Royal Challengers Bengaluru unleashed a brutal burst at the death, piling up 97 runs in their final five overs to post 250 for 3 against Chennai Super Kings in an IPL clash on Sunday. It was the highest team total of the season so far, with the opening innings effectively swung by the way RCB finished rather than by what they did early.
The late surge was driven by Tim David, skipper Rajat Patidar, and Devdutt Padikkal, who capitalised on a platform laid earlier in the innings. Padikkal struck a half-century at a rapid pace, making 50 off 29 balls, while David blazed 70 off only 25. Patidar anchored the charge with an unbeaten 48 off 19 deliveries.
Quick facts
- RCB finished on 250/3 against CSK in an IPL match on Sunday.
- RCB’s tally in overs 16–20: 97 runs (highest total of the season).
- Padikkal: 50 off 29; Tim David: 70 off 25; Rajat Patidar: 48* off 19.
- Key partnerships: 56 in 37 balls (Padikkal + Phil Salt for 2nd wicket); 58 in 21 balls (Padikkal + Patidar for 3rd wicket).
- RCB’s powerplay score: 51/1.
- RCB added 62 runs between overs 11 and 15, reaching 153/3.
- Fourth-wicket stand: 99 in 36 balls (Patidar and David), both unbeaten.
Padikkal’s innings mattered most because it came with two match-shaping alliances. He and Phil Salt stitched a 56-run partnership in 37 balls for the second wicket, with Salt contributing 46 before falling. Later, Padikkal teamed up with Patidar to assemble 58 runs in just 21 balls for the next wicket, ensuring RCB didn’t lose momentum after the first setback.
That setback arrived when Virat Kohli was dismissed for 28. Kohli’s stay was brief, as Shivam Dube took the catch after the batter was dropped on seven by Dube off Khaleel Ahmed, creating a moment CSK hoped would slow RCB down.
Still, the early scoring remained steady thanks to Salt. The opener struck boundary after boundary, smashing a six each off Noor Ahmad and Anshul Kamboj, taking RCB to 51 for 1 at the end of the Powerplay. Once Salt fell—caught off Dube—the tempo shifted again, with Padikkal stepping up in a big way.
After Salt’s dismissal, Padikkal accelerated sharply. He punished Dube by hitting two sixes and a four, pushing the required rate above 10 an over. Padikkal reached his fifty after a single off Matt Henry, but his aggression later cost him—he was out attempting a reverse scoop against Jamie Overton.
RCB’s middle phase also stayed productive. Between overs 11 and 15, they added 62 runs, taking the score to 153 for 3. From there, Patidar and David combined for a fourth-wicket stand worth 99 runs in 36 balls, and the pair remained unbeaten as the innings powered into its final stretch.
Patidar’s finishing touches came in his last over of the innings, where he attacked Khaleel Ahmed with two sixes and a four. David then took aim at Noor Ahmad in the 17th over, striking three sixes to widen the gap further. In the 19th over, David produced the most destructive sequence of the day, hammering Jamie Overton for four sixes—three in succession—while RCB piled up 97 runs in the last five overs.
The impact of that late burst is reflected in the record book as well. RCB’s 97 in overs 16–20 matches the joint second-highest total by a team in that phase of an IPL innings, equalling Delhi Capitals’ 97 against Gujarat Titans in 2024. RCB still top the list for this window with 112 runs against Gujarat Lions in 2016.
RCB innings progression: Overs 1–6: 51/1; Overs 7–15: 102/2; Overs 16–20: 97/0.
Highest aggregates in Overs 11–20 in an IPL innings: 172/2 – RCB vs GL, Bengaluru, 2016; 162/2 – PBKS vs CSK, Cuttack, 2014; 159/2 – SRH vs RCB, Bengaluru, 2024; 159/2 – RCB vs CSK, Bengaluru, 2026.
