RCB vs CSK, 35th match at Pune, May 05 2018 - Ball by Ball Commentary

7.17pm CSK made it harder for themselves than they would have liked, but MS Dhoni has done it again. He's batted this tournament like he hasn't batted in a while, but this game was pretty much won by Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja, who ripped through the heart of RCB's batting. From 89 for 8, there was never going to be any bouncing back, barring a spectacular bowling performance. RCB bowled well, but not anywhere well enough to defend that.

"A close game of cricket. Dropped catches don't help," says Virat Kohli. "Not the ideal day for us: losing so many wickets. But that's how this game goes. We gave a really good effort in the second half. It did play slow in the first half but it played slow throughout which was surprising. Had we taken or chances, we could have made it harder for themselves. The boys showed good fight, but we lost too many wickets. We would have liked to win, but Dhoni played well and they deserved to win. We know it's a tough road ahead. We need to win probably four out of five. These situations bring the best out of us, and I feel positive about the rest of the games."

Pranav: "Does this mean that CSK are guaranteed a spot to the playoffs?" Not yet, but a win or two more should do it.

"I think it was the fast bowlers, it was not coming on nicely," says MS Dhoni. "Spinners did not have turn and there was uneven bounce as well. So I felt the spinners needed to bowl really well, and that's where Bhajji paaji and Jadeja did well. What we're slightly worried about is the bowling department - if you see the first few games, there was no individual who stepped up and said he could bowl in the death overs. Identifying our death bowler before the knockouts is the only thing we're worried about and that's why we're making a few changes. We're playing with multiple bowlers - two spinners and the rest pacers - that takes the pressure off the rest and allows Bravo to bowl at the death. He's a specialist in the death and doesn't need to always bowl four overs. There's pressure on everyone. In the nine or ten games, no one has consistently shown that they can step up and take responsibility. On surfaces such as these, Jadeja bowls very well. Virat and AB getting out early helped him. But he bowled very well, and so did we as a team."

Ravindra Jadeja is Man of the Match. "It's good to be Man of the Match in a T20 game," he says. "Very happy with my performance today. I think today was a little bit dry. I was looking to give them full deliveries and everything was working well. Finally I took important wickets. Overall I'm very happy. I've been bowling well in the nets, and I look forward to doing better in the coming games."

That's a wrap of this game. CSK a step closer to the playoffs, and RCB a step closer to the exit door. Thanks for your time and comments. Pleasure as always. Goodbye from Deiva and myself.

Nishchal Sapkot: "Jadeja making up for his performance in the last couple of games. This is why he is a high ranked player. What a performance"

Rupesh: "I feel for Chahal. He bowled his first two overs well and the third one went for 22 runs. If he could have bowled tight, match would have been more interesting. "

Santhosh L N: "Selecting the right XI players is one of the big flaw shown by RCB management and captain Kohli. They have good indian openers PP and Vohra but still persisting with foreign players or sometimes even Kohli opened the innings which is "criminal" idea. They are paying for it. Time to change management otherwise this issue goes on and on"

IP: "Just wondering- no Srilankan is playing in this season's IPL apart from Akila who only got one game for MI so far, no perera, matthews, chandimal." --- Chameera was picked up by Royals, but he did not join the squad after sustaining an injury

PD: "@Arun, Carrot-Missile theory is fans guess, we always see MSD talk about improving NRR even in a loss. We saw he was very unhappy with the death bowling against DD and KKR that affected their NRR."

Arun: "Dhoni's idea of fun. First, dangle a carrot. Then use a stinger missile to blow the carrot to kingdom come."

Rehmanshareef: "Oops, Chahal dropped a regulation catch. I am sure Kohli will say "We dont't deserve a win" at post match presentation. "

Time out. Just nine off the last three overs. CSK now need 39 off 30 balls. Here's M Ashwin

Bhagawathi Sury: "Please MS not another last ball finish. Can't take em anymore"