At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday, Chennai Super Kings had an early advantage in the second innings but let it slip away as Royal Challengers Bangalore made a comeback, reaching 121/2 at the halfway mark in a chase of 227 after being 15/2 after two overs.
Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell played aggressively and scored eight boundaries and 10 maximums in a partnership of 106 runs off just 48 balls. Ravindra Jadeja was brought in by Mahendra Singh Dhoni to regain control of the game but even he was no match for the batters’ skill.
Maxwell hit a six on the second delivery of Jadeja’s next over, which made things worse for the veteran. However, Ajinkya Rahane’s spectacular catch prevented the situation from getting worse for the team.
Jadeja pitched a full ball with pace, prompting Maxwell to slash at it with full force. The delivery appeared to be a certain maximum as soon as it left the bat. Nevertheless, the Kookaburra ball was somehow kept inside the cricket field, limiting the hosts to a single run, to everyone’s astonishment.
Replays showed that the ball had sailed over Rahane’s head at long-off, but he positioned himself perfectly at the edge of the ropes, leaped at the right moment, and caught the ball with both hands. Despite seeming to fall across the boundary with the ball still in hand, Rahane released it with both feet in the air, producing perhaps the best fielding effort of the season.