Chennai Super Kings climbed to third in the points table after beating the Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight runs in a thrilling Indian Premier League match in Bengaluru on Monday. CSK posted a commanding score of 226/6 thanks to Devon Conway’s 45-ball 83 and Shivam Dube’s 27-ball 52.

Despite losing the in-form Virat Kohli and Mahipal Lomror in two overs, RCB nearly pulled off a stunning chase through Glenn Maxwell’s 36-ball 76 and captain Faf du Plessis’s 33-ball 62. The pair took the CSK attack to the cleaners, hitting eight fours and 12 sixes to post 126 runs in just 61 balls.

With Maxwell and du Plessis in the middle, it looked like RCB would comfortably win the match. However, the CSK bowlers pulled things back to condemn the home side to a third loss of the season. It was a credit to the CSK bowlers to stick to the process even while being hit around the park by Maxwell and du Plessis.

Speaking in the post-match presentation, CSK captain MS Dhoni said, “Whenever you score 210-220, the batsmen need to keep on hitting and it’s a matter of a few overs in the middle. If Faf and Maxi had continued, they would have won the game by the 18th over. You need to be involved in the process, you know, what bowling changes do you need to make. From behind, I keep assessing. Maybe it’s easy for me because I’m so close to the game, see if there’s some deflection off the pitch for the spinners and the fast bowlers. I am always involved in what needs to be done rather than thinking about the result.”

Despite losing Ruturaj Gaikwad early in their innings, CSK got off to a good start thanks to Conway and Ajinkya Rahane. The pair dominated the powerplay not allowing the RCB bowlers to capitalise on their early breakthrough. Their 74-run stand set the platform for CSK to accelerate the scoring in the second half of the innings.

“When you come to Bangalore, you know it is a good wicket. In the early part of the IPL, you get a lot of dew so you always think about scoring more runs. But it’s good if you keep it as a thought. You want to start well and then look to alter whatever is there in your mind. The first few overs, the fast bowlers get a bit of help so it is important to go through that and then accelerate. And then think about getting maybe a par score. Because the moment you start thinking about getting par-plus, then you end up scoring 165-170 and the game is done. So (we) decided to keep it simple and get as many runs in the second half of the innings,” Dhoni said.

After Rahane departed in the 10th over, Conway and Dube went on the charge as they added 80 runs in just six overs. Dube clubbed five sixes in his whirlwind innings of 52 which helped CSK go past the 200-run mark. Dhoni praised the youngster saying that the team always believed in his ability to get going in the middle overs.

“Dube is someone who can hit cleanly. He has an issue with the fast bowlers but when it comes to spinners, he’s a very clean hitter. He is a tall guy so he has good reach compared to the other batters. The spinners have to adjust their lengths according to him. We had certain plans for him but once he arrived for the camp, he was injured so we couldn’t do a lot. We feel he’s someone who can deliver and get us those runs in the middle overs. The thing is, he needs to believe in that more than us. He has the talent but once you stand in the middle, you are on your own. You need to have that belief in yourself,” the CSK captain said.

Maxwell and du Plessis’ innings had ensured RCB were in a commanding position in the chase. The home side needed 46 runs off the last four overs and looked favourites to get the job done. However, the pair of Tushar Deshpande and Matheesha Pathirana bowled superbly to pick up four wickets and leave RCB nine runs short of the target.

Dhoni praised CSK’s coaching staff including bowling coach Dwayne Bravo for Deshpande and Pathirana’s heroics in the death overs.

“It is a difficult one because there is a lot of pressure on the youngsters bowling in the death overs. Also when there is dew on the field and it is difficult to execute the yorkers. But they are working hard and that is what is important. We look at the process and you know you are supposed to bowl the last few overs. What are you doing to make yourself more successful? Bravo is one of the specialists. Under him, the bowlers will gain confidence. It’ll give them alternate plans as to what can be done. It’s a team game. The coach, the bowling coach and the senior players guide them. We keep on saying, ‘whatever your strength is, keep on working on that,’” Dhoni said.

In their next match, CSK will host the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday while RCB will travel to Mohali to face Punjab Kings on Thursday.