Yash Dayal once again turned out to be Chennai Super Kings's nemesis, delivering a match-winning final over for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a thrilling IPL 2025 clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
In a near carbon copy of the contest between these two teams at the same venue last season, the young left-arm pacer held his nerve in a tense finish to bowl RCB to a narrow two-run victory in a high-scoring game.
The scenes were uncannily familiar -- almost too similar to believe.
Last season, CSK needed 17 runs from the final over. This time, they needed 15.
Astonishingly, even the CSK batting pair at the crease for the final over was the same as in 2024 -- Ravindra Jadeja and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Jadeja had been blazing away, unbeaten on 75 from 43 balls going into the final over, while Dhoni showcased his power by smashing Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a six over cover in the penultimate over.
But Dayal proved a hard nut to crack.
The experience of closing out last year's clash against CSK seemed to have bolstered Dayal's confidence. The 27-year-old focused on executing his plans, starting with two accurate low full tosses that yielded just singles to Dhoni and Jadeja.
He struck a decisive blow off the third ball to get rid of CSK maestro Dhoni, who attempted to swat a full toss across the line, but missed and was trapped leg before wicket.
Even the DRS review couldn’t save him, as the ball was shown to have struck in line.
It was deja vu. Last season too, Dayal had dismissed Dhoni in the final over -- that time off the second ball, caught at square leg, after being hit for a six off the first before he went on to finish off the game with his accurate bowling.
This time, though, there was added drama. A high full toss due to dew slipped from Dayal's hand and was smoked for six by CSK Impact Player Shivam Dube. But Dube couldn't capitalise on the free hit, as the RCB pacer followed it up with another pinpoint low full toss.
Holding his nerve brilliantly, Dayal nailed the low straight full tosses again off the final two deliveries, conceding just singles, and sealing a memorable win for RCB.
While last year's win saw RCB make it to the play-offs after winning six games in a row, this victory against CSK put RCB on cusp of their second successive play-offs, as they top the standings with 16 points from 11 games.
Dayal was once again RCB's hero at the death. Twice now he has denied Dhoni and CSK in back-to-back seasons with ice-cool execution under pressure.
Since joining RCB last season, the seamer has emerged as one of their most dependable bowlers. In IPL 2024, he picked up 15 wickets in 14 games; this season he has already bagged 10 from 11 matches.
It has been a remarkable turnaround for Dayal, who had endured a nightmare in IPL 2023 when he was hit for five consecutive sixes in the final over by Rinku Singh while playing for Gujarat Titans.
In fact, he showed great nerves to bounce back last season after the horrors of IPL 2023 when playing for Gujarat Titans he was hit for five sixes in the final over by Rinku Singh. The aftermath was brutal; not only was he released by GT, but he and his family had to bear taunts of 'Rinku Singh, five sixes' from the children in his Allahabad locality.
The incident left him depressed for a long time, and recovery was not easy. But, as the saying goes, tough times don’t last; tough men do!
Dayal drew inspiration from former England pacer Stuart Broad, who also endured heartbreak when he was smashed for six sixes in an over by Yuvraj Singh during the 2007 T20 World Cup, yet bounced back to finish with over 600 Test wickets.
While he not only made a strong comeback during IPL 2024, his good showing in the Duleep Trophy saw earn his maiden call-up to the Indian Test team for the first Test against Bangladesh last year.
After his final over heroics, Dayal received high praise from RCB's mentor and batting coach, Dinesh Karthik
"Yash is someone who is very diligent, comes to meeting with a paper and writes down everything what he wants to do. In the execution might be up and down at times but one thing you will not get less from him is effort. In the same game, one year ago, he did it for us, and tonight he did it again for us," said Karthik.
With nerves of steel and pinpoint execution, Dayal has etched his name as RCB's go-to man in the moments that matter most.
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