Chennai Super Kings (CSK) registered a thrilling eight-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on April 17 (Monday). In a high-scoring encounter, CSK bowlers held their nerves in a hostile setting. On a batting paradise of a pitch, as many as 33 sixes were hit. Skipper Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell shared a record-breaking 126-run partnership for the third wicket but it was not enough to take RCB home.
After the game, CSK skipper MS Dhoni and former RCB captain Virat Kohli indulged in a lengthy conversation. Two former Team Indian captains, who are close friends and have often voiced love for each other, shared a light moment after a tense game. Kohli was seen bursting into a laugh while Dhoni, who is not that expressive, also had a bright smile on his face.
In a 32-second video uploaded on Indian Premier League's official Twitter account, the two superstars of Indian cricket spoke to each other, the premise of which remains a mystery.
Watch the video here:
Coming back to the game, Chasing a daunting target of 227 runs, RCB could only score 218 runs. The Red Army was in command of the run chase when du Plessis (62 runs off 33 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (76 runs off 36 balls) were batting in the middle. But once the duo was dismissed, RCB stumbled and fell short of the target.
For CSK, opening batter Devon Conway played a scintillating knock of 83 runs off 45 balls and stitched crucial partnerships with Ajinkya Rahane (37 runs off 20 balls) and Shivam Dube (52 runs off 27 balls). Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja combined to hit three sixes late in the innings which propelled the team's score to 226/6.
"Whenever you score 220, the batsmen have to keep on hitting. It's a matter of (a) few overs in the middle. If Faf and Maxi had continued, they'd have won by the 18th over, so you need to get engrossed with the process, know what is the bowling change, what can I do from which end, what is really happening, if something has really changed," Dhoni said after the game.
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