In the RR vs CSK game, Moeen Ali & Ravindra Jadeja help CSK register a comfortable 45 run victory. Chennai Super Kings being put to bat first put up a challenging total of 189 in front of Rajasthan Royals. For CSK, Moeen Ali and Du Plessis shone brighter than the yellow jersey they wore. Chasing the total, RR crumbled against the spin of Ali as he took 3 for just 7 runs.
Winning the toss, Samson made the no-brainer decision of bowling first. RR opener Gaikwad had fortune by his side today as he escaped being dismissed on the duck. The opener, who’s been a concern for RR due to his inconsistent form looked rusty today too.
However, du Plessis started off proceedings of his inning in style by hitting a maximum off Sakariya. Gaikwad, who looked shaky from the start lost his wicket at 10 off 13 as he tried hitting Mustafizur Rahan on mid-off and finding Shivam Dubey.
Du Plessis made sure that the momentum doesn’t change as he took Unadkat for a punishment in a 19 run over, hitting him for multiple boundaries and a huge six. However, his aggression got better of him as he found Riyan Parag at deep and got dismissed at a well-intended 33-off 17 innings.
It felt like CSK skipper Dhoni had instructed the top and middle over batsman of the team to not let the momentum drop, no matter the fall of wickets.
Moeen Ali, who would later in the innings shine as a bowler, smashed 2 huge maximums and one boundary, raced to 26. However, RR’s decision to give Tewatia the bowl worked as he trapped Ali and dismissed him.
After Ali’s exit, veteran middle-order batsman Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu both steadied the CSK boat as they hit Parag for two sixes. In the next over, Rayudu went after Tewatia and hit him for a couple of more maximums.
At 123/3 off 13.1 overs, CSK looked to be in a breezy condition, cruising towards a huge target. However, Sakariya once again was handed the bowl and struck gold. He got the better of Rayudu and Raina both in a single over, and left CSK shaken at 123/5.
CSK skipper MS Dhoni’s lack of form showed in this game as well as he let the CSK’s momentum drop. Boundaries suddenly started difficult to come by and all Ravindra Jadeja on the other end could do was run between wickets. Sakariya eventually got rid of the CSK skipper thanks to a slower one that Dhoni went berserk on and deposited in the hands of Butler.
But the final few overs of CSK were full of flourishing shots by West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as he hit multiple fours and a huge maximum in the last over to take his team to 188/9
With a target of 189 to chase RR started off with flying colours as Jos Butler slammed Chahar for 11 runs in the first over. In the second over, he was saved by a dropped catch by Shardul Thakur. Meanwhile Manan Vohra on the other hand also looked to be in a fine form as he hit a huge six off Sam Curran.
However, it was Curran that had the last laugh as the latter trapped him with a short one that was deposited into the reliable hands of Ravindra ‘Jaddu’ Jadeja. Butler carried on his inning with a positive mindset, hitting a boundary and a maximum off Chahar the next over. Sanju Samson meanwhile, who played a match winning inning a few games back, perished at 1 off 5.
There was a brief 42-run partnership that was stitched between Butler and Dube. Dube hit a couple of boundaries off Jadeja and the latter eventually bested him. In the 11th over, Jadeja took the wickets of both Butler and Dube.
Butler was dismissed at a respectable 49 off 35. In the last ball of the same over, Jadeja trapped Dube for an LBW and even after a DRS, Dube had to go back to the dressing room for 17 off 20. What followed next was a face-palm worthy collapse that would haunt Rajasthan fans for a long time.
Moeen Ali was handed the ball by CSK skipper and his gamble paid well. In the 12th over, Ali trapped Miller who mistimed a sweep.
In his next over, which was over number 14, Ali scalped the wickets of both Parag and Morris for a score of 3 and 0 respectively. The team which looked to be in the game at 45/2 were suddenly thrown out of it and was left whimpering at 95/7.
Meanwhile, Unadkat and Tewatia tried crawling out of the claws of the inevitable defeat. Both of them formed a partnership of 42 runs for the 8th wicket. However, with a target as surmountable as 189, there was a little they could have done. In the final over of the game,
Shardul Thakur gave away a couple of wides and Unadkat hit a consolation boundary before his team met its eventual defeat. By the end of the 20th over, RR was 143/9, 45 runs short of its target.
