IPL 2021: CSK vs RCB Review – All-round Jadeja spoils Bangalore’s party

He can bat, he can bowl, he can field. He can create magic. When Ravindra Jadeja is on fire, no force on the face of the earth can stop him. And that’s exactly what unfolded on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Unfortunately, table-toppers Royal Challengers Bangalore were at the receiving end this time as their unbeaten streak came to an end.

Batting first, the Chennai Super Kings were powered to a staggering total of 191/4, thanks to Jadeja’s last-over heroics with the bat. Their openers first negated the early barrage of some good bowling from Bangalore. Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 33 while Faf du Plessis went on to score a 41-ball 50, his second consecutive half-century in the tournament. At no.3, Suresh Raina came in and smacked 24 runs off 18 balls. Ambati Rayudu also chipped in with a 7-ball 14.

The Jadeja Show

But it was Jadeja who stole the show, all the way. He scored 37 runs off the last over, which took his final score to 62 runs off 28 balls. With this late surge, CSK ended up with a massive boost towards the close of the innings. Harshal Patel was once again the pick of the RCB bowlers, bagging three wickets but that last over undid all his hard work.

Bangalore’s innings never really took off with a cluster of wickets falling around their innings, after Devdutt Padikkal’s cameo early on. He scored 34 off 15 balls, while Glenn Maxwell made 22 off 15 balls. Jadeja starred once again with the ball. He took three crucial wickets while Imran Tahir took two scalps. Sam Curran took the important wicket of Virat Kohli while Shardul Thakur picked his 50th IPL wicket in his 50th game. RCB ended up falling 69 runs short of CSK’s total.

Top performers

Ravindra Jadeja: Going into the last over, CSK’s score read 154/4. Jadeja was batting on 26 from 21 balls, having been dropped on 0 earlier. In the 20th over, he smashed Patel to all sides of the ground, also taking advantage of a no-ball. His innings was the difference between RCB chasing 170 and 192. He further came on with the bowl and struck at crucial moments to get the match in CSK’s favour completely. Jadeja picked up wickets of Glenn Maxwell, Washington Sundar and AB de Villiers to leave Bangalore completely reeling. He also inflicted a direct run out of Dan Christian.

Personal records/Achievements

• Jadeja became the first CSK player to score fifty and take a 3-fer in an IPL match
• Suresh Raina hit his 200th six in IPL

Way Ahead

With this huge win, CSK have displaced RCB at the top position on the points table. RCB will now face Delhi Capitals on April 27 in Ahmedabad while CSK will meet SRH in Delhi on April 28.