Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar has achieved a major milestone. The star batter Rajat Patidar etched his name in the history books in game 8 of the ongoing IPL (Indian Premier League) 2025. Game 8 of the tournament saw RCB take on CSK at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on March 28.
The clash saw RCB coming in to bat first after losing the toss, as the side aimed to post a big total on the board, and it was the knock of Rajat Patidar which made a giant impact in the game. The skipper went on to score 51 runs in 32 deliveries. In doing so, Rajat Patidar went on to become only the second RCB captain to score 50+ runs at Chepauk. Former skipper Virat Kohli was the first RCB skipper to score a half-century at Chepauk. He achieved the feat in 2013 when he scored 58 runs in 47 deliveries.
A stunning performance from Royal Challengers Bengaluru saw them end a 17-year drought at Chepauk, as they defeated Chennai Super Kings at their own den to kick off their season with back-to-back wins. Put in to bat, RCB posted a strong 196 on the board before defending the score with ease as their bowlers came to the fore to inflict CSK’s biggest loss at home in terms of runs.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : “We are one pitch over from the other night on Sunday. So the dimensions have slightly changed – 70m and 63m square boundaries, 74m back downtown. It (pitch) does look really good. I was here last night and one of the things that I really noticed about this wicket is as the evening went on, I was here about 8 o’clock, there was quite a lot of dew, and what I was seeing in the surface was that these little patches here (around a good length) that haven’t got a lot of grass on it, the ball was tending to grip a little bit.
That’ll be something that both captains will have to be aware of considering the frontline spinners. And off-pace deliveries (for the pacers). It’s not going to be a 200+ type wicket, no way. Tonight’s going to be a battle of attrition. If you get 160-170, that’s a bowl of rice. If you want some curry on the side of it as well, you want 185, somewhere around that.” reckons Danny Morrison and Matthew Hayden in their pitch report
Toss : Chennai Super Kings skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss and chose to bowl with one change in the playing XI as Matheesha Pathirana comes in for Nathan Ellis. Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar who also wanted to bowl first ,batting first bought in experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar for Rasikh Salam Dar in the Playing XI.
Phil Salt’s solid start, Rajat Patidar’s solid half century and Tim David’s blistering cameo powers RCB to 196 in 20 overs
When the conditions are expected to be tacky, it’s vital that teams capitalise in the first six overs against the new ball. Salt walked out with intent right from the start and picked Khaleel Ahmed for a couple of boundaries. CSK’s decision to introduce R Ashwin from the other end backfired big time as Salt welcomed the veteran spinner with a six over backward square leg and followed it up with two more fours in the same over as RCB got off to an amazing start.
While Salt continued to find the boundary, Virat Kohli endured a tough time and needed a full toss from Noor Ahmad to finally fetch his first boundary. However, in the same over, Noor gave CSK a much-needed breakthrough as MS Dhoni’s quick hands once again resulted in a stumping. Devdutt Padikkal then rounded off the PowerPlay in style by whipping Sam Curran over the ropes for a six.
Padikkal proved to be the surprise package post the PowerPlay for a brief period as he took on Ravindra Jadeja for a couple of fours and a six to silence the Chepauk crowd. He threatened to cause more damage before Ruturaj Gaikwad took an excellent catch to send him back. However, Gaikwad’s effort was not backed up by some of the other fielders as they continued to give Rajat Patidar one chance after another.
Khaleel drew some seam movement and uneven bounce in the first over, but CSK hadn’t planned for such conditions. They don’t have quick bowlers who can hit the good length and just short. They were going to open with Ashwin, and they did. Only for the first ball to not come out right and for Phil Salt to pull him for a six. The over went for 16, forcing the early introduction of Noor.
On his way to the Purple Cap, Noor and Dhoni recreated a lightning stumping to get rid of Salt for 32 off 16 balls, but Devdutt Padikkal denied them any relief. The left-hand batter took down Jadeja in ways Jadeja is not accustomed to: a sweep and a charge down the wicket to consign him to a 15-run first over.
Prior to that, Kohli finally broke free after getting hit on his helmet by the returning Matheesha Pathirana as he smashed the Sri Lankan pacer for a six and a four. He couldn’t carry that momentum longer though as he slog swept Noor straight to the man at deep mid-wicket. That wicket didn’t deter Rajat Patidar from going after Jadeja in the very next over as he made CSK pay with a flurry of boundaries to boost RCB’s run rate and set them up for a big finish.
When Ashwin got Padikkal out for 27 off 14 deliveries, CSK would have hoped to re-establish control. But the presence of Rajat Patidar meant they were not able to bowl spin at Virat Kohli, who struggled to achieve even a run a ball. Rajat Patidar took a six off Noor the moment he overpitched. Kohli, playing Matheesha Pathirana for the first time, took 16 runs off his second over, and RCB were 109 for 2 in 11 overs.
