Brief Scores from CSK vs RR: Chennai Super Kings 188/9 in 20 overs ( Faf du Plessis 33; Chetan Sakariya 3/36, Chris Morris 2/33)
Rajasthan Royals 143/9 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 49; Moeen Ali 3/7, Sam Curran 2/24)
Chennai Super Kings are truly back to their winning ways as they register their second win in IPL 2021 to grab the second spot in the points table with 4 points and an NRR of +1.194.
Although Rajasthan won the toss and opted to bowl first, even got wickets at regular intervals with no player scoring a half-century during their stay on the crease, yet, they managed to concede 188 runs in the 20 overs that were bowled. Faf du Plessis, with a 17-ball 33, was the top scorer for the Men in Yellow, followed by Moeen Ali (26) and Ambati Rayudu (27). The most vital partnership in CSK’s innings was the one between Suresh Raina and Rayudu, which contributed 45 runs to the team’s tally.
From Rajasthan, it wasn’t their best bowling effort but a young Chetan Sakariya (3/31) rose to the occasion for a second time this season, followed by Protea all-rounder Chris Morris (2/33).
In response to the 189-run target, Rajasthan could aggregate only 143 runs at the loss of 9 wickets, with Jos Buttler (49) as the core contributor and the next best being the No 9 batter, Jaydev Unadkat, who added 17-ball 24.
Here are the talking points from CSK vs RR match at Wankhede –
Chetan Sakariya tears through CSK’s middle-order to grab a 3-for
It has certainly been a dream run for the 23-year-old Bhavnagar-born in his maiden edition of IPL. He bagged figures of 3/31 against Punjab Kings in his debut match, dismissing the likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Jhye Richardson, while his colleagues finished the innings at an economy of over 10.
He remained wicketless in the last outing against Delhi Capitals, where he conceded 33 runs in his overs. However, he bounced back with an applaudable exhibition, this time, against Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede, which has been a high-scoring wicket so far and a clear-cut graveyard for bowlers.
He conceded 9 runs off his first over that included a six off the final delivery, then 11 runs of the next over that had 4 runs coming off the leg-byes that raced past the wicket-keeper for a boundary. It was in his 3rd over that he rattled CSK’s batters.
Sakariya first dismissed a destructive-looking Ambati Rayudu (27) on a short delivery that was bowled right outside off-stump and carried straight to Riyan Parag at sweeper cover. A few deliveries later, he got the better of Suresh Raina (18) by bowling an overpitched delivery that the southpaw punched right into the hands of Chris Morris at mid-off.
Now, with MS Dhoni at the crease and his vast experience of batting in the death overs, it seemed Sakariya could go for an expensive outing. The left-arm pacer conceded a four of the first delivery but managed to outwit Dhoni by bowling a length off-cutter that the latter struck with one hand coming off the handle, only to be caught by Jos Buttler at extra cover.
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Chennai puts up a team effort to get past 180
While the Men in Yellow aggregated 188 runs on board, there wasn’t any high-scoring knock or too many sixes from CSK’s batters in their innings.
Nonetheless, there were few crucial partnerships that came at a decent pace at numerous stages that propelled CSK to a competitive total.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (10) had his third failure of the season and once again, it was Faf du Plessis who came to the rescue. The Protea cricketer played a gem of a knock for CSK, exploiting the powerplay with 33 runs off 17 deliveries with 4 fours and 2 sixes, before being caught by Riyan Parag on a short of a length delivery from Chris Morris.
Moeen Ali then stitched a 33-run partnership for the third wicket alongside Suresh Raina, and post-Ali’s departure, Raina added 45-runs to the total courtesy of a quick inning alongside Ambati Rayudu.
With both Raina and Rayudu being dismissed in the 14th over and their score being 5/125, CSK forged a 22-run partnership that comprised skipper MS Dhoni (18) and Ravindra Jadeja. However, that too was short-lived as Sakariya got the edge on Dhoni in the 18th over.
Jadeja (8) couldn’t afflict much damage to the opposition, and neither could Shardul Thakur (1), but the duo of Sam Curran and Dwayne Bravo, with their boundary hitting, kept the hopes alive for a high total, eventually getting the team to post a 189-run target for the Royals.
Moeen, Curran and Jadeja squash Royals’ lineup
Other than Jos Buttler’s fiery 49, none of Rajasthan’s key batters could offer a helping hand in the majestic run-chase. The entire batting order collapsed at the hands of CSK, who had their bowling attack led by spinner Moeen Ali, who garnered awe-striking figures of 3/7 in the three overs that he bowled, with David Miller, Riyan Parag and Chris Morris as his scalpings.
Sam Curran was the one who rendered the first and second blows to the Royals, picking the wickets of opener Manan Vohra (11) and Sanju Samson (1) within the powerplay. That was followed by a solid 42-run stand between Buttler and Shivam Dube for the third wicket which was blown in the 12th over courtesy Ravindra Jadeja, for dishing out a ripper of a delivery that bowled the former. It was only a few deliveries later that Dube too was sent back to the pavilion, on a short of a length that nipped back to be a plumb LBW dismissal.
While the Royas’ middle-order was completely annihilated, there was a partnership that was forged between Rahul Tewatia and Jaydev Unadkat for a good 42 runs at the fag end of the chase which was shut by Dwayne Bravo on the last ball of the 19th over. Finally, Shardul Thakur bagged the last wicket of the Royals’ inning, bowling a wide outside off-stump delivery to Unadkat who sliced it down to Jadeja at sweeper cover.
Sam Curran (2/24), Ravindra Jadeja (2/28) had a great day at work, followed by Shardul Thakur (1/20) and Dwayne Bravo (1/28) while Deepak Chahar (0/32) was the only individual who finished wicketless in the innings.
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