Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) got off to a flying start in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 clash against MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK) but they failed to keep up the momentum as they could only manage 156/6 in their 20 overs.
Kohli, who opened the innings with youngster Devdutt Padikkal, added 111 runs for the opening wicket, which saw both the batters scoring their respective half-centuries. However, RCB's aspirations of posting a gigantic total took a dash as others failed to accelerate with wickets tumbling at regular intervals.
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CSK all-rounder Dwayne Bravo was the standout performer from CSK camp and the Windies cricketer found great support from Shardul Thakur. The duo combined to pick five wickets in their eight overs as RCB could only muster 66 runs in the final 10 overs.
Soon after the first innings concluded, Twitter was flooded with memes as fans took a dig against RCB. Here are a few reactions:
1. How RCB started
2. How they finished pic.twitter.com/kXF6wW6a4K— Sagar (@sagarcasm) September 24, 2021
Waiting for the day when all RCB players are in form pic.twitter.com/decWGfvj1q
— Abhyudaya Mohan (@AbhyudayaMohan) September 24, 2021
RCB in 1st 10 over In last 10 over pic.twitter.com/Ttunk5fhCH
— Imabzkhan MSDian (@MSDhoniRules) September 24, 2021
#CSKvRCB
RCB in last 10 overs: pic.twitter.com/lNXeP82Jgm— (@RomanaRaza) September 24, 2021
How RCB started their innings and how they finished pic.twitter.com/Dm93NYSqpJ
— abhi (@HerpesDongara) September 24, 2021
Meanwhile, Kohli and Padikkal stitched RCB's highest partnership (for all wickets) against CSK in IPL history. The pair overtook the previous record set by Kohli himself along with Chris Gayle, who had added 109 runs against CSK for the second wicket.
Former South Africa teammates Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers stand third in the list with a 103-run stand.