The RCB survives the Dhoni blinder in an IPL classic

It's a match that goes straight into the annals of IPL clbadics. The MS Dhoni was undefeated on 84 out of 48 – his highest score in the T20 – but nearly missed the engineering of one of the greatest braves in the history of the format since RCB returned at home in spite of a 26 point bank to defend his score of 161 in the final by Umesh Yadav. Parthiv Patel, the top scorer with the bat for the hosts, hit the final ball directly to prevent Dhoni from having another feather in his final hat.

What was the margin of victory?

A few centimeters. The MS Dhoni, who needs to score 2 points on the last ball, missed a slower ball but escaped to be forgotten. Shardul Thakur responded but was beaten by a direct shot from Parthiv Patel, triggering jubilant scenes at stage M. Chinnaswamy, who has now had to get up the collective mouth a second time in the last five minutes.

How did he get to the final ball?

MS Dhoni.

Twenty-six were needed for the final. RCB thought that they had one foot above the line while Umesh Yadav was preparing to play bowling. The captain of CSK had other ideas. He shot the first ball to an empty square leg area for a four. He dropped the second ball outside the stadium for a 111m six. The third ball was muscular for a long distance, where AB de Villiers could only parry it over the ropes. Dhoni scored two points on the fourth ball to take the score to 8 points. A fifth complete ball was thrown over the mid-wicket. And then this last bullet.

Was there something missed?

There are two ways to look at things. Dhoni denied three singles in a beautiful penultimate defeat by Navdeep Saini despite the fact that Dwayne Bravo is at the other end. But he had an explanation for that. He thought that a drummer on the set could take the form of a long delivery, as opposed to a new drummer. The low margin of defeat could certainly open the subject to debate.

Where did CSK lose the match?

In the PowerPlay, they lost 4 for 32, pushing Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu into a rebuilding phase.

Did the arrival of Steyn revitalize the RCB?

Most certainly, yes. It may not be Chris Gayle's optimistic injection into mid-season, but it added punch to the bowling attack. Factor this for a stat. Before playing Kolkata the other day, RCB had taken three wickets in the Powerplay after eight games. With him, they took seven of two games.

On Sunday, Steyn cast a spell that would not have been moved during the first hour of a test match in Cape Town. There was rhythm, there was this patented external banana and there was a configuration. For Shane Watson, who was under fire, he produced the ideal exterior, drew him to the disc and opened the first CSK pitch. In Suresh Raina. Steyn asked her blanket and extra staff to hug the circle. Nice leg was in position. Everything was pointing to the bouncer. Instead, Steyn beat the perfect yorker to 143.3 clicks and cleaned Raina.

The first match of Steyn (3-0-16-2) opened the way for Umesh Yadav, also aggressive, who dismissed Faf du Plessis and Kedar Jadhav to let CSK falter at 28 for 4. Then gave 24 in his final on.

Did RCB support this with a good intermediate bowling?

They did it. Kohli used three overs from Marcus Stoinis and one from Pawan Negi, while Chahal had only ambaded Chahal in the 10th. The Indian leggie played four rounds at trot, gave only 18 points until he was hit for a six of the last ball of his spell. His stingy spell also included the Ambati Rayudu counter, further delaying Dhoni's final blossoming.

Was it a par-score?

It was slightly below normal. This was not a typical Chinnaswamy 200 wicket, with the weird ball on the length standing on the surface. Parthiv Patel was particularly impressive in the way he punctuated his heats, despite the fact that the biggest players launch their wickets to try to force the pace. Parthiv anchored the innings with 50 balls out of 36 but came out immediately after, denying his team 10-15 crucial points.

But does not Kohli always play the anchor role at RCB?

He does. But today, he fell early in a well prepared trap. When Deepak Chahar swung the first ball of the match in Parthiv Patel, it opened a possible attack plan against Virat Kohli. The outswinger with a sheet posted. But some other factors are aligned in Kohli's configuration. Parthiv Patel scored 2 of 7 balls after two defeats, forcing Kohli to take an early risk. Dhoni took the third man into the circle and placed him in a wide ravine, carving out the touch in third man and offering an offside playoff opportunity. Kohli's approached the first ball of the third times and survived because the edge flew over the slip. Chahar gave the impression that his next outsider was wider and wider, forcing Kohli to reach out and score the goal behind to allow Dhoni to take a single take. Party for 9 off 8.

Were there any other tactical moves in the game?

Yes. The RCB sneaked in late at the end, but they also made a mistake in the KKR's order book. Moeen Ali, whose last two runs were 50 (32) and 66 (28), spent the first 94 sculls watching from the canoe while RCB rewarded his recent comeback in the form of a batter with a # 6 role. Akshdeep Nath entered No. 4 and played 20 balls for his 24. When he was fired, the RCB decided to trust the historical advantage of having a left pair to right by sending Marcus Stoinis, who played 13 balls for Son 14. Moeen finally had 16 bullets in which he knocked on all fours of Dwayne Bravo and gave 26 – a timely contribution in a wider context.

Where are the teams going from here?

CSK, still at the top of the standings, lost for the first consecutive time for the first time since returning in 2018. They will return home to prepare for the visit of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Tuesday, April 23. They defeated SRH four times last season but lost the only clash at IPL 2019. RCB stays home and faces Kings XI Punjab the next day.

Short sheet musicRoyal Challengers Bangalore 161/7 in 20 outs (Parthiv Patel 53, Deepak Chahar 2-25, Ravindra Jadeja 2-29) defeated Chennai Super Kings 160/8 (MS Dhoni 84, Dale Steyn 2-29, Navdeep Saini 1- 24)) by 1 stroke.