Navi Mumbai: Shivam Dube (95, 46b, 5×4, 8×6) and Rohit Uthappa (88, 50b, 4×4, 9×6) feasted on the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) attack as their scintillating half centuries powered Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to an imposing 216 for four in an IPL game here Tuesday. Invited to bat, Uthappa and Dube shared a whooping 165-run partnership off just 74 balls for the third wicket. The partnership, the highest this season helped CSK fight back after they were reduced to 36 for 2 in their 200th IPL match.
Both Uthappa, who turned back the clock, and Dube displayed their six-hitting prowess, pummelling the RCB attack into submission at the DY Patil Sports Academy here. In the process both Shivam Dube and Robin Uthappa posted their highest IPL scores to set up the match for defending champions CSK, who are reeling from four straight losses.
Uthappa took time to settle and fetched his first boundary only in the fifth over, a cut shot off Mohammed Siraj (0/37), before clobbering Akash Deep (0/58) for his first maximum in the next over.
Uthappa and Dube then upped the ante as they hammered a boundary each off Deep and then the lanky left-handed batter launched into Glenn Maxwell (0/29) for his first six over long-on.
The carnage started from the 11th over as the duo went hammer and tongs and CSK cruised to 133 for two in the 15th over, with 73 runs coming in the five overs. Uthappa and Dube spared no bowler with the former striking three sixes off Maxwell in the 13th over as CSK amassed 19 runs.
Uthappa stepped up the attack after his 50 and launched into Siraj, hitting him for two sixes and a four in the 17th over, where 18 runs came.
Uthappa missed a deserving hundred as he fell in the penultimate over which yielded 14 runs and then Dube compounded the bowling team’s woes by hitting two sixes in the final over to finish the innings in style.
CSK lost Ruturaj Gaikwad (17) and Moeen Ali (3) cheaply. But then it was the Uthappa and Dube show.
Brief scores: CSK 216 for 4 (Shivam Dube 95 n o, Robin Uthappa 88) versus RCB.
