It is one of the greatest rivalries in franchise cricket history and it will reach its crescendo at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday when Royal Challengers Bengaluru clash with Chennai Super Kings in a shootout for a place in the playoffs. From MS Dhoni’s great record against the arch-rivals in Bengaluru to RCB’s win by a solitary run in a last-ball thriller in 2019, from Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis’ opening partnership to the economy of the CSK spinners this season, from Ravindra Jadeja’s 37-run hammering of Harshal Patel to RCB’s record on the 18th of May – we look at some of the numbers which have defined this great southern India derby, both historically, and in this tournament.

18: The believers will say it is numerology while the non-believers will put it as luck – be it as may be, the 18th of May is an auspicious date for the Challengers and Virat Kohli. RCB have never lost a T20 match on the 18th of May in the IPL while winning four, including a couple against CSK. Moreover, Kohli has played a significant part in three of these four victories. Here is the list:

- RCB beat CSK by 24 runs (2013), Kohli - 56* (29)

- RCB beat CSK by 5 wickets (2014), Kohli - 27 (29)

- RCB beat KXIP by 82 runs (D/L) (2016), Kohli - 113 (50)

- RCB beat SRH by 8 wickets (2023), Kohli - 100 (63)

65.63% - CSK have dominated the head to head rivalry with RCB and won 21 of the 32 matches between the two franchises – i.e. a winning percentage of 65.63%. They have routed RCB at home in Chepauk with 8 wins in 9 matches. In fact, the last time RCB beat CSK in Chennai was way back in the inaugural edition in 2008. The stats are more even-steven at the Chinnaswamy with CSK just edging out RCB 5-4. However, they have won four of the last five encounters against RCB at the venue.

1 – RCB pulled off a thrilling win by a solitary run against CSK in a last-ball cliffhanger at the Chinnaswamy in 2019. Chasing 162, CSK were in dire straits losing four wickets within the powerplay. However, a one-man show by MSD took them within striking distance of the target only to fall short by a couple of runs. Dhoni was undefeated on a stunning 84 off just 48 deliveries – his knock included seven sixes and is widely rated amongst his best ever in the IPL!

37 – Ravindra Jadeja blasted Harshal Patel for 5 sixes and a four in the 20th over of the CSK innings in Mumbai in 2021 taking 37 of the over – it remains the joint-most expensive over in IPL history!

413 – MSD has a brilliant record at the Chinnaswamy Stadium against the Challengers with an aggregate of 413 runs at a strike rate of 174.3. He has recorded four fifties in 10 innings against RCB at the venue.

10.2 vs 8.7 – Saturday’s blockbuster clash will essentially be a contest between RCB’s top-heavy batting unit and CSK’s restrictive bowling unit. RCB have a run-rate of 10.2 – the third-best in the season after KKR and SRH. CSK, on the other hand, are the most restrictive bowling unit with an economy rate of 8.7.

8 & 10.1 – CSK have also been the most restrictive bowling unit in the middle overs (economy of 8) and at the death (economy of 10.1) this season.

37 vs 17 – It has been a season of sixes with the all-time record already breached in the 64th encounter. Teams who have taken risks and maximized the powerplay have met with great success this season. This is where RCB has an advantage over CSK – they have blasted 37 sixes in the powerplay in comparison to just 17 by CSK! RCB have a run-rate of 10.1 in the first six overs whereas CSK have been sluggish and have scored at 8.7 runs per over in this phase of play.

592 vs 300 – RCB’s biggest strength in the tournament has been their opening partnership of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis. The duo have added 592 runs at a strike rate of 174.1 and are the most prolific opening partnership of the season. CSK, on the other hand, have struggled at the top of the order and tried three different combinations. Their opening stand has added just 300 runs at an average of 23.1 and strike rate of 130.4 and been way below-par in the competition.

224.7 – Rajat Patidar has been the destroyer-in-chief for the RCB in their late resurgence in the tournament. One of the features of his batting is his domination of spin. Patidar has smashed 182 runs off just 81 deliveries at a stunning strike rate of 224.7 against the slower bowlers in the tournament – it is the fourth-best strike rate against spin for all batters who have faced a minimum of 30 balls this season and the best for a middle-order batter. Patidar’s battle against Ravindra Jadeja and Maheesh Theekshana could potentially define the contest on Saturday.

Shivam Dube, the best batter against spin for CSK, uncharacteristically has seen his numbers dip in the second half of the tournament. Dube has scored 83 runs off 50 deliveries at a strike rate of 166 against the spinners who have accounted for 4 of his 10 dismissals at an average of 20.75.

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