IPL 2019, RCB vs CSK Turning Point: Parthiv Patel’s golden arm clinches last-ball thriller for Royal Challengers Bangalore
Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the umpteenth time was in line to pull off another incredible chase but finally ran out of luck as Royal Challengers Bangalore managed to beat CSK by one run.
26 runs needed off the final over - Not many people would have given Chennai Super Kings any chance as they looked to clinch the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday. In their last match, RCB successfully defended a similar total against the destruction of Kolkata Knight Riders’ Andre Russell and even with the master finisher MS Dhoni at the crease, it was advantage RCB as Umesh Yadav got ready to bowl the over.
The start was ideal for CSK as Dhoni slammed Umesh for a boundary off the very first ball. The fast bowler went with a short ball and Dhoni had no troubles in guiding it towards the square leg boundary. Next up, it was another short ball from Umesh and Dhoni smashed it for a massive six which travelled for almost 111 metres.
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The pressure was now on the bowler but the equation was also not getting any easier for Dhoni. But, the veteran battled on as he scored another six through long-off and followed it up with a couple through deep midwicket. The fifth ball was probably the most crucial of the over and this time, Dhoni emerged as the winner once again as he guessed the length perfectly and Umesh could only watch as the ball fly over the midwicket boundary.
With 2 runs needed off the last ball, it was Dhoni’s match to lose and it looked like CSK were going to secure their place in the play-offs with another win. The ball was pitched outside the off-stump and the wonky bounce made it difficult for Dhoni to connect with it. It bounced just in front of wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel and he made no mistake in hitting the target with an accurate throw to dismiss Shardul Thakur as RCB clinched the game by just one run.
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Earlier, Parthiv Patel’s (53 off 37) half-century followed by Moeen Ali’s quick 16-ball 26 propelled Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to 161/7 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
The Chennai bowlers kept on jolting the home side at regular intervals as Bangalore failed to post a big total, thanks to Deepak Chahar, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo, who each picked two wickets beside bowling economically on a batting friendly Chinnaswamy track.
(With agency inputs)
