Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja shared five wickets between them to dismantle Rajasthan Royals as Chennai Super Kings registered a 45-run victory here at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.
A spirited batting performance by Chennai guided them to a total of 188/9 in their allotted 20 overs. In reply, Rajasthan only managed to post 143/9 despite getting a decent start. Chasing 189, openers Manan Vohra and Buttler provided a 30-run stand for the first wicket before pacer Sam Curran picked the former in the fourth over. Vohra departed after scoring 14 runs.
Skipper Sanju Samson (1) failed to leave his mark on the scoreboard and lost his wicket cheaply in the final over of the powerplay. It was again Curran who took the wicket of Samson and brought Rajasthan under pressure.
Shivam Dube joined Buttler in the middle and the duo stitched a 42-run partnership for the third wicket. In the 12th over, Ravindra Jadeja sent both the batsmen back to the pavilion.
First, he picked well-set Buttler, who played a knock 49 off 35 balls including two sixes and five fours, and then on the last ball of the over he grabbed Dube (17). Dube was caught in front of the wickets. However, the all-rounder reviewed the decision but the on-field umpire’s decision stayed firm.
The trouble did not end for Rajasthan after losing two wickets at quick succession as Moeen Ali bagged new batsman David Miller (2) in the next over.
Fiery Moeen was again brought into the attack. In the 15th over, England all-rounder dismissed Riyan Parag (3) and last-match hero Chris Morris on a duck. CSK totally took the control of the game as they dragged Rajasthan from 87/3 to 95/7 in no time.
Rahul Tewatia kept the fighting spirit alive for Rajasthan but failed to put his side over the line. He played a knock of 20 runs. Jaydev Unadkat too contributed with the bat and scored 24 runs.
For CSK, Moeen returned with the figures of 3-7 from his three overs while Jadeja and Curran bagged two scalps each.
Earlier, Faf du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu scored at a firing rate before Dwayne Bravo’s 20 runs off 8 balls came handy in the death overs as CSK posted 188/9 in their allotted 20 overs.
Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, CSK was right on track for a big score before Chetan Sakariya dismissed both Suresh Raina and Rayudu in his third over.
Sakariya in the 14th over broke CSK’s momentum and came back to dismiss skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Most CSK batsmen got a move on but weren’t able to convert it in a big score. In the final four overs, CSK scored 55 runs despite losing four wickets.
Put in to bat first, CSK got off to a decent start before it was undone by Mustafizur Rahman, who dismissed opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad in the fourth over.
But Faf du Plessis continued his onslaught as he pulled off two back-to-back scoops for boundaries. The South Africa batsman then sliced a six over long-off before smashing another four as he took on Jaydev Unadkat in the fifth over.
Chris Morris ended Du Plessis’ stint before completion of the powerplay to reduce CSK to 45/2. Moeen Ali continued from he left the other night as he whacked the ball right from the word go.
However, Rahul Tewatia dismissed the England all-rounder in the 10th over against run of play as CSK lost the third wicket at the score of 78.
In the 11th and 12th over, CSK got a move on as Suresh Raina and Ambati Ambati Rayudu clubbed 30 off 12 balls. However, Rajasthan Royals again made a comeback as Chetan Sakariya dismissed both the batsmen in the same over to reduce CSK to 125/5.
The next few overs saw CSK scoring a sluggish rate and Dhoni (18) tried to free his arms by smashing two boundaries but wasn’t able to middle the next ball. In end, Sam Curran and Dwayne Bravo’s contribution helped CSK get over the 180-run mark.
Brief Scores: CSK 188/9 (Faf du Plessis 33, Ambati Rayudu 27; Chetan Sakariya 3-36); Rajasthan Royals 143/9 (Jos Buttler 49, Jaydev Unadkat 24; Moeen Ali 3-7, Sam Curran 2-24, Jadeja 2-28).