Chennai Super Kings (CSK) came back to winning ways after thrashing Rajasthan Royals by 64 runs in the 17th match of the tournament at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune on Friday.
It was a magnificent all-round performance by the yellow brigade which eventually handed them their first victory in their adopted home.
Shane Watson struck the second century of the tournament which propelled Chennai to a huge score of 204 for five in their 20 overs.
Rajasthan was never in the run chase as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Some tight bowling by the CSK bowlers prevented them from going after their bowling.
Earlier in the day, it was visiting captain Ajinkya Rahane who won the toss and put the hosts in. Chennai made a flying start as Shane Watson provided them with the early impetus.
Rayudu also looked in good touch smashing a couple of boundaries during his brief stay. He scored only 12 but shared a 50-run stand with Watson in the fifth over.
Moreover, it was Ben Laughlin who provided the maiden breakthrough in the form of Rayudu. Suresh Raina who missed the previous two games made a comeback and looked in fluent touch.
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He smashed nine boundaries during his 29-balls knock of 46. He was eventually dismissed by young leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal after the duo shared an 81-run partnership.
When Mahendra Singh Dhoni was dismissed CSK had already raced off to 151 in 13.2 overs. However, there was a stem in run flow in the last seven overs.
However, Rajasthan bowlers made a good comeback and restricted Chennai to 204 from a stage where 230 looked inevitable.
Shane Watson was eventually dismissed after making a 57 balls 106 which contained 9 fours and 6 hits over the fence. Shreyas Gopal returned as the most successful bowler for Rajasthan finishing with wonderful figures of three for 20 in his allotted four overs.
Rajasthan required a solid start, to begin with. However, that wasn’t to be as debutant Heinrich Klaasen was castled by Shardul Thakur in only the second over.
Man in form Sanju Samson also headed back to the pavilion pretty soon. It was Deepak Chahar who brought an end to Samson’s innings. Chahar bagged his second when he breached through the defense of Ajinkya Rahane with a well disguised slower delivery.
Ben Stokes played a useful hand of 45. However, it didn’t come quickly enough which never really allowed Rajasthan to push for the target.
Wickets kept tumbling as Rajasthan found no way back into the match. They failed to play their full quota of 20 overs and were skittled out for 140 in the 19th over.
Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar all chipped in with a couple of wickets each while Shane Watson also bagged one. Imran Tahir went for runs conceding 44 runs in his four-over spell.
Also, Read: IPL 2018: Had Extra Motivation to Score Against Former Team, says Mom Shane Watson
Brief Scores
Chennai Super Kings 204/5 in 20 overs (Shane Watson 106, Suresh Raina 46, Shreyas Gopal 3/20)
Rajasthan Royals 140 all-out in 18.3 overs (Ben Stokes 45, Karn Sharma 2/13, Dwayne Bravo 2/16, Shardul Thakur 2/18, Deepak Chahar 2/30)
Chennai Super Kings won by 64 runs
