Another top dog in the IPL, this time the Royal Challengers, suffered their second successive defeat as the Chennai Super Kings beat them by six wickets in Sharjah on Friday reaching a 157 target in only 18.1 overs and in the process take the top slot in the points table.
The Royal Challengers had everything in their favour as their openers Virat Kohli and Devdutt Paddikal smashed the bowlers to all corners of the ground in a mighty show of hitting to make 55 runs in the first six power play overs and 90 runs in 10 overs.
But in the end it was just Kohli (53) and Padikkal (70) who did the scoring for the Royal Challengers who lost their way and collapsed from 111 for no loss to 156 for 6 in the 20 overs.
All six batsmen were dismissed attempting big shots that resulted in catches taken in the outfield as if a fielding practice session was taking place while paceman Dwayne Bravo captured three wickets.
Kohli’ with 53 had six fours and a six while Padikkal clouted five fours and three sixes for a top score of 70 that came in 50 balls.
With their dismissals, the Royal Challengers could not keep up the momentum as AB de Villiers made just 12 and Glen Maxwell a mere 11 runs.
In contrast when the Super Kings batted there was no big rush to get the runs as Ruturaj Gaikwad (38) and Faf du Plessis (31) played sensible cricket and shared in a 71-run opening stand that set their victory base in 8.1 overs.
Moen Ali (23), Ambati Rayudu (32) and Suresh Raina (17 not not out) ensured there was no need for a panic situation after the opening pair was dismissed as they posted the required runs for victory to go top of the points table with seven wins from nine matches.
Scores:
Royal Challengers Bangalore 156 for 6 in 20 (Virat Kohli 53, Devdutt Padikkal 70, Dwayne Bravo 3 for 24, Shardul Thakur 2 for 29)
Chennai Super Kings 157 for 4 in 18.1 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 38, Faf du Plessis 31, Ambati Rayudu 32, Harshal Patel 2 for 29)