Chennai Super Kings lost back-to-back games for the first time in 2019 after falling at the Indian Premier League's bottom outfit, Royal Challengers Bangalore, on Sunday
MS Dhoni struck an excellent 84 for the 2019 IPL leaders but couldn't hold Chennai from falling against Royal Challengers, who were pleased to have AB de Villiers back after he missed their previous game.
Sunrisers Hyderabad moved back into the top four after Jonny Bairstow and David Warner shone for a combined 147 runs and guided the hosts to a nine-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders.
The 2016 champions clinched back-to-back IPL wins for the first time in more than two weeks and are now only two points off second-place Mumbai Indians with one game in hand.
IPL 2019 Standings (Games Played, Points, Net Run Rate)
1. Chennai Super Kings: 10, 14, +0.087
2. Mumbai Indians: 10, 12, +0.357
3. Delhi Capitals: 10, 12, +0.160
4. Sunrisers Hyderabad: 9, 10, +0.737
5. Kings XI Punjab: 10, 10, -0.044
6. Kolkata Knight Riders: 10, 8, -0.013
7. Rajasthan Royals: 9, 6, -0.474
8. Royal Challengers Bangalore: 10, 6, -0.836
Top Run-Scorers
1. David Warner (SRH): 517
2. Jonny Bairstow (SRH): 445
3. Chris Gayle (KXIP): 421
4. KL Rahul (KXIP): 399
5. Andre Russell (KKR): 392
Top Wicket-Takers
1. Kagiso Rabada (DC): 21
2. Imran Tahir (CSK): 16
3. Yuzvendra Chahal (RCB): 14
4. Mohammed Shami (KXIP): 13
5. Deepak Chahar (CSK): 13
Best Batting Average
1. MS Dhoni (CSK): 104.66
2. David Warner (SRH): 73.85
3. Andre Russell (KKR): 65.33
4. Jonny Bairstow (SRH): 63.57
5. KL Rahul (KXIP): 57.00
Best Bowling Average
1. Harbhajan Singh (CSK): 11.71
2. Khaleel Ahmed (SRH): 12.14
3. Mohammad Nabi (SRH): 12.42
4. Imran Tahir (CSK): 14.00
5. Kagiso Rabada (DC): 14.28
Full statistics, per the competition's official website.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (161/1) bt. Kolkata Knight Riders (159/8) by Nine Wickets
Kolkata Knight Riders faded under pressure from Hyderabad duo Bairstow and Warner, who made light work of the visitors' 159 total and ended their innings in 15 overs.
Bairstow finished unbeaten on 80 runs off 43 balls, while Warner was their only batsman to be dismissed by Prithvi Raj after he notched 67 from 38.
The Hyderabad duo are again displaying the kind of form capable of leading a team to the IPL crown, and cricket statistician Sarang Bhalerao pointed out Warner as a frequent feature in their best run displays:
Warner leads the charge for this season's Orange Cap with a total of 517 runs, with Bairstow following in second with 445 of his own.
Their partnership this season has already written its way into the Indian Premier League history books after nine matches, per Cricbuzz:
Khaleel Ahmed made a key dent in Kolkata's innings and hit Sunil Narine's leg-stump for the first of his three wickets, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar took another two to bring his tally for the season up to seven.
Chris Lynn was slow off the wicket and required 47 balls to reach 51, while heavy-hitter Andre Russell was again too late in the order to have an impact and finished with only 15 runs.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (161/7) bt. Chennai Super Kings (160/8) by One Run
Bangalore succeeded in pulling off a giant-slaying at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, as Dhoni fell just short of what would have been an incredible comeback effort against Bangalore's 161.
Parthiv Patel contributed 53 off 37 balls, while Royal Challengers' middle order held a strong average, a total that ended up evading Dhoni at his best, per ESPNcricinfo:
Former India captain Kris Srikkanth was among those who paid tribute to the veteran:
Man of the Match Patel spoke to ESPNcricinfo after the result and said:
"I think it was great the way we started. The ball was sticking on to the wicket but we soon realised it wasn't a 200-run wicket. I have been batting well, was talking to coaches. I chose my bowlers and took singles off the others. Last ball, I knew there was only chance if they get beaten. We were trying to let Umesh bowl outside off, and I had my gloves off and luckily it came off well."
Bangalore's prospects are looking up once again after collecting successive victories for the first time this campaign, not to mention all three of their wins over their last four matches.
Dale Steyn and Umesh Yadav each took two wickets, restricting Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis to just five runs apiece and putting the pressure on Dhoni to mastermind any comeback almost single-handedly.
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