By BV Swagath
Royal Challengers Bangalore stay alive in IPL 6 after beating CSK by 24 runs in a rain-affected contest at Bengaluru. RCB will now go into the play-offs if an only if the Sunrisers lose to the KKR tomorrow. RCB asked to bat first piled up 106 for 2 in the allotted 8 overs thanks to Skipper Kohli’s brilliant knock of 56 from 29 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes. Gayle chipped in with 28 from 13 balls with 4 sixes.
CSK somehow just didn’t show any intent in chasing down the massive target and finished at a weak 82 for 6 in 8 overs. Skipper MS Dhoni who waited in the dug out needlessly till the 4th over scored 24 from 10 balls. Opener Murali Vijay batted slowly for his 19-ball 32.
Toss and Teams: CSK have won the toss and asked hosts RCB to bat first in an 8-over contest.
Chennai Super Kings: Michael Hussey, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, MS Dhoni (C&WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Morris, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Mohit Sharma
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Saurabh Tiwary, Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Moises Henriques, Lokesh Rahul (WK), Ravi Rampaul, Vinay Kumar, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Jaidev Unadkat
Official Update from the Umpires: A few damp spots on the practice pitches. Inspection at 10:30 and looking at a 11:00 PM start. An 8-over contest expected.
Pitch Inspection scheduled at 10:30 PM.
Update at 10:07 PM : Looks like the rain is back although in the form of a drizzle. The Umpires are out there with Umbrellas and we can clearly see the outfield drenched with water. Though the Super Sopper is moving around, I suspect we are quickly running out of time. Of course, we need just a 5 Overs per side match, the cut off time for that is 11:20 PM.Hang on, the covers have been taken off, the RCB players are having a look at the pitch!
Update: News is that rain has stopped at Bengaluru at around 9:30 PM. The Super Soppers are out to dry out the wet outfield. We have certainly lost about 7 overs from the match till now.
Update at 8:00 PM: The crucial league match between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Chennai Super Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium has been delayed by rain and wet ground conditions. RCB needs nothing less than a win from this match at Bengaluru and hope for the Sunrisers to lose their last match against KKR tomorrow to qualify for the play offs.