Like Ashwin earlier, Jadeja nearly had his own back when he drew a mis-hit from the enterprising Rajat Patidar, but Deepak Hooda dropped a sitter at long-off. In the next two overs, Patidar offered three half-chances, but none of them was taken. Kohli’s offering was taken, though, and the pressure on Liam Livingstone, and eventually his wicket, reduced RCB to 145 for 4 in the 16th over.
The final phase of the innings started off on an eventful note as Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma hit a six each in Noor’s final over but sandwiched between those two hits was the Englishman’s wicket.
RCB kept the intent up, though, and Jitesh Sharma hit the second ball he played for the shot of the match, an inside-out drive off a Noor wrong’un over extra cover for six. Patidar played a delectable pick-up shot off a Pathirana slower ball in the next over. This 27-run stand in 13 balls gave RCB the impetus they needed before the death overs.
In the death overs, though, both fell, even resulting in just one run off the 19th over, bowled by Pathirana. However, Tim David took them 20 past what CSK believed to be par with three sixes in the last over, bowled by Sam Curran, who has now bowled four overs for 47 runs in two matches.
Khaleel then put an early end to Jitesh’s little cameo and when Pathirana returned for his final spell, he continued to leak boundaries before redeeming himself in his final over with the wickets of Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya. That little spell dented RCB’s hopes of finishing with a total upwards of 200. However, right at the end, Tim David gave his side a powerful finish by slamming three sixes off Curran to end the innings in style with RCB ending up with a total just four short of 200.
Josh Hazlewood’s 3-fer and bowlers grants RCB a 50 runs win over CSK their first at Chepauk since 2008.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s return strengthened this attack big time, especially in the PowerPlay where RCB hurt CSK to take early command. But it was Josh Hazlewood who first broke through with a double wicket over that immediately put CSK on the backfoot. Rahul Tripathi, looking woefully out of touch, mistimed a pull in tame fashion to get caught easily. Gaikwad’s wicket was the bigger blow though as he miscued a short ball and was caught near the boundary that reduced CSK to 8 for 2.
Deepak Hooda, promoted ahead of impact sub Shivam Dube, looked extremely shaky and eventually ended up nicking one behind to give Bhuvneshwar his first wicket of the season. It meant the onus was on Rachin Ravindra again to bail CSK out, alongside Curran who was also sent ahead of Dube.
It was a brief window, but Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar displayed what a threat they can be if there is anything available in the pitch. Not one ball in the powerplay was pitched outside the 6-10m zone. Bhuvneshwar kept testing the 6-8m length, and Josh Hazlewood kept at bashing 8-10m. Bhuvneshwar looked for swing, and Hazlewood for uneven bounce and seam.
Josh Hazlewood got Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad in his first over with steep bounce, and Bhuvneshwar took his 73rd powerplay wicket when he nicked off Hooda.
With dew not visibly present, RCB’s spinners continued to strangle the home side post the PowerPlay as well. That meant something had to give with the required rate continuing to climb. Curran, in his attempt to break free, miscued one against Livingstone to depart and that finally brought Dube out to the middle.
While he threatened immediately to make an impact by smashing Suyash Sharma for a six and a four, the leg spinner managed to redeem himself with an excellent over next to further mount the pressure on CSK. That resulted in Yash Dayal reaping the rewards as he dismissed Dube and Ravindra both in identical fashion in the same over to drag CSK closer to a huge defeat. The slowish nature of the track ensured CSK never got any momentum going.
Once three wickets were gone in the powerplay, the rest of the chase was just a meander towards an inevitable end. The spinners didn’t give much to Rachin Ravindra and Shivam Dube to hit. The asking rate got high, and they were obliged to hit, realising the pitch was not as easy as RCB made it look.
Dhoni kept teasing his fans by batting after Jadeja and Ashwin. Yet there were 4.4 overs left when he walked out to bat at No. 9. Only in the last two overs did he get some hits in, but couldn’t avoid a record home defeat.
With the home crowd getting silenced for the major part of the night, only a minor cameo from Dhoni could cheer them up. The former skipper obliged as he found the boundary on a couple of occasions against Josh Hazlewood before taking on Krunal in his final over for two massive sixes. He sent the final ball to the boundary as well to remain unbeaten on 30 off just 16 balls. However, the night still belonged to RCB as that cameo from Dhoni only managed to reduce the margin of defeat.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Ruturaj Gaikwad the losing CSK skipper said : To be honest, I still feel 170 was a par score on this wicket. It wasn’t that great to bat. Bad day in the fielding cost us really badly. At the end of the day, when you are chasing 170, you bat differently. You have little bit time when you go in to bat.
