NE SPORTS BUREAU
ABU DHABI, OCT 19
Rajasthan Royals (RR) returned to winning ways after they beat Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by seven wickets in Match 37 of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Needing 126 runs to win, RR made a brisk start as Ben Stokes went for his shots. But CSK fought back and picked three wickets in the powerplay.
First, Stokes got out after he dragged a Deepak Chahar delivery onto the stumps. Robin Uthappa was the next man to get out as Josh Hazlewood picked his first wicket of the match.
MS Dhoni, then, dived towards his left and took a one-handed stunner in the fifth over to dismiss Sanju Samson.
Steve Smith then survived an LBW call as the on-field decision was not overturned after the ultra-edge indicated that there was a faint edge. CSK though did not allow Smith any easy runs.
Jos Buttler, though, kept the things moving for RR crossed the fifty-run mark in the ninth over. Buttler, then went after Shardul Thakur in the 12th over, hitting the CSK bowler for a four and a six to complete the fifty-run stand with Smith.
In the 15th over, Buttler targeted Piyush Chawla to take RR past hundred and to bring up his 11th IPL fifty. The right-hander creamed three fours as RR scored 16 in the over.
Buttler creamed one more six in the 17th over before RR closed out the game in the 18th over to seal a seven-wicket win. While Buttler remained unbeaten on 70 off 48 balls and Smith scored 26, the pair put up an unbroken 98-run partnership.
Earlier, CSK lost two wickets in the powerplay after electing to bat. Jofra Archer made the ball talk and struck in the third over of the match after Jos Buttler, stationed at short cover, took a fine leaping catch to get Faf du Plessis out for 10.
While Shane Watson and Sam Curran hit three fours off Kartik Tyagi in the fourth over, the young speedster had the final laugh as he dismissed the former Australian all-rounder in the same over.
CSK moved past fifty at the end of the 8th over but lost two wickets in quick succession soon after RR introduced spin in the attack. While Shreyas Gopal had Curran caught at long-off, Ambati Rayudu, after surviving an LBW call, mistimed his sweep and gave an easy catch to wicketkeeper Sanju Samson.
MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja then kept the scoreboard ticking as CSK moved to 89/4 at the end of the 15th over.
Two overs later, CSK moved past hundred before the Dhoni-Jadeja pair completed a fifty-run stand. But Dhoni was run-out soon after. CSK eventually posted 125/5 on the board, with Jadeja scoring an unbeaten 35.
Brief Scores:
Rajasthan Royals (Jos Buttler 70*, Steve Smith 26*; Deepak Chahar 2/18) beat Chennai Super Kings 125/5 (Ravindra Jadeja 35*, MS Dhoni 28; Shreyas Gopal 1/14) by seven wickets.
