IPL Bulletin For May 4: From RCB Beat CSK in Thriller to Ayush Mhatre & Romario Shepherd Record-Breaking Feat

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A day before the race to playoff week commenced in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season 18, Royal Challengers Bengaluru inched closer to sealing a top four spot with a incredible win over southern rivals Chennai Super Kings.

On a record-breaking Saturday (May 3) night at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, RCB handed five-time champions CSK another defeat to put one foot in the IPL 2025 playoffs.

As rain stayed away in Bengaluru, Virat Kohli got things rolling for RCB and in the process made some strides in the run-scoring charts in the ongoing season, while his teammate Romario Shepherd and CSK's lone shining light Ayush Mhatre also impressed by the end of the night.

Like RCB, Punjab Kings also will aim to get closer to playoff qualification when they host Lucknow Super Giants in Sunday's double-header after defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders look to keep their title defence alive. Here is the IPL Bulletin for May 4:

RCB beat CSK in thriller, inch closer to booking playoff spot

Romario Shepherd's late blitz of an unbeaten 53 off 14 balls after Virat Kohli (62 off 33 balls) and Jacob Bethell's (55 off 33 balls) fifties powered RCB to a challenging total of 213 in their allotted 20 overs.

In response, CSK were well on course to victory riding on fifties from Ravindra Jadeja (77* off 45 balls) and Ayush Mhatre (94 off 48 balls), but Yash Dayal held his nerve in the final over to help RCB win the thrilling contest by 2 runs.

With this victory, the RCB side moved to the top of the IPL 2025 points table after winning their eighth out of their 11 games in the 18th edition of the cash-rich league. On the other hand, the CSK side remained at the bottom of the table after losing their ninth match in the tournament.

CSK suffer ninth loss of the season

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's CSK closed in on equalling their worst performance in a single IPL season after going down in nine of their 11 matches so far in 2025. The five-time champions avoided the wooden spoon in 2022 despite losing 10 matches, but are now headed for their first-ever bottom-place finish.

RCB achieve a rare double against CSK

RCB breached the Chepauk fortress for the first time since 2008 earlier in the season, and on Saturday achieved a rare double against CSK, having beaten their southern rivals in both the league stage matches in a IPL season for the first time in their history.

MS Dhoni takes blame on himself for defeat

Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja had the task of piling up 15 runs from the final over to steer past the finish line. But Yash Dayal's searing yorkers derailed their hopes. Dhoni's attempt to finish ended on a bitter note after he got trapped in front of the stumps on a low full toss, while Shivam Dube's late effort also wasn't enough for the five-time champions.

After the game, Dhoni made an honest admission and conceded that he should have converted a couple of those shots to ease the pressure off heading into the decisive final over of the contest.

Ayush Mhatre becomes second youngest player to score IPL fifty

At 17 years and 291 days, Ayush Mhatre became the third-youngest batter to score a fifty in the IPL after latest sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi (14y, 32d) and Riyan Parag (17y 175d), who were younger than Mhatre when they scored their maiden IPL fifties.

Romario Shepherd scores joint second fastest fifty

Shepherd scored the joint second fastest fifty in IPL. He walked out to bat in the death overs and left a mark in the 14 deliveries he faced in a run-scoring fest in Bengaluru. He had the home crowd on the edge of their seats with his powerful hitting.

Shepherd is tied with Pat Cummins and KL Rahul for the elusive milestone behind Yashasvi Jaiswal, who holds the record with a 13-ball effort against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2023.

Virat Kohli edges in front in Orange Cap race after few milestones

Kohli continued his consistent run, breaching the 500-run mark for the eight time in his IPL career, and in the process also took the lead in the Orange Cap race by mere one run. Kohli now has 505 runs in 11 innings, while GT's Sai Sudharsan is one run behind in 10 innings.

The veteran batter also also crossed the 300 sixes mark for RCB. With another five maximums under his belt, he now boasts 304 sixes for the Royal Challengers. With 1,146 runs against Chennai in the IPL, Kohli also set the record of the highest by any player against a team in IPL.

Kagiso Rabada makes shocking revelation regarding his IPL exit

South Africa and Gujarat Titans speedster Kagiso Rabada's departure from the ongoing 18th edition of the Indian Premier League on April 3 was related to a sanction for testing positive for a "recreational drug".

Ajinkya Rahane likely to be available for KKR vs RR

Rahane left the field with an injury to his finger during the victory over Delhi Capitals, but the KKR captain is likely to be fit and available for the defending champions as they continue to push for a playoff spot when they host Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

PBKS and LSG battle in the race to the playoffs

In a pivotal match for the race to the top four, Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants will look to outdo each other when they battle for a possible playoff spot at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala in the second match of Sunday's double-header.