When you’re chasing 20 runs extra on a wicket where you know it’s going to be a little bit sticky and it’s going to stop after the ball gets old, you have to bat slightly differently in the powerplay. It got a little bit slower and sticky. The new ball was sticking a lot until the five overs, don’t really know how it happened. Rahul backed his shot, I went and backed my shot, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
There are times where you have a par score in your mind and probably when you’re chasing 20 runs extra, you always want to be a step ahead of the game. That’s what the thinking was, didn’t really work out. Still happy that we didn’t lose by a big margin and at the end it was just 50 runs. Definitely a different scenario when you have three world-class spinners in your team, you want the new batters to face them.
That’s where the game changes a lot. They just kept going, we dropped catches at crucial times and then there was always an extra six or extra boundary that was coming after that. The momentum kept going and didn’t stop till the final over. There’s a long flight to Guwahati, we have to turn up mentally.
We’re going to have bad day in batting and bowling in a tournament like IPL but I feel the fielding has to improve a lot and we should come back stronger in the fielding department.
Rajat Patidar Player of the match for his 51 runs and the winning RCB skipper said : It was a good total on this surface. Ball was stopping a bit and it wasn’t easy for batters. It’s always special playing at Chepauk against Chennai because of the fans. Not only CSK but every team, it is nice to play in their home ground. We were targetting around 200 because we knew it wasn’t easy to chase. My goal was clear that as long as I was there I will keep trying every ball.
We have not changed the batting line up it was the same from the last game. The track was pretty much helpful for spinners. We wanted to use spinners early and the way Livingstone came and bowled was outstanding. It was the game changing moment (Hazlewood’s first over and the new ball bowling) because I think we got 2-3 wickets in the powerplay, t was amazing to see how they bowled the hard length consistently.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ended their Chennai jinx in style, beating Chennai Super Kings (CSK) there got the first time since the first IPL – by a whopping 50 runs, CSK’s biggest defeat at home. The contest was so dead that more than half of CSK’s chase was all about finding out if and when MS Dhoni would bat. He eventually did so at No. 9, only for the second time in his career.
The build-up was all about how RCB would tackle 12 overs of spin, but the conditions rolled out inverted the spotlight: how would CSK handle eight overs of traditional seam and swing from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood? Not very well, as their combined figures of 7-0-41-4 demonstrated.
As early as in the PowerPlay. While Phil Salt set the platform for RCB with a quickfire 32, CSK just didn’t find anyone to repeat those heroics especially in a run chase of 197. Instead, they were put under severe pressure in those initial overs where they lost three quick wickets. From thereon, they just never recovered and eventually lost by 50 runs.
And that after RCB’s batters dominated the CSK attack on what was not a straightforward pitch. Like Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar, Khaleel Ahmed drew seam movement and extra bounce, but CSK didn’t have any more such bowlers. Rajat Patidar led RCB’s innings, full of intent, capitalising on a dropped catch when he was on 17, and finishing with 51 off 32 balls. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were allowed to bowl only five overs, which were taken for 59 runs.
Rajat’s face at the toss said it all that his team was ready to give it back today. They have a history they would like to forget here. When Ruturaj won the toss, the job was getting even tougher or so many thought but in himself, Rajat knew if he could get a good total they could stun CSK here. The difference between both sides today was the intent early on with the bat. While Salt, Padikkal and Patidar always looked positive.
Kohli picked up after a blow on the helmet and they never stopped trying despite losing wickets or catches being put down. Their dictionary didn’t have the word caution. It was only about aggression and it paid dividends. This gave them an above par total and to be honest, CSK did have it in them to chase this down but Hazlewood used the Chepauk bounce so beautifully to puncture the yellow hearts in his very first over.
Rachin wasn’t exactly flowing but he held one end up. Hooda just couldn’t move along. Dube promised for a while but Dayal’s double-strike almost killed the game. CSK knew they were out of the contest and just batted time. Ashwin tried, Jadeja got a few, Dhoni managed late hits but in general the surrender was already done. A complete display by RCB to outclass CSK in their own den.
Two sweet victories for RCB in the rivalry since last year and this one’s going to be pretty special. They rode their luck but importantly they had the plans and setup to be bossy. In fact it was one-sided after a point and lacked fight. CSK are known for consistency. They don’t overreact to wins or losses. They could still keep things simple and back their players but with them travelling away will they make changes Surely yes one feels. RCB’s next assignment is at home so they will be super excited about leaving to Bengaluru as table-toppers from here.
CSK now have plenty to ponder especially with their batting lineup. But they definitely don’t have a lot of time though as they now seek a quick turnaround less than 48 hours in Guwahati against Rajasthan Royals who are still winless. As far as the high-flying RCB are concerned, they will finally go home after picking up two impressive away wins. Gujarat Titans will pay a visit on April 2.