Rajasthan Royals (RR) returned to winning ways after beating Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Match 37 of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
CSK v RR | IPL 2020 Match 37 Highlights
It took RR 126 runs to win and got off to a brisk start when Ben Stokes fired his shots. But CSK resisted and chose three wickets in the power play.
First, Stokes got off after pulling a Deepak Chahar delivery on the stumps. Robin Uthappa was the next man to fold when Josh Hazlewood picked his first wicket of the game.
MS Dhoni then dived to his left and took a one-handed stunner in the fifth to release Sanju Samson.
Steve Smith then survived an LBW call as the field decision was not overturned after the Ultra Edge indicated there was a weak edge. However, CSK did not allow Smith any easy runs.
However, Jos Buttler ensured that things passed the fifty-run mark for RR in the ninth round. Buttler then went after Shardul Thakur on the 12th, hitting the CSK bowler for four and six to complete the 50-run stand with Smith.
On the 15th round, Buttler targeted Piyush Chawla to get RR over a hundred and make his 11th IPL fifty. The right-hander saw three fours when RR scored 16 points in the over.
Buttler saw another six in the 17th before RR finished the game in the 18th to take a win with seven wickets. While Buttler went undefeated with 70 of 48 balls and Smith scored 26, the pair had an unbroken 98-year partnership.
Previously, CSK had lost two wickets in power play after choosing a bat. Jofra Archer got the ball talking and scored in the third game after Jos Buttler, stationed in short cover, made a fine jump catch to get Faf du Plessis out for 10.
While Shane Watson and Sam Curran met three foursome ahead of Kartik Tyagi in the fourth round, the young streaker had the last laugh when he dismissed the former Australian all-rounder in the same round.
CSK went over fifty at the end of the 8th but lost two wickets in quick succession shortly after RR introduced spin into the attack. While Shreyas caught Gopal Curran in the distance, after surviving an LBW call, Ambati Rayudu misplaced his sweep and gave wicketkeeper Sanju Samson an easy catch.
MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja then let the scoreboard tick as CSK moved to 89/4 at the end of the 15th.
Two overs later, CSK moved over a hundred before the Dhoni-Jadeja pair completed a fifty run stand. But Dhoni was soon exhausted. CSK eventually bet 125/5 on the board with Jadeja scoring an unbeaten 35.
