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Live report - Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals - Simarjeet leads CSK's win
By Sidharth MongaCSK win with 10 balls to spare
Disappointment for the home crowd as they don't get to watch MS Dhoni bat in what could be his last match at home. Having said that, this win has given CSK a decent chance of making it back to Chennai this year itself as the last two playoffs will be played in Chennai. Gaikwad has played the anchor in the chase, and the three cameos from Ravindra, Mitchell and Dube were enough to see them through. We leave you with a teaser from our match report, and also gratitude for joining us.
Chennai Super Kings signed off at home with a win, also giving themselves a decent chance of coming back home where the last two playoffs will be played. Despite losing their 11th toss out of 13, asked to field in the afternoon heat merely 40 hours after finishing their last match in Ahmedabad, the CSK bowlers used the slow pitch expertly to keep Rajasthan Royals down to 141, a target they chased down with relative ease. The slow pitch was right up the home bowlers’ alley, who kept the powerplay quiet after which Simarjeet Singh kept getting wickets every time RR tried to push back. RR never really succeeded in mounting an attack, something CSK’s New Zealand batters, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell, successfully did to put their chase on course with a Shivam Dube cameo sealing it. The win took CSK up to 14 points from 13 matches, level with Sunrisers Hyderabad who have a game in hand, but two clear of the nearest challengers outside the top four. RR suffered their third straight defeat, which will be a cause for concern for them going into the playoffs especially with Jos Buttler not expected to be available for the final week.
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Jadeja out obstructing the field
Time for debates. Ravindra Jadeja is out obstructing the field. So the keeper Sanju Samson is trying to hit the non-striker's end as Gaikwad has sent Jadeja back, but all he manages is to hit Jadeja. The third umpire has ruled that Jadeja has seen where the ball is when turning around and has run in the line between Samson and the stumps. He has ruled Jadeja has done that "wilfully", which is the critical part of the law. Samson hasn't got a sighter of the wicket at the non-striker's. Given out. CSK need 21 off 25. Gaikwad still there on 33 off 34.
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Has Dube broken open the chase?
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It was all set up for a mouthwatering contest. Thirty-nine balls without a boundary, a couple of wickets in them, and now Ashwin to bowl his last over. On strike was Dube with the asking rate just starting to bother CSK. Then came out a big six over long-on and two boundaries either side of deep cover. However, Ashwin had his own back on the last ball, getting Dube caught at long-on, but has Dube already turned it CSK's way? It is less than a run a ball for the last six overs.
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Moeen goes but CSK still ahead
Moeen Ali has not got going at all, and with spin slowing CSK down, Moeen tries a big hit off Nadre Burger only to be caught at deep cover. He is gone for 10 off 13, the partnership is just 19 in four overs. However, you'd still back them to chase 56 off 49.
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Chahal gets Mitchell
Yuzvendra Chahal has struck in his first over after an indifferent patch in the last few games. He has taken out Daryl Mitchell lbw for 22 off 13. A big wicket because it was Mitchell was was scoring quickly, but like Ravindra he might have done just enough to put CSK on their way. They are 67 for 2 in 7.5 with Ruturaj Gaikwad looking to bat through the chase.
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CSK on their way
56 Number of runs CSK