Rajasthan Royals (RR) dethroned MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) from the top of the points table with a comprehensive 32-run win at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. After Yashasvi Jaiswal's blistering 77-run knock followed by cameos helped Royals post 202/5, CSK failed to take off in the run chase and lost the match despite Shivam Dube's fighting half-century.
CSK's run chase got off to a slow start. In the first three overs, both Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway were kept quiet by Sandeep Sharma and left-arm pacer Kuldip Yadav. In the fourth over, Gaikwad hit Jason Holder for a four and a six. Adam Zampa bowled the final over of powerplay overs and got the wicket of in-form Conway. The opener scored eight runs from 16 balls. CSK had 42/1 on the board after six overs. Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane could not hit big as the required run rate went up. In the 10th over, Zampa was brought back into the attack and he got the wicket of Gaikwad. The opener scored 47 runs from 29 balls including five fours and one six. CSK were 72/2 after 10 overs.
In the 11th over, Ravichandran Ashwin struck twice. For the sixth time in IPL history, Ashwin got the better of Rahane. He scored 15 runs from 13 balls. He followed it up with the wicket of Ambati Rayudu for a two-ball duck. Moeen Ali and Shivam Dube pushed the scoring rate with fours and sixes. Ashwin's last over turned out to be expensive as Dube hit him for two sixes. Zampa was brought back into the attack again and was hit for a six by Dube. The leggie got hit for a boundary by Ali but he got the Englishman's wicket next ball. He scored 23 runs from 12 balls.
Dube took on Holder in the 17th over hitting him for two fours and one six. Ravindra Jadeja managed to hit Sandeep for two fours but in the last two overs, CSK needed 46 runs to win. Holder kept it tight in the penultimate over. Dube got to his half-century from 29 balls. Jadeja finished the over with a four but CSK needed 37 runs off the last over. Kuldip bowled a brilliant final over and conceded just four singles. On the last over, Dube went for the big hit and caught at long-on. The southpaw scored 52 runs from 33 balls including two fours and four sixes. CSK managed to post 170/6 in the run chase. The crowd kept chanting Dhoni’s name but he remained on the bench while his team lost the match by 32 runs.
Earlier, Royals skipper Samson won the toss and opted to bat first. Jaiswal started off in an attacking fashion with three fours off Akash Singh. Jaiswal kept founding fours and sixes in the powerplay overs while Jos Buttler played second fiddle. After six overs, RR had 64 runs on the board. In the seventh over, Jaiswal got to his half-century from just 26 balls. In his next over, Jadeja broke the opening partnership with Buttler's wicket. The English batter scored 27 runs from 21 balls including four fours. At halfway stage, RR had 100/1 on the board.
Samson failed to hit big and managed just one four in his run-a-ball 17. In the 14th over, he lost his wicket to Tushar Deshpande. In the same over, he got the big wicket of Jaiswal as well. The left-handed batter scored 77 runs from 43 balls including eight fours and four sixes. Shimron Hetmyer failed to hit big in the slog overs and got bowled by Maheesh Theekshana in the 17th over after scoring eight runs. Demoted down the order, Devdutt Padikkal found boundaries straight away. In the penultimate over, Dhruv Jurel hit Deshpande for a four and a six. In the final over, Jurel smashed Matheesha Pathirana for a six and a four. On the fourth ball, Jurel got run out. He scored 34 runs from 15 balls including three fours and two sixes. Padikkal remained unbeaten for 13-ball 27 and guided RR to 202/5.
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