‘Bye Bye 2022 for Chennai’- Yet another loss for Chennai crushes playoff hopes for defending champions

After suffering three consecutive defeats, Bangalore returned to winning ways as they beat Chennai by 13 runs on Wednesday at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Batting first, Bangalore managed to compile a formidable 173-run total in the first innings. In reply, Chennai were restricted to 160 runs on the board, thereby falling 13 runs short of the target. With that defeat, Chennai’s chances of reaching the top-four are all but over.

Chasing 173 run-target on a slow surface, Chennai needed a good start with the bat. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway added 51 runs in the first six overs, however, wickets kept falling at regular intervals, thereafter.

Gaikwad mistimed the ball off Shahbaz Ahmed in the 7^th over and in the very next over, Maxwell got rid of Uthappa (1 off 3), while Ambati Rayudu (10 off 8) too failed to hit the straps. Chennai lost three wickets and added only 26 runs from 6^th to 10^th over.

Devon Conway, however, kept the hopes alive with a stellar knock of 56 runs in 37 balls. However, once he got out in the 15^th over, Chennai lost the track as required rate kept mounting up. In the end, Chennai fell 13 runs short.

Earlier, Bangalore compiled 173 at the end of the first innings. Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis made a pretty good start in the power play. The duo had added 57 runs without any loss of wickets in the first six overs. However, the arrival of spinners changed things quite quickly.

Moeen Ali came into bowl the 8^th over of the innings and got rid of a well-set Faf du Plessis for 38 runs in 22 balls. In the very next over, Maxwell, unfortunately, got run-out and Moeen Ali ripped apart Kohli’s timbers to leave RCB in deep trouble at 79 for 3 after 10 overs.

However, Mahipal Lomror then joined hands with Rajat Patidar and the duo added 44 runs for the 4^th wicket. Pretorius eventually broke the partnership on the first ball of the 16^th over as he accounted for the wicket of Rajat Patidar (21 off 15).

Mahipal Lomror, however, kept hitting boundaries and played a game-changing knock of 42 runs in 27 balls. He got out on the final ball of the 19^th over but Dinesh Karthik hit two precious sixes in the final over to help the team reach a competitive score on the board. In the end, the total proved more than enough for Faf du Plessis and Co.

The fans on Twitter had mixed reactions from the game. Here’s a look at the top reactions from the 49th match of Indian T20 League between Chennai and Bangalore.