AN INCREDIBLE final over from Yash Dayal and Romario Shepherd's late batting blitz helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru scrape past Chennai Super Kings by two runs in an IPL thriller to move top of the table on Saturday (3).
In-form Virat Kohli, who made 62, and fellow opener Jacob Bethell put on 97 runs to lay the foundations of Bengaluru's 213-5 in their home at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
West Indies' Shepherd boosted the total with his 14-ball 53 -- the IPL's second fastest fifty. The quickest 50 is in 13 balls by Yashasvi Jaiswal in 2023.
Chennai's 17-year-old opener Ayush Mhatre attempted to trump the effort as he blasted 94 off 48 balls as part of a 114-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja, who hit 77 not out, but the team finished on 211-5.
Left-arm medium pace bowler Dayal kept his calm in the last over when Chennai needed 15 to win.
He sent back skipper M.S. Dhoni and despite getting hit for six by impact player Shivam Dube off a no-ball, he gave away just 12 runs as Bengaluru moved closer to a play-off spot.
"I felt I should have converted a couple of more shots, and ease the pressure, so I will take the blame for it," said the 43-year-old Dhoni.
"Shepherd in the death overs was excellent - whatever we were bowling, he was able to hit it for maximum runs."
Shepherd, who hit six sixes, tore into Khaleel Ahmed in the 19th over to smack 33 runs off the left-arm pace bowler and then got the team 21 runs in the 20th.
Chennai's Mhatre makes his mark
The euphoria around the 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi has not died down yet and India appear to have unearthed another teenage batting sensation in Mhatre.
Rajasthan Royals batter Suryavanshi smashed a 35-ball hundred in a match against Gujarat Titans to become the youngest centurion in men's T20 cricket drawing rich praise from the game's greats including Sachin Tendulkar.
Mhatre, 17, fell short of a hundred against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Saturday but Chennai head coach Stephen Fleming cannot stop gushing after the opener's 94 off 48 balls.
Ayush Mhatre of Chennai Super Kings play a shot during the 2025 IPL match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on May 3, 2025, in Bengaluru, India. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
"He's got talent. He's got hand-eye coordination. He's got a beautiful, silky swing. He's aggressive. Everything that we like about a modern-day T20 player," Fleming told reporters after Bengaluru beat Chennai by two runs.
"To me, it's the temperament and being able to execute in a trial and then on the big stage. That's what I'm most impressed with."
"It's one thing to have a lot of shots, but to be able to execute that game plan on a big stage in front of some of the biggest players in the world is what I admire."
Mhatre came into the side only after an elbow injury cut short skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad's season and has scored 163 in four innings with a strike rate of 185.
Former New Zealand captain Fleming marvelled at the skill-sets of both Suryavanshi and Mhatre.
"It's extraordinary to watch that fearless approach. But you've got to have skills as well."
"It doesn't matter whether you're 14, 18, 21. The innings that we've seen being played, particularly by these two youngsters, is just top class.
"It shows maturity beyond their years, but it shows a skill set that is quite daunting, I think, particularly for bowlers around the world.
"I worry a little bit about the Under-19 opposition. They'll come up against two pretty handy openers when a World Cup comes around."
(Agencies)
