Romario Shepherd was named Player of the Match for his crucial cameo in the end. Yash Dayal and Krunal Pandya took one wicket each, whereas Lungi Ngidi grabbed three wickets
Yash Dayal delivered again for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Chennai Super Kings as they beat the five-time champions by two runs in a nail-biter clash of the IPL 2025 held at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday night. (Highlights | Full Coverage | Schedule | Points Table)
Asked to bat first, RCB got a good start from their new opening pair of Virat Kohli and English all-rounder Jacob Bethell. The duo added 97 runs for the first wicket before Bethell was dismissed by Matheesha Pathirana after completing his maiden IPL half-century.
Playing XIs
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Lungi Ngidi, Yash Dayal
Chennai Super Kings: Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Deepak Hooda, MS Dhoni(w/c), Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Matheesha Pathirana
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact Subs: Suyash Sharma
Chennai Super Kings Impact Subs: Shivam Dube
Virat Kohli went on to score his fourth consecutive half-century and also got the orange cap while achieving that feat. He also became the first player to cross the 500-run mark eight times in IPL history. He made 62 off 33 balls.
But it was Romario Shepherd's brutal hitting in the end which kept RCB back in the game. He made 33 runs in the 19th over, which was bowled by Khaleel Ahmed and went on to hit a couple of fours and as many sixes in the final over to complete his half-century in just 14 balls and take RCB's team total to 213 runs.
Pathirana was the best bowler from CSK, who took three wickets. Sam Curran and Noor Ahmad also picked up a wicket each. Khaleel Ahmed leaked 65 runs in his three overs. His third over, which went for 33 runs, was the most costly over of the season.
In response, the uncapped pair of Shaik Rasheed and Ayush Mhatre opened the batting for CSK. The duo added 51 runs for the first wicket before Krunal Pandya broke the partnership in the fifth over. Mhatre hit Bhuvneshwar Kumar for five fours and a six in his second over.
He added 114 runs for the third wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (77 not out off 45 balls). Lungi Ngidi broke the partnership in the 17th over when Mhatre was left stranded on 94 runs. He missed the well-deserved ton by just six runs. His 94 came off 48 balls with nine fours and five sixes.
Dewald Brevis was dismissed in the same over by Ngidi, which brought MS Dhoni on the pitch. He took the game deep with Jadeja but lost his wicket in the last over.
Suyash Sharma gave just six runs, but Bhuvi conceded 14 runs in the 19th over, which left just 15 runs for Yash Dayal for the final over. He got rid of Dhoni but conceded a six on a no-ball by Shivam Dube.
Now, three balls remained and CSK still needed six runs to win. He executed his low full-toss deliveries very well and won the match for RCB. This is for the second year in a row that he has done that for RCB against CSK.
Shepherd was named Player of the Match for his crucial cameo in the end. Yash Dayal and Krunal Pandya took one wicket each, whereas Lungi Ngidi grabbed three wickets.
RCB are at the top of the points table with eight wins in 11 games. CSK are at the bottom of the table with four points in 11 matches.
Now, CSK will face KKR in Kolkata on Wednesday, 7 May, and RCB will take on LSG in Lucknow on Friday, 9 May.