to be the last for the Australian. At this point, with the duo on full swing, it was clear that Bangalore missed Harshal Patel, who left the IPL bubble due to a family bereavement. The pacer was an integral element for Bangalore in containing batters in the middle overs and at the death while he took regular wickets.
Uthappa brought up his fifty in 33 balls. A few balls later, Dube completed his half-century too. Though Uthappa, who smashed four fours and nine sixes perished, Dube had his ton insight with the batter on 80 with six balls left. Eventually, he finished unbeaten on 95.
In reply, Bangalore fought hard in the middle-overs after being reduced to 50 for four early on but fell short in the end by 23 runs. Brief scores: CSK 216/4 in 20 ovs (Dube 95 n.o, Uthappa 88) beat RCB 193/9 in 20 ovs (Shahbaz 41, Karthik 34, Theekshana 4/33, Jadeja 3/39).