Riding on David’s unbeaten 70 and his unbroken 99-run stand off just 37 deliveries with skipper Rajat Patidar, RCB surged to a daunting 250/3.
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In reply, CSK, who lost three wickets in the first three overs, never recovered from the early blows and were bowled out for 207 in 19.4 overs, handing RCB a comfortable 43-run victory.
On a grey evening for the yellow brigade, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad led the top-order collapse, edging Jacob Duffy (2/58) in the opening over, with Devdutt Padikkal taking a sharp catch at slip. Ayush Mhatre followed soon after, becoming Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s (3/41) 200th IPL wicket, offering a simple catch to Patidar at mid-off.
Sanju Samson watched the slide unfold but failed to arrest it. His underwhelming start in CSK colours continued as he poked at a Duffy delivery angling away, only to nick it to Padikkal at first slip. Sarfaraz Khan struck a fighting fifty, but his stumping by Jitesh Sharma off Krunal Pandya (2/36) further dented CSK’s fading hopes.
Prashant Veer (43) and Jamie Overton (37) offered a brief spark with a 57-run seventh-wicket stand, but once Bhuvneshwar dismissed Veer, the result was a mere formality.
Earlier, David, who had managed just 139 runs in his previous eight T20 innings, stunningly flipped the narrative. The Australian hammered an unbeaten 25-ball 70 (3×4, 8×6), unleashing a barrage of towering sixes.
Patidar, however, set the tone for the late carnage. He launched Noor Ahmad into the stands early in his innings and raced to an unbeaten 48 off just 19 balls (1×4, 6×6), playing the perfect foil to David. The duo targeted Ahmad and Anshul Kamboj, shifting gears dramatically in the final overs.
David also enjoyed a slice of luck when he was bowled off a no-ball by Kamboj on 28 and capitalised fully, racing to a 21-ball half-century. CSK’s most effective bowler until then, Jamie Overton, was taken apart in the 19th over, conceding 30 runs as David smashed four sixes and a boundary. RCB plundered 97 runs in the final five overs to turn a strong total into a massive one.
Before the late blitz, Padikkal (50) had laid the platform with his second consecutive half-century, while Phil Salt (46) and Virat Kohli (28) provided early momentum but failed to convert starts.
On a batting-friendly surface, the margin for error was minimal — and CSK paid the price.
