Rajasthan Royals shock Chennai Super Kings to win high-scoring thriller
Rajasthan Royals shocked table-leaders, Chennai Super Kings, to win the game by seven wickets. Requiring 190 runs to win, Sanju Samson’s men, completed the run-chase with 15 balls to spare.
Gaikwad’s century goes in vain
Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad gave Chennai Super Kings an ideal start. Both were prolific for Dhoni’s men until the seventh over when the South African got stumped off Rahul Tewatia’s first over. The leg-spinner also got rid of Suresh Raina in his next over to put the handbrake on the Men in Yellow’s momentum.
Moeen Ali, who last week announced his retirement from Test Cricket, established a strong partnership with Gaikwad to accelerate the Chennai innings. The three-time champions reached the triple figures in the 14th over.
With both the batsman well settled, it looked like they were going to cause some serious damage in the final few overs. Even though Gaikwad did launch a couple of sixes off Tewatia in the 15th over, his partner got stumped by the leg-spinner.
In the 16th over, Akash Singh suffered from cramps and got the required lengthy treatment for that. However, Gaikwad brought further problems to the left-arm fast bowler as he smashed the Rajasthan man for two fours and a six.
Unfortunately, the opener was running short of partners as Ambati Rayudu left the crease after only scoring two runs. Regardless of that, the right-hander continued to flourish as he reached the 90s after a fantastic six off Mustafizur Rahman.
Ravindra Jadeja was nothing short of brilliant in the last few overs for the Men in Yellow. In the last over, he hit Mustafizur for two fours and a six. On the second-last ball, the left-hander took a single to give the strike to the Man of the Moment.
With all the eyes on Gaikwad, he smashed the last ball for a six to bring up his maiden IPL century. The opener also became the youngest Chennai batsman to achieve this feat. MS Dhoni’s men finished their innings with 189/4.
Jaiswal and Dube propel Rajasthan to victory
It was important for the Rajasthan Royals to get a fiery start. Yashasvi Jaiswal tried to put an early statement out with four boundaries in the first couple of overs. Evin Lewis also joined in the act with a six and four against Sam Curran. In the first three overs, the 2008 champs had already scored 41 runs without any loss of wicket.
Jaiswal, 19, hit Josh Hazlewood for three sixes and four to put the Royals in the driver’s seat. He brought his maiden IPL fifty in just 19 balls.
In the sixth over, the Super Kings got a much-needed breakthrough as Shardul Thakur removed Lewis. Soon after, KM Asif removed Jaiswal to bring Chennai back into the match. With two new batsmen at the crease, it was key for Rajasthan to get back to basics.
Skipper, Sanju Samson, tried to reorganize the run-chase. On the other hand, Shivar Dube became the aggressor as he dispatched the Chennai bowlers to all parts of the ground. In just the 12th over, Rajasthan had crossed 150. Requiring 37 off the last seven overs, it was a walk in the park for the Royals.
