IPL 2023, CSK vs RR: Dhoni's heroics in vain as Rajasthan Royals seal victory

IPL 2023, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) vs Rajasthan Royals (RR): Jos Buttler-Devdutt Padikkal's 77-run stand, Ravichandran Ashwin-Yuzvendra Chahal's combined 4-52 and Ravindra Jadeja's 2-21 & 25 are top performances. RR beat CSK and move to top of the points table.

RR beat CSK by three runs; move to 1st spot in points table (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

Brief Scores: RR 175-8 (Buttler 52, Padikkal 38; Jadeja 2-21) beat CSK 172-6 (Conway 50, Dhoni 32; Ashwin 2-25) by 3 runs

Player of the Match - Ravichandran Ashwin (30, 2-25)

Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were all set to play the 17th match of the Indian Premier League at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium. The M.A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, affectionately known as the Chepauk, was buzzing with excitement as the home team, Chennai Super Kings, took on the Rajasthan Royals in the 17th match of the Indian Premier League. The packed stadium was alive with the sound of horns, drums, and cheers as the two teams took to the field.

CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first in his 200th game. For Rajasthan, Trent Boult missed out and Mahesh Theekshana of Chennai was back into the eleven along with Moen Ali. For CSK, Akash Singh was handed the debut cap who replaced the injured Deepak Chahar. The debutant almost had a dream start to his CSK career but an inside edge saved Jaiswal.

CSK were punished by Devdutt Padikkal and Jos buttler inside the powerplay, and cruised to 57 runs in six overs at the loss of one wicket. This was Rajasthan’s fourth consecutive match with 55+ runs in the powerplay and on the other hand, CSK’s fourth consecutive match conceding 55+ runs in the powerplay. Jadeja’s double wicket over brought back CSK into the match. Samson was dismissed for a duck for the second consecutive innings and also registered a rather unwanted record of most ducks for Rajasthan Royals (8), surpassing Shane Warne (7). Thanks to little hacky Wacky 22 balls 30 runs innings from Ashwin saw Rajasthan at 135-4 after 15 overs. An 18 balls 30 runs cameo from Shimron Hetmyer ensured Rajasthan scored 40 runs in the last five to give CSK a target of 176 runs.

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CSK did not have the best of starts as the batter in form, Ruturaj Gaikwad was dismissed in the third over of the innings. 68 runs between Ajinkya Rahane and Devon Conway took CSK to 80-2 after 10 overs. Sanju’s strategic captainship of a spin heavy bowling line-up was utilized to good effect as CSK could just manage 42 runs in the next seven overs scoring less than 7 runs per over with the asking rate being over 12. Few vintage bottom hand MSD special sixes was on display at the end but Sandeep’s accurate Yorkers were too good to be hit for four three sixes in an over as Rajasthan came out victorious at the Chidambaram Stadium for the first time since 2008.

Sanju’s tactical masterclass was on display at the sluggish and dew filled M.A Chidambaram stadium. When the world was worried the spinners won’t be able to grip the ball with the dew, Sanju used the spinners and the dew to his own advantage and CSK batters surrendered in the middle overs. Rajasthan’s catching was on point as they hung on to three brilliant high catches to support their spin bowlers.

Top Three Performances from Chennai Super Kings (CSK) vs Rajasthan Royals (RR)

A jolting 77 runs partnership sails Rajasthan’s boat

After losing the first wicket for just 11 runs, Devdutt Padikkal and Jos buttler dominated CSK’s bowlers inside the powerplay. Theekshana who was making his comeback into the eleven was taken to the cleaners by the duo. Right when it needed the most Padikkal displayed his class and Rajasthan finally got their well inside the powerplay. In the span of seven overs, the left hand-Right hand partnership accumulated 77 runs and it looked almost like Rajasthan will reach anything above 200. Though Padikkal was dismissed at 88 after 8.3 overs but Buttler held one end up and notched up his fifty and also became the third fastest player to reach 3000 IPL runs (85 innings).

Read More: IPL 2023, RR vs DC: Explosive knocks by Jaiswal & Buttler deflates DC

Ashwin-Chahal took 4-52 collectively against CSK (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

The Spin duo of Ashwin-Chahal slows things down for CSK

The competition between the Chennai humidity and Chidambaram dew was going strong but there was an unlikely winner – The Rajasthan Spinners. When the spinners were expected to struggle gripping the wet ball, against the odds, Sanju Samson very cleverly held the experienced combo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal back and finished off the fast bowlers in the first half of the bowling innings. Spin was going to play a huge role in this game and Chennai who were going at over 7 runs per over till the 6th over were totally outdone by the leg spin-off spin duo of Rajasthan. The left-handed heavy batting line-up of CSK was thrown to the waters by the specialist left-arm counter specialist Ravichandran Ashwin and the smart leg spinner who throws it wide outside off to lefties Yuzvendra Chahal.

Ashwin’s carrom ball got the better of the free flowing Ajinkya Rahane 2.0, while a beautifully setup arm delivery from the round the wicket angle struck Shivam Dube in-front of the wickets. It looked plumb with the naked eye, but the recap showed the ball missing the stumps, it didn’t matter as Dube didn’t care for the review either. The duo ensured that CSK only scored 48 runs in the next six overs and picked up two wickets in the process when the asking rate was over 10 runs per over. Yuzi was held back and utilized well to dismiss both Rayudu and Conway in a span of five deliveries. The duo just conceded 52 runs and picked four crucial wickets to change the course of the match in a matter of eight overs.

Read More: IPL 2023: RR seem to lose the plot while chasing; experimentation with batting order proving fatal

Ravindra Jadeja's all-round 2-21 & 25* goes in vain (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

Ravindra Jadeja double trouble with both bat and the ball

When the Left-hand right-hand duo of Padikkal and Buttler were flowing as freely as a butterfly. Ravindra Jadeja’s left arm spin proved to be the cactus stinging the butterflies. In the eight over, Jadeja was pivotal in dismissing both Samson and Padikkal to slow things down for Rajasthan when they were going at almost 11 runs per over. Further Jadeja controlled the pace of the innings in his four overs giving just 21 runs away and picking up two important wickets by darting in the famous stump to stump Jadeja’s stock balls to restrict the batters from freeing their arms.

If that wasn’t enough, Jadeja’ punched his weight with the bat in hand too as he and MSD brought back life into the almost dead-run chase. A crucial 59 runs partnership for the eight wicket of which Jadeja scored a quick fire 15 balls 25 runs but wasn’t enough to see CSK through the win line.

Points Table Scenario & What's Next

With this win Rajasthan Royals dethrone LSG from the top of the table with six points and a +1.588 NRR. CSK hang in the middle of the table at fourth with four teams strangled at four points. Punjab Kings will host Gujarat Titan at Mohali on 13th April’23 at 7:3a0 PM.

Read More: IPL 2023, CSK v LSG: CSK secure victory with all-round effort in Chennai

IPL 2023 Points Table

IPL 2023 Points Table

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