Royal Challengers Survive Mhatre-Jadeja Scare to Clinch Two-Run Thriller
In one of the most thrilling matches of IPL 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) held their nerve to defeat Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by a narrow margin of two runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. Despite a valiant 94 from teenager Ayush Mhatre and an unbeaten 77 from Ravindra Jadeja, CSK fell just short of the 214-run target, finishing at 211/5 in their 20 overs.
Chasing RCB’s formidable total of 213/5, CSK looked in trouble early on but were brought back into contention by a sensational 114-run partnership between Mhatre and Jadeja. The 17-year-old Mhatre, opening the innings, was in destructive form, smashing 94 off just 48 balls with nine fours and five sixes. His standout moment came in the fourth over when he hammered senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 26 runs with a sequence of 4, 4, 4, 6, 4, and 4.
Mhatre and Shaik Rasheed gave CSK a flying start, adding 51 runs in just 4.3 overs before Rasheed fell for 14. Sam Curran followed soon after for five, leaving CSK at 58/2 at the end of the powerplay.
Mhatre brought up his maiden IPL fifty in just 25 deliveries, and Jadeja kept the momentum going with a composed yet aggressive 77 off 45 balls, including eight boundaries and two sixes. The duo’s partnership looked to be taking the game away from RCB until Mhatre attempted one shot too many and was caught at deep midwicket by Krunal Pandya off Lungi Ngidi in the 17th over.
In the next ball of the same over, drama unfolded when Dewald Brevis was adjudged LBW. Attempting to review the decision, Brevis was denied a DRS as the time had expired, adding to CSK’s frustration.
Earlier in the day, Romario Shepherd provided the spark for RCB, smashing an unbeaten 53 off just 14 balls—the joint second-fastest fifty in IPL history. His whirlwind knock, coming at the death, propelled RCB from a modest 159/5 in 18 overs to a daunting 213/5. Shepherd bludgeoned 52 of the 54 runs scored in the final two overs, with Khaleel Ahmed conceding 33 in the penultimate over and Matheesha Pathirana giving away 21 in the final one.
RCB openers Virat Kohli and Jacob Bethell had laid a strong foundation, adding 97 runs in just 9.5 overs. Bethell scored 55 off 33 balls before falling to Pathirana, while Kohli notched up his fourth consecutive fifty, scoring 62 off 33 deliveries before being dismissed by Sam Curran.
Despite CSK’s heroic chase and a thrilling final few overs, RCB managed to hold on, making this one of the standout contests of the tournament.
The match began with MS Dhoni winning the toss and opting to bowl first. While the stakes were lower than previous high-pressure encounters between these two rivals, the match delivered a high-octane finish that lived up to the rivalry's reputation.
