5 Major Reasons Why CSK pulled it off against RCB

5 Major Reasons Why CSK pulled it off against RCB: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat RCB in the Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 8, the two teams looked more or less equal on paper, while RCB had the edge of momentum over Chennai. But at the end of 40 over’s MS Dhoni’s team proved why they are termed the most consistent side in the IPL. They not only beat RCB by 3 wicket but enroute that also made themselves eligible for playing the 6th IPL final in 8 years of the league. Here are the 5 Major Reasons Why CSK pulled it off against RCB: 1. Variety in the Bowling Unit: Ravichandran Ashwin CSK. (Photo Source: BCCI) CSK played 3 regular spinners and 3 regular pacers apart from the part time bowling option in Suresh Raina. On the track which was slow and offered plenty to the slow bowlers, CSK had bowlers of all kinds to restrict Royal Challengers Bangalore batting unit from scoring. On the other hand, Bangalore bowled with their 5 regular bowlers consisting of only 1 spinning option in YuzvendraChahal who picked 2 crucial wickets. Considering the pitch, playing another spinner in Iqbal Abdullah was an option but again that was at the cost of altering the winning combination. 2. Experience of the Playoffs: CSK vs RCB. (Photo Source: BCCI) Team CSK has achieved a feat of playing in the playoffs for each of the season in the IPL. Super Kings led by MS Dhoni has always come out good playing the high pressure matches. The team has plenty of experienced personnel to handle crunch situations and absorb the pressure of a big match and deliver at the right time. Despite of some experienced international players in Bangalore, as a unit they lacked the experience of playing in the playoffs. 3. Mr. Cricket Peaking For CSK: Michael Hussey CSK. (Photo Source: BCCI) Age is just a number for Michael Hussey. In the must win encounter against RCB on Friday, Hussey just proved his worth and showed it why he was bought back by CSK at the IPL auction in 2015. On the surface that favored the bowlers, Hussey scored a half century and played a crucial knock. He held the strike at one end and formed some valuable partnerships with Smith, Faf and MSD. Hussey paced his innings well while chasing a tricky total on a track which became slower as the game progressed. Not only with the bat but also in the field, Hussey took a brilliant catch diving forward to dismiss the man in form Mandeep Singh who scored a brilliant innings against Rajasthan Royals two days ago. 4. Heavy Dependency on the Top Order: Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle. (Photo Source: BCCI) Royal Challengers Bangalore team has some enormous young talent but they always seem to have depended heavily on top 3 in batting – Gayle, Kohli and AB. Ashish Nehra struck twice in a single over dismissing Kohli and AB De Villiers whereas Chris Gayle played a very unlikely ‘Gayle innings’in the must win encounter. Throughout the season, the middle order of RCB has not come good as a unit. Barring few individual performance, they have lacked consistency in forming partnerships. Dinesh Karthik was probably at his poorest form in the IPL this season. RCB could only manage scoring 139 against a team that batted deep and had a lot of experience chasing. 5. Captain Cool: MS Dhoni CSK. (Photo Source: BCCI) MS Dhoni winning the toss seemed to be very clear with his game plan. Winning the toss and bowling first, expectedly he started off with left arm pacer in Ashish Nehra and off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin against Gayle and Kohli in the power-play overs. RCB’s batting unit was dented by 3 wickets for just 38 runs on board at the end of 8 overs. However with Gayle still on crease, CSK always feared as the Caribbean had all the power to take the game away from CSK. Dhoni therefore avoided bowling his regular left arm spinners in Jadeja and Negi. He continued with part timer Suresh Raina who was given 3rd over of his spell after 2 expensive overs. The decision proved to be the masterstroke for MS Dhoni as Raina bagged the most important wicket of Gayle after being hit for 2 consecutive sixes in 3rd over. With inexperienced lower middle order of RCB, MS Dhoni ensured restricting them to a small total bringing in experienced death bowlers Bravo and Mohit Sharma.