Kohli wins it for Royal Challengers

It was captain Kohli's unbeaten 90 off 52 balls that powered RCB to a competitive 169 for 4 on a slowish track after opting to bat

Dubai: Virat Kohli’s epic skill level complemented by peak fitness proved to be too good for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings which slumped to its fifth defeat by 37 runs in an Indian Premier League campaign already gone awry.

It was captain Kohli’s unbeaten 90 off 52 balls that powered RCB to a competitive 169 for 4 on a slowish track after opting to bat. The CSK batting fared no better after Washington Sundar (2/16 in 3 overs) removed Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis inside the Powerplay overs. In the end, they finished on 132 for 8 in 20 overs.

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Ambati Rayudu (42 off 40 balls) and rookie N Jagadeesan (33) added 64 but the partnership never took off on a track where ball wasn’t coming onto the bat. Once the wily Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed MS Dhoni (10) with a brilliantly set-up plan, the match was as good as over.

Earlier, Kohli, who walked in at the fall of Aaron Finch in the third over, led from the front with a majestic 52-ball knock that was the finest blend of skill and peak fitness. His innings had four fours and as many sixes but in searing Dubai humidity, ran four twos in the final over, a testament to the hours put in rigorous physical training.

The RCB captain was involved in two half-century partnerships – one with opener Devdutt Padikkal (33 off 33 balls) and Shivam Dube (22 off 14 balls) for the fifth wicket, an unbeaten 76-run stand, which powered the total.