Brief Score: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (250/3 in 20 overs) beat Chennai Super Kings (207-total in 19.4 overs) by 43 runs in Bengaluru on Sunday. Scorecard | Highlighting
If the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is Bengaluru’s most exclusive hangout, Royal Challengers Bengaluru hosted the loudest and most chaotic house party of IPL 2026. By the time the hosts put on a record 250, their top total against Chennai Super Kings, the five-time champions realized it was too late and looked less than unreal. address.
It was brutal and combative. The southern derby turned into a disorienting nightmare for the visitors, leaving Ruturaj Gaikwad’s men with a Sunday hangover long before the final was played. CSK were bowled out for 207 in 19.4 overs but the chase petered out much earlier. The 43-run win made it two for RCB at home, a statement that the defending champions mean business this season.
It is now three defeats in three for ČSK. Both batting and bowling lacked spark. Without MS Dhoni and Dewald Brevis, they looked like an out-of-rhythm side still looking for an entry into a party that has already moved on.
TIM DAVID IN BEST MODE
The undisputed hero of the evening was Tim David, who played equal parts DJ and destroyer. His 70 off 25 balls, studded with eight towering sixes, kept the energy high and the crowd on their feet, each hitting another strike that CSK just couldn’t keep up with.
Towards the end, the 251 chase felt less like a competition and more like a long, uncomfortable ride. The music was still playing, the lights were still on, but the night ended much earlier for CSK.
The Tim David-led onslaught felt like a tectonic shift in the southern derby. Asked to bat first on a surface with a hint of slowness, RCB did not rush in the opening stages, Virat Kohli and Phil Salt took their time to get going and did not panic when they made just 17 in the first three overs. On a slow outfield, runs did not count for much until RCB decided to hit them down the ground and into the stands.
The evening started with a familiar roar for Virat Kohli, who looked in his old touch during an 18-ball 28 before an uncharacteristic error saw him depart in the powerplay. Falling for 7, Kohli played some beautiful no-look shots before being outwitted by Anshul Kamboj, who adjusted his length after seeing the star batsman go down the track. Shivam Dube, who had dropped him earlier in the night, took a catch to ensure that CSK did not pay dearly for their mistake.
However, any hopes CSK had of a breakthrough were quickly extinguished by Phil Salt and Devdutt Padikkal. Salt’s calculated aggression (46 off 30) provided the perfect springboard, but it was Padikkal who really set the pace. Returning to his old stomping grounds, Padikkal played a fluid, rhythmic innings of 50 off 29 balls, finding the gaps with surgical precision and ensuring that the run rate never dipped below the danger zone for the visitors.
The real bad outing for Chennai started in the last third of the innings. When captain Rajat Patidar joined Tim David, the match went from a cricket match to a demolition derby. Patidar was commanding, smoking an unbeaten 48 off just 19 balls, but was content to play a supporting role in David’s absolute carnage.
Acting as a human subwoofer, Tim David turned Chinnaswamy into a den of noise with a breathtaking 70 off 25 deliveries. David’s attack was led by eight towering sixes, three of which came in a single, soul-crushing over against Jamie Overton. He hit four sixes in the over, including a 107-metre monster that flew over the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Every time a CSK bowler missed his mark by an inch, David punished them with a mile. By the time the last ball was bowled, RCB had scored 101 runs in the last seven overs, leaving a shaken CSK unit looking for the nearest exit.
A COSTLY PAIN
Interestingly, David was bowled for 28 in the 18th over by Anshul Kamboj. However, Kamboj crossed it and David earned a reprieve as it was called a no-ball.
David and Patidar combined for 99 runs for the fourth wicket in just 35 balls to put the game firmly out of CSK’s reach in Bengaluru.
No pitcher was spared. Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj and Overton all came under heavy fire as RCB exploded in the last 10 overs, plundering 159 runs at that stage.
It was a 250-proof batting masterclass that effectively ended the contest before the start of the second innings.
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Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
05 Apr 2026 23:26 IST
