After losing their opening match in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) staged a stunning comeback to rocket to top of the points table. However, they suffered a 32-run defeat at the hands of former champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Thursday (April 27) and were dethroned from the points table and are now placed third. MS Dhoni-led CSK have showed enough glimpses of their top notch performances which make them the biggest contender to win the IPL 2023 title and add one more glory to their cabinet.
The introduction of junior Malinga Matheesha Pathirana has only added wings to CSK's flight as he continues his exploits in the sixteenth season of the glitzy league.
"Pathirana is a seam bowler, he bowls really well in death overs. He's emerging really well under MS Dhoni. Dhoni uses him like a remote control, Pathirana does what Dhoni wants," Kartik said before the CSK versus RR clash.
However, Pathirana remained wicket-less in the clash against RR and conceded 48 runs in his four-over spell.
Sanju Samson-led RR posted a huge total of 202/5 riding on Yashasvi Jaiswal's blistering 77 off 43. Jaiswal and Jos Buttler (27 off 21) shared 86 runs in 8.2 overs as RR made a brilliant start. Young Dhruv Jurel smashed 34 off 15 balls, while Devdutt Padikkal remained unbeaten on 23 off 13 deliveries to power RR past the 200-run mark. For CSK, Tushar Dehpande picked up two wickets giving away 42 runs from his four overs. In reply, CSK could only score 170/6 despite Shivam Dube's fighting 52 off 33. Adam Zampa scalped three wickets for RR, giving away 22 runs. Rajasthan is now top of the table with 10 points. Chennai is down to third, and Gujarat Titans second, as all three teams are equal on points but separated by net run rate.
CSK will next face Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 30 while RR will lock horns with five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) on the same day.
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