Bengaluru, April 17 (IANS) Breezy half-centuries by Devon Conway and Shivam Dune helped Chennai Super Kings post a massive 226/6 in 20 overs against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Match 24 of the 16th edition of Indian Premier League at the M. Chennaswamy stadium on Monday. 

Conway started slowly but struck some brilliant shots in a superb display of power-hitting, blasting 83 off 45 deliveries while Dube smashed 52 off 27 balls, blasting five towering sixes, as CSK made superb use of a good pitch and feasted on the Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling as skipper Faf du Plessis missed a trick or two by failing to make better use of his spinners after opting to bowl first.

Harshal Patel sent down two waist-high full-tosses in the final over and Glenn Maxwell had to bowl the last three balls of that over. Ravindra Jadeja smacked him for a six over long-on but was out in the next legal delivery as Chennai Super Kings reached a massive score. Moeen Ali remained not out on 19 from nine deliveries as Ambati Rayudu (14 off 6) and Ravindra Jadeja (10 off 8) struck some lusty blows as CSK made good use of the opportunity and set RCB the biggest chase of IPL 2023.

Despite losing the prolific Ruturaj Gaikwad (3 off 6) with only 16 runs on the board, Chennai Super Kings reached 53/1 in the Power-play, with the left-right combination of Devon Conway and Ajinkya Rahane as they raised 74 runs for the second wicket partnership.

After his first few shots landed in no man's land but failed to reach the boundary, Rahane hooked Vijaykumar Vyshak onto the roof of the Chinnaswamy Stadium and then lashed Wayne Parnell to extra-cover fence in the 6th over before ending the Power-play by pulling Parnell over short fine-leg for maximum followed by flicking the South African bowler to the midwicket boundary. 

Just when it looked like Rahane will race to his second half-century of IPL 2023, he fell victim to a Hasaranga wrong'un, swinging in vain as the ball crashes into the off-stump. Rahane made 37 off 20 balls, hitting three fours and two sixes.

Conway, on the other hand, whipped Parnell to the midwicket fence and then scooped him over the fine-leg boundary for a six. The Black Caps opener rolled out the scoop for a boundary off Vyshak before launching Glenn Maxwell straight of wide long-on for a maximum. Harshal Patel was swatted away for six over the midwicket fence while Wanindu Hasaranga got the same medicine when he dropped one short outside off-stump as he completed his back-to-back half-century. 

The 31-year-old Conway ended the 10th over by despatching a Hasaranga wrong'un for four. He hammered Vyshak for a couple of boundaries and a six over the fine-leg boundary in the 12th over as RCB conceded 16 runs. 

Shivam Dube smacked Siraj for a four and a six in the 14th over and blasted Vyshak for two sixes in the next over and followed it up with a boundary off a wide yorker to claim 18 runs as CSK were cruising with 165/2 at the end of the 15th over. He ramped a short one from Harshal Patel to the third-man boundary. 

However, Patel made the breakthrough for RCB when he castled Conway with a brilliant slow-dipping yorker, ending the Black Caps opener's superb innings for 83 (off 45 balls, 6x4, 6x6). CSK were 171/3 as the teams went into the strategic timeout.

As Parnell came back into the attack, Dube greeted him with a six straight down the ground as he completed his fifty off 25 balls. Parnell had the last laugh as he cut on the pace again and had Dube (52 off 27 balls, 2x4, 5x6) caught inches away from the boundary rope at deep midwicket as Mohammed Siraj pouched a superb catch. 

Moeen Ali launched the second ball he faced from Parnell for a straight six. Ambati Rayudu then blasted a four and six off successive deliveries by Vyshak before he was out, deceived by a leg-cutter and holing out a skier to Dinesh Karthik. Moeen blasted a six off Siraj's first delivery of the 19th over as CSK crossed the psychological 200-run mark.

Vijaykumar Vyshak, who claimed three wickets in his debut match, was hammered for 62 runs off his four overs while Wayne Parnell conceded 1-48 of his quota. Hasaranga surprisingly was given only two overs as he ended up with 1-21.

Brief scores:

Chennai Super Kings 226/6 in 20 overs (Devon Conway 83, Shivam Dube 52, Ajinkya Rahane 37; Wanindu Hasaranga 1-21) against Royal Challengers Bangalore.