IPL 2026: Tim David 70 Off 25 Powers RCB to Big Total, CSK Left Stunned

Tim David produced a sensational late blitz to power Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a commanding total against Chennai Super Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

David smashed an unbeaten 70 off 25 balls, with eight sixes and two fours, turning the game in a 17-ball stretch that shifted momentum decisively in RCB’s favour.

When David came to the crease, RCB were scoring at 10.70 runs per over, with Rajat Patidar anchoring the innings. At 174 for 3 in 16.2 overs, David was on 3 off 6. By the end of the 19th over, the score had surged to 237 for 3, with David racing to 65 off 23.

His assault included eight sixes in 17 balls, lifting the projected total from around 220 to near 250. The CSK bowling attack struggled to contain the onslaught.

"The real turning point was Tim David in that last part, the acceleration through the last five overs," CSK head coach Stephen Fleming said after the match. "If you look at the score, we were ahead of them up to about five overs to go [after 15, CSK were 165 for 6, RCB were 153 for 3], and then they just went like a rocket. So that's really where the game was lost for us. Up until that point, I thought it was a relatively even contest."

David survived a crucial moment in the 18th over when Anshul Kamboj bowled a yorker that hit the stumps, only for it to be ruled a no-ball. David responded by hitting the free-hit for six.

He then took 30 runs off Jamie Overton in the next over, with the sequence reading 6, 2, 4, 6, 6, 6. His fifty came off 21 balls, with one six travelling 106 metres onto the stadium roof.

"I've been getting in trouble during training with the boys," David said about the six. "We have competitions to try and hit them on the roof and we're obviously on the side pitches. So, to get one during a match out of the middle, help it up on the roof, it was good fun."

David scored 68 runs in the death overs, the most by any batter in IPL history.

"It doesn't always happen that way. The skipper Rajat was absolutely smoking it and I was taking balls off him so to be able to get us to a score and obviously put a lot of pressure on the opposition, it was super, super fun."

Reflecting on his preparation, David credited his work with Dinesh Karthik.

"It's a lot of the prep we do over here," David said. "[I am] very lucky to be able to work with DK [Dinesh Karthik], who's obviously an incredibly experienced player in these conditions, and we're working on lots of different stuff. You still keep your basics that you build your strength around and then you try and improve. I've been in the IPL [for] a few years now and I think that you also, with that prep and that time, you don't put as much pressure on yourself to perform.

"I try and enjoy it on the good days and obviously there's going to be some bad ones but that's the game and especially when we try and play high-risk, attacking cricket."

His captain praised his finishing ability, while teammate Devdutt Padikkal highlighted his clarity and confidence at the crease.

"He's so confident in his technique and the areas that he wants to hit," Padikkal said about David. "When he goes out there, he's very clear and he understands which bowler he needs to target and where. When you have those plans in place and that clarity is there in your head, I think it makes it a lot easier.

"I wish I could hit anywhere close to what he hits like but just looking at the technique that he has, you can obviously try and pick up things. It's all about self-belief and that confidence that he has to go from ball one. If you can emulate that confidence, I think it'll translate to everyone in the team as well."

David’s performance comes after a difficult few months. He missed the Big Bash League due to a hamstring injury and had limited impact in the T20 World Cup earlier this year.

However, his innings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium underlined his return to form and reaffirmed his reputation as one of the most destructive finishers in T20 cricket.