Skipper Virat Kohli hammered a blistering knock of 90 runs before the bowlers came to the fore to help the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) seal a comfortable 37-run victory over three-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Match 25 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday.
The Bangalore franchise won the toss and opted to bat first in their sixth match of the 13th season of the cash-rich league.
RCB lost their opener Aaron Finch and wicketkeeper-batsman AB de Villiers cheaply for two runs and duck on Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur's deliveries, respectively.
Skipper Virat Kohli, who came to bat at No.3 spot, then not only notched up a half-century but also shared crucial stands of 53 runs with opener Devdutt Padikkal (33) and 76 runs with Shivam Dube (unbeaten at 22) to help RCB post a decent total of 169 for four in their stipulated 20 overs.
Kohli finished his innings unbeaten at 52-ball 90 runs, which was decorated by four boundaries and as many sixes.
For CSK, Shardul Thakur bagged two wickets, while Deepak Chahar and Sam Curran chipped in with a wicket each.
Chasing the target, only third-drop Ambati Rayudu (42) and Narayan Jagadeesan (33) managed to stitch some partnership, while the other CSK batsmen fell cheaply as the MS Dhoni-led side was restricted to a score of 132 for eight.
Chris Morris was the pick of the bowlers for RCB with figures of three for 19, followed by Washington Sundar's bowling figures of two for 16.
Isuru Udana and Yuzvendra Chahal also claimed a wicket each for the RCB.
Kohli was adjudged 'Man of the Match' for his impressive show with the bat.
The victory saw RCB climb up to the fourth spot in the IPL 13 points table. Kohli's side now has four wins from six matches.
CSK, on the other hand, continue to remain at the sixth spot in the eight-team standings with just two wins from seven matches they have played so far.
