Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bowlers rose to the occasion in consecutive matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 as they defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 45 runs in Match 12, at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on April 19.
None of the Chennai batsmen crossed the 35-run mark, and yet they posted 188/7 after Rajasthan skipper Sanju Samson asked them to bat first. Sam Curran (4-0-24-2) then rattled the Rajasthan top-order in the Powerplay overs, including the big wicket of Samson.
Jos Buttler and Shivam Dube kept Rajasthan in the hunt, taking them to 87/2 after 11 overs. Then Moeen Ali (3-0-7-3) and Ravindra Jadeja (2-28) picked up 5 for 8 to seal the match.
Rajasthan began the match with two of their three left-arm seamers, and it worked. Ruturaj Gaikwad (10) fell early for the third successive time. In the fourth over, he charged down the track but mistimed a short-of-a-length slower ball, and ended up hitting to Dube at extra cover.
Faf du Plessis continued, unfazed by this dismissal. He smashed three fours and a six in the next over, bowled by Jaydev Unadkat. Samson introduced Chris Morris, who sent du Plessis (33 in 17) back to the pavilion. Chennai were 47/2 after the Powerplay.
Coming at Nos. 3 and 4, Moeen (26) and Suresh Raina added 33 in 22 balls to rebuild the Chennai innings. Their partnership broke after the introduction of Rahul Tewatia at the midway stage.
Just when things started to go out of Rajasthan’s hands, young Chetan Sakariya came to bowl the 14th over. He removed Ambati Rayudu (27) and Raina (18) in the space of three balls.
MS Dhoni finally got runs in the tournament, but no more than 18. He hit one straight to Buttler at extra cover off Sakariya in the 18th over. However, boasting on the deep batting line-up, Dwayne Bravo (20) and Curran (13) helped Chennai post a reasonable total.
Buttler walked out with Manan Vohra to begin the chase for Rajasthan. The pair added 30 runs in 23 balls before the latter hit straight to the safest hands of Jadeja at mid-wicket.
Coming at No. 3, Samson paid the price after a ball climbed too rapidly for his comfort. He ended up playing to mid-on, for a 5-ball 1. But Buttler kept accelerating from the other end and made sure the required rate on the radar. He, alongside Dube, added 42 in 33 balls for the third wicket. They needed 102 runs in 54 balls with 8 wickets in hand.
Then Dhoni recalled Jadeja, and Jadeja took out both Buttler and Dube (17) in the same over. Buttler fell 1 short to his first half-century of the season. Moeen then removed the dangerous David Miller (2), and followed that with the wickets of Riyan Parag (3) and Morris in his next. At one point his figures read 1.3-0-1-3. Within a span of 3.3 overs, Chennai claimed the driver’s seat out of nowhere.
Tewatia (20) and Unadkat (24) contributed with cameos, but that did little more than some damage control regarding the net run rate.
Brief Scores:
Chennai Super Kings 188/9 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 33, Ambati Rayudu 27; Chetan Sakariya 3-36) beat Rajasthan Royals 143/9 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 49; Moeen Ali 3-37) Player of the Match: Moeen Ali.