IPL 2019: 3 instances that show the strange relevance of the number 205 to CSK vs RCB matches

#3 RCB vs CSK, 24th match, IPL 2018

RCB – 205/8, CSK – 207/5

Result: CSK won by 5 wickets

The most recent such encounter between the 2 sides was contested in Bengaluru in 2018. CSK won the toss and elected to field first.

Quinton de Kock (53 off 37) and AB de Villiers (68 off 30) put up a 100-run stand after Virat Kohli’s dismissal early in the innings. A quick succession of wickets did not deter the RCB batsmen, as Mandeep Singh (32 off 17) and Washington Sundar (13* off 4) gave the innings the much-needed impetus.

CSK’s chase did not get off to the best of starts, as they lost Shane Watson early in the chase. But Ambati Rayudu went about his business, unfazed by the fall of wickets at the other end.

MS Dhoni, who had been in sublime touch in IPL 2018, came to the crease with the score reading 74/4. The skipper and Rayudu had their task cut out as CSK needed 132 from the last 11 overs at 12 runs per over.

MSD rolled back the years in a stunning effort

The RCB bowlers didn't know what hit them in the ensuing 9 overs. Rayudu and Dhoni looked at utmost ease in dispatching the ball to all parts of the park.

A slight miscommunication on the penultimate delivery of the 18th over resulted in Rayudu’s dismissal. CSK now needed 30 runs from 12 balls.

Mohammed Siraj, bowling the 19th over, looked as if he had the CSK batsmen under check, conceding only 3 runs from the first 4 balls. The momentum, however, shifted sides when a six from Dhoni and three successive wides changed a good over to an average over.

Corey Anderson bowling the final over allowed Dhoni to finish the match with a 6, in what was a nostalgic moment for a lot of MSDians.

Coincidently, 205 is also the highest total successfully chased down by CSK in the history of the IPL.

Come IPL 2019, we will have to wait and see whether the number 205 will have any impact on the outcome of the CSK-RCB encounter.