Dube, Uthappa floor RCB, CSK get season’s first win
Opener Uthappa’s IPL best 88 and Dube’s 95 not out end Chennai’s four-match losing run
NAVI MUMBAI: Robin Uthappa turned back the clock as he smashed a 50-ball 88 and Shivam Dube finally played to potential with a 46-ball unbeaten 95 to halt Chennai Super Kings’ losing streak in the Indian Premier League with a 23-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore at the DY Patil Stadium on Tuesday. Reeling from four straight defeats, their worst start in IPL, the UthappaDube show was just the catalyst CSK needed. Pitted against the in-form RCB, the yellow outfit was a transformed side after the third wicket partnership of 165 runs in just 74 balls—the highest third-wicket partnership in IPL history and the second highest partnership for CSK.
RCB were always up against it chasing after being reduced to 42/3. At the 15-over mark, they had reached 140/6 with in-form finisher Dinesh Karthik batting on 13 off six balls. The equation was down to 77 off 30 balls. Karthik targetted Mukesh Choudhary in the 17th over with two sixes and a four in a 23-run over, but he lacked support at the other end.
After biding their time till the 10th over, Dube and Uthappa rattled the RCB bowlers with a sixhitting spree. The left-hander hit eight sixes to prove that his transformation into a destructive T20 batter was complete while Uthappa hit nine sixes. The 88-run knock isUthappa’s highest score in IPL, bettering his 87 versus Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017.
Dube joined Ujtappa in the seventh over afer Moeen Ali’s run out at the score of 36. At the end of 10 overs, Dube had progressed to 16 off 14 balls and Uthappa was on 23 off 22 balls. Being on familiar turf helped the Mumbai-based player as he looked in complete control from the start. He took his chances while sending the ball over the fence, but also placed the ball in the gaps to lift the early scoreboard pressure. “It was about keeping it simple, nothing special. Hitting in straight lines. I am used to this ground. Today it is dry and no dew yet,” Dube said. Uthappa, who has been in fine touch, ensured that he capitalised on the start this time.
RCB captain Faf du Plessis’ strategy to push his spinners’ overs during the mid-innings backfired. It is where the two big-hitters seized the momentum. From 60/2 after 10 overs, they switched gears to take 13 runs each from the 11th over bowled by Wanindu Hasaranga and the 12th by Shahbaz Ahmed. Uthappa then hit three sixes off Maxwell to plunder 19 runs from the 13th over. They added 13 more from the next over by Hasaranga at which point they were going neck to neck.
In a bid to control the hitting, Du Plessis took off his spinners and brought on Akash Deep but there was no stopping the two. They smashed Deep for 15 with Uthappa picking a six and four and Dube finishing the 15th over with a four to take the total to 133/2.
RCB were clearly missing the control of Harshal Patel, who has left the team bubble following a family bereavement.
In the 17th over, Mohammed Siraj was targetted for 18 runs with Uthappa collecting two more sixes.
The first hit was streaky, flying off the outside edge over third man, but the second was a stunning shot where Uthappa danced out and flat-batted straight down the ground. Pacer Akash Deep looked completely rattled to concede 24 runs in the 18th over, sending down four wides while completing his last two balls.
Brief scores: CSK 216/4 (R Uthappa 88, S Dube 95*). RCB 193/9 (S Ahmed 41, S Prabhudessai 34, D Karthik 34; M Theekshana 4/33, R Jadeja 3/39). CSK won by 23 runs.