With CSK and DC already qualified for the playoffs, the race for the last two, especially the fourth spot has become wide open. Rajasthan Royals added more intrigue to it by defeating the table-toppers CSK by seven wickets at Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Saturday.
The flip of the coin went in RR’s favour, with Sanju Samson deciding to field first. Chennai’s in-form openers Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad, yet again provided them with a solid opening stand. However, they weren’t as fluent as usual and only added 44 runs the powerplay. Du Plessis (25 off 19) danced down the track against Rahul Tewatia in an attempt to up the ante but was stumped.
Gaikwad, who was scoring at run-a-ball for his first 30 balls, changed gears and played some outstanding shots. He and Moeen Ali added 57 runs for the third wicket before Ali was stumped off Tewatia’s bowling.
Gaikwad showed his full range against both pace and spin coupled with sublime timing, hitting massive sixes. He brought up his century on the last ball of the innings by depositing Mustafizur for the biggest six of the tournament.
Ravindra Jadeja scored a quickfire 32 off 15 as Chennai added 89 runs in the last six overs. Tewatia picked 3 for 39 in his four overs for the Royals, while Chetan Sakariya was the most economical with 1/31 in his four.
In response, RR came out with all guns blazing as Evin Lewis and Yashasvi Jaiswal blasted CSK bowlers all over the park to add an opening stand of 77 runs in just 5.2 overs. Jaiswal brought up his half century inside five overs off just 19 balls.
Lewis’ 12-ball-27 knock came to an end when he pulled Shardul Thakur straight down fine leg’s throat. Jaiswal followed him in the next over, gloving a leg-side delivery by KM Asif to Dhoni. His highly impactful and entertaining knock included six fours and three sixes.
The equation was 109 off 83 balls. Playing his first game of the UAE leg, Shivam Dube came out with a positive intent. Along with Samson, he added 89 runs in 9.3 overs for the third wicket. Samson (28 off 24) holed out at deep square off Thakur’s bowling. Glenn Phillips finished things off with his 14* off 8. Dube remained unbeaten on 64 off 42, in which he smoked four sixes and four fours.
Chennai Super Kings did not have the services of their two key bowlers in Deepak Chahar and Dwayne Bravo, but the conditions were so good, it would’ve hardly mattered. Thakur picked 2/30 in his four while KM Asif took 1/18 in 2.1 overs before walking off due to a cramp.
With this victory, RR joined Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians on 10 points from 12 matches. They have a net run-rate of -0.337, with only Mumbai having a worse NRR.
Rajasthan Royals will next face Mumbai Indians at Sharjah on Tuesday, a match that could potentially be a knockout.
Brief Scores
Chennai Super Kings – 189/4 in 20 overs (Gaikwad 101*, Jadeja 32*; Tewatia 3/39, Sakariya 1/31)
Rajasthan Royals – 190/3 in 17.3 overs (Dube 64*, Jaiswal 50; Thakur 2/30, Asif 1/18) won by 7 wickets.
