Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai
Chennai, Mar 29: Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally broke their long-standing losing streak at Chepauk, defeating Chennai Super Kings by 50 runs on Friday. This marked their first victory at the venue against CSK since 2008, when they had secured a 14-run win while defending a modest 126.
Between these two wins, RCB endured eight consecutive defeats at Chepauk against CSK, making it the longest losing streak for any team against an opponent at a particular venue in IPL history. However, RCB has enjoyed success at this ground against other teams, winning all four IPL matches they played at the venue against sides other than CSK.
CSK’s 50-run loss on Friday was their worst defeat at Chepauk in terms of runs. The only two instances where they lost by a bigger margin came away from home, with a 60-run loss to Mumbai Indians in 2013 and a 54-run defeat to Punjab Kings in 2022.
MS Dhoni, despite the team’s disappointing performance, achieved a personal milestone by becoming CSK’s highest run-scorer in IPL history. He surpassed Suresh Raina’s tally of 4687 runs, taking his total to 4699 runs for the franchise. Meanwhile, RCB’s batters dominated the CSK attack, smashing 12 sixes, a rare occurrence at Chepauk, where bowlers usually thrive. In response, CSK managed to hit only four sixes, two of which came off Dhoni’s bat in the final over.
Ravindra Jadeja created history by becoming the first player to achieve the double of 3000 IPL runs and 100 wickets. Among players with 3000 IPL runs, only Shane Watson and Kieron Pollard have taken at least 50 wickets, while among the bowlers with 100 wickets, only Andre Russell comes close to Jadeja’s batting numbers.
RCB’s pacers played a crucial role in their win, registering the best bowling average by any pace attack in an IPL match against CSK at Chepauk. They took six wickets in ten overs while conceding just 59 runs, restricting CSK’s chase effectively.
With this victory, RCB started their IPL campaign with back-to-back wins for the third time in history, having done so previously in 2014 and 2021.