Chennai, Mar 28 (PTI): Skipper Rajat Patidar’s fortuitous fifty received excellent support from an unerring set of bowlers as Royal Challengers Bengaluru snapped a 17-year winless streak at Chepauk with a huge 50-run victory over Chennai Super Kings here on Friday.
Having fought their way to a competitive 196/7, RCB applied the perfect squeeze on CSK with early strikes and the five-time winners crumbled without any resistance, making 146/8.
CSK’s defeat to RCB in the “Southern Derby” in their own "Anbuden" (Den of Love) was their first since the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008.
The value of the victory could have gauged from the wide smile on the face of old warhorse Virat Kohli, the only one man in this RCB line-up who was part of that distant 2008 victory.
RCB's win came courtesy a heady mix of orthodox game of giving it all with the bat and stifling the opposition with regular wickets.
But the Royal Challengers also had to thank CSK’s shocking lack of gumption as the home side never landed a punch in reply.
CSK never recovered from a poor start which saw them losing skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (0) among three wickets inside the first two overs.
The slide began in the second over when Rahul Tripathi (5) lobbed an easy catch to short midwicket off Josh Hazlewood (3/21) while attempting a pull.
Hazlewood dealt a body blow to CSK on the final ball when he had in-form Gaikwad caught at deep square leg for a four-ball duck, off a top edge which flew high in the air.
CSK slipped to 8/3 soon when Deepak Hooda edged one behind off Bhuvneshwar Kumar while looking to guide the ball to third man, which left the five-time champions in deep trouble.
Rachin Ravindra (41, 31 balls) and Sam Curran (8) did well to arrest the slump but in bargain they could not whittle down the asking rate, which swelled to 13 runs an over.
In the ninth over, Curran went after Liam Livingstone (4-0-28-2) but was caught at long on by Krunal Pandya and it was evident at this point that CSK were staring at a heavy loss.
The regular fall of wickets never really allowed Ravindra to take the aggressive route, and his resistance ended in the 13th over when he chopped Yash Dayal onto his stumps (2/18).
Dayal reaped further benefits of the mounting pressure when he had Shivam Dube (19) playing one onto the stumps.
CSK sent in R Ashwin here, and not MS Dhoni, which told CSK had given up the fight with 116 to get with seven overs in hand.
Dayal’s twin strikes in the 13th over harmed CSK as much as RCB’s Impact Sub Suyash Sharma's fine spell, delivering a measly 4-0-32-0 to tie down the opposition batters.
Dhoni struck three fours and two sixes to make 30 not out off 16 balls to go past Suresh Raina as CSK's highest run-scorer in IPL history, but that was only a minor consolation point.
Earlier, Patidar rode on his luck to make a vital 51 and along with Tim David (8-ball 22) lifted Royal Challengers Bengaluru to 196 for seven.
Patidar was dropped thrice by CSK fielders but he made most of the reprieves to score 51 off 32 balls (4x4s, 3x6s), providing his side a much-needed impetus in the middle-overs, while David's late burst made up for a mid-phase slump.
Early fireworks form Phil Salt (32 off 16 balls, 5x4s, 1x6s) and Devdutt Padikkal (27 off 14 balls, 2x4s, 2x6s) had masked Virat Kohli’s (31, 30 balls) struggle but their dismissals left RCB in doldrums.
Brief Scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 196 for 7 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 51, Virat Kohli 31, Philip Salt 32, Tim David 22 not out; Noor Ahmad 3/36, Matheesha Pathirana 2/36).
Chennai Super Kings: 146 for 8 in 20 overs (Rachin Ravindra 41, MS Dhoni 30 not out; Josh Hazlewood 3/21, Yash Dayal 2/18, Liam Livingstone 2/28).
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New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government over the contamination of drinking water in Indore, where at least ten people have died following a diarrhoea outbreak.
Rahul Gandhi said, "In Indore, there was no water, just poison being distributed, while the administration slumbered like Kumbhakarna." He alleged that the tragedy exposed administrative failure in a city that has repeatedly topped the Centre’s ‘cleanest city’ rankings.
"Mourning has spread from home to home, the poor are helpless, and to top it off, arrogant statements from BJP leaders. Those whose hearths have gone cold needed solace; the government served up hubris instead," he said in a post on X.
His remarks came amid controversy over comments made by Madhya Pradesh Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, who had snapped at journalists when questioned about the deaths caused by contaminated water.
According to officials, the deaths were linked to a diarrhoea outbreak triggered by toxic substances in the drinking water supply. Laboratory tests conducted by a city-based medical college confirmed that sewage had leaked into the water pipeline near a newly constructed public toilet in the Bhagirathpura area.
Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Dubey reportedly said, "We are closely examining the entire drinking water supply pipeline to find out if there is any leakage elsewhere." He said water supply had been restored but people had been urged to boil the water before drinking it.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav visited Indore, met patients, and chaired a review meeting, promising that such a tragedy would not be repeated and that action would follow the investigation report.
So far, two Public Health Engineering Department officials have been suspended and one has been dismissed. A three-member committee has been constituted to probe the incident. The state government has announced compensation of ₹2 lakh for the families of those who lost their lives.
इंदौर में पानी नहीं, ज़हर बंटा और प्रशासन कुंभकर्णी नींद में रहा।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 2, 2026
घर-घर मातम है, गरीब बेबस हैं - और ऊपर से BJP नेताओं के अहंकारी बयान। जिनके घरों में चूल्हा बुझा है, उन्हें सांत्वना चाहिए थी; सरकार ने घमंड परोस दिया।
लोगों ने बार-बार गंदे, बदबूदार पानी की शिकायत की - फिर भी…
