Super win for Kings: Shivam Dube, Robin Uthappa set up Chennai Super Kings 23-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore
Pune, April 12
Shivam Dube and Robin Uthappa hit scintillating half-centuries as Chennai Super Kings notched up a 23-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore to open their account in the 15th IPL here today.
Invited to bat, Dube (95 not out) and Uthappa (88) smashed 17 sixes and 9 fours between them en route to a 165-run stand — the highest for the third wicket in IPL — to take CSK to an imposing 216/4.
In reply, RCB were restricted to 193/9, with young spinner Maheesh Theekshana (4/33) and skipper Ravindra Jadeja (3/39) running riot in CSK’s 200th IPL game.
With this win, the defending champions finally snapped their four-match losing streak. It was Bangalore’s second loss in five matches.
RCB lost skipper Faf du Plessis (8) early, dismissed by Theekshana. Star batter Virat Kohli (1) was removed by Mukesh Choudhary soon after. In-form Anuj Rawat (12) too fell inside the powerplay after being trapped in front of the wicket by Theekshana.
The 21-year-old spinner from Sri Lanka, who was picked for Rs 70 lakh in the auction, then cleaned up debutant Suyash Prabhudessai (34) and Shahbaz Ahmed (41), who tried to take the game deep with their 60-run stand off 33 balls.
Dinesh Karthik did create a scare with his 14-ball 34, but that was too little and too late as CSK heaved a sigh of relief with their first points on the board.
Brief scores: CSK: 216/4 (Dube 95*, Uthappa 88; Hasaranga 2/35); RCB: 193/9 (Shahbaz 41; Maheesh 4/34, Jadeja 3/39). — PTI
Chahar out of IPL
Mumbai: A back injury to Deepak Chahar has all but put paid to the pace bowling all-rounder’s hopes of playing in the ongoing IPL, adding to the woes of Chennai Super Kings’ faltering campaign. While CSK have always claimed that their Rs14 crore buy would be fit before the second week of April, the seriousness of the tear was such that there was “no chance of his availability”.
