Kohli slams 'criminal' bowling as record falls

MS Dhoni smashed the ball into the crowd seven times, including to seal the winning runs, in a match that racked up a record number of Indian Premier League sixes as his Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Dhoni hit an unbeaten 34-ball 70 while opener Ambati Rayudu hit eight sixes in his 82 as Chennai passed Bangalore's 8-205 with two balls to spare.

Dhoni hit New Zealander Corey Anderson over long on for six to claim the brilliant victory, the fourth time in his IPL career that he's completed a winning run chase with a six.

Earlier, AB de Villiers (68) and Quinton de Kock (53) hit 12 sixes between them to lift RCB to a daunting total after Dhoni had sent them in to bat.

The two sides hit 33 sixes in all - 17 for Chennai, 16 for RCB - to beat the previous IPL record of 31. That mark was first set by Delhi Daredevils and Gujarat Lions last year and matched by Chennai and Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this month.

The all-time record for a T20 match is the 34 sixes hit by New Zealand teams Central Districts and Otago in 2016.

"You will win some, you'll lose some but the job of the finisher is to finish the job and help others," Dhoni said.

"Rayudu is important in this line-up because he keeps the scoreboard moving, and small grounds are ideal for him.

"I thought it was a difficult chase when I saw AB de Villiers batting to see them over 200, I thought it was 15-20 beyond par.

"We also lost some key batsmen early but it's a small ground, the ball travels a lot here.

"What's important in a chase is to know which bowler has how many (overs) left and who the captain will bowl when, and you play accordingly."

Both batsmen targeted seamers Anderson (0-58) and Mohammad Siraj (0-48) in the latter part of the innings, which left Bangalore captain Virat Kohli fuming.

Chennai scored 100 runs from the last seven overs, with only one of those seven overs going for less than 10, as they achieved a required run rate that at one stage had ballooned to more than 14 an over.

Needing 16 off the last over, Dwayne Bravo (14 not out) hit Anderson for a four and six off the first two deliveries to ease the pressure. After a single, Dhoni finished off the game by lofting the New Zealand seamer into the stands.

"The way we bowled was just not acceptable, giving that many runs in the end was criminal," Kohli said.

"It is something we need to address going forward. If we can't defend 200, then it's a problem.

"Dhoni is looking in really good touch, he's hitting the ball really well in this IPL but not great to see it against us."

The win took Dhoni's side, returning to the IPL after a two year corruption ban, to the top of the IPL table with five wins from six games.