Pune: Chennai Super Kings are virtually through to the Indian Premier League play-offs after a comprehensive six-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore, courtesy a superb bowling effort from the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Harbhajan Singh.
Jadeja (3/18 in 4 overs) and Harbahajan (2/22 in 4 overs) wreaked havoc as RCB could only manage 127 for 9, largely due to efforts from Parthiv Patel (53 off 41 balls) and Tim Southee (36 off 26 balls).
On a tricky pitch, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (31 no off 23 balls) picked up Yuzvendra Chahal for some special treatment with three huge sixes as CSK knocked off the required runs in only 18 overs to move to 14 points from 10 games. Another win in the next four matches will guarantee CSK a spot as 16 points has always been a cut-off for play-off qualification.
For Virat Kohli, it is turning out to be yet another disappointing season as RCB once again stare at an imminent exit with only three wins from nine games.
Earlier, Jadeja and Harbhajan choked the run flow in the middle overs apart from snaring wickets at regular intervals to peg back RCB. In all, CSK bowled 54 dot balls (equivalent to 9 overs), which also proved to be a key factor. While it was a collective bowling effort by CSK, Jadeja and Harbhajan conceded only 40 runs between them with prize scalps of Kohli and AB de Villiers in their kitty.
