IPL 2019: Parthiv Patel reveals RCB’s last ball plan against Dhoni which won them the game

What’s the story?

Parthiv Patel has revealed that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) wanted M.S Dhoni to hit the ball on the off-side on the last ball of last night’s sensational match between the RCB and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Patel said that he was quite surprised that Dhoni failed to connect for a big shot on the last ball.

In case you didn’t know?

Needing an improbable 26 runs from the last over, CSK almost did the impossible, as Captain Cool M.S Dhoni smashed 24 runs off the first 5 balls. Just two runs were required off the last ball, but M.S failed to connect and Shardul Thakur was run out in an attempt to steal a bye, courtesy of a brilliant direct hit by wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel.

The heart of the matter

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Patel said :

“We honestly wanted him (Dhoni) to hit through the off-side on the shorter side of the ground. If he had hit it on the leg-side, there were two runs because I don't think the way he runs, there was any chance of stopping those two. So we wanted (Umesh) to bowl slower and outside the off-stump and surprisingly, he missed it. I wasn't expecting him to miss it, but surprisingly he missed it.”

Patel also said that 70 to 80 runs in the last five overs are always gettable at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. He added:

"Playing in Bangalore or Mumbai, you know that 70 runs in the last five overs is gettable. You need at least have 80-90 runs to get in last five overs to defend. So, we wanted to squeeze him. We wanted to bowl as many dot balls to him as possible and put pressure on other batsmen because everybody knows how M.S. is. He wanted the game to go down to last three-four overs and he almost won the game.”

What’s next?

Chennai Super Kings take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Chennai on 23rd April, while the Royal Challengers Bangalore lock horns with the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at the Chinnaswamy on 24th April.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on IPL purple cap, points table, schedule, news, live scores, orange cap and fantasy tips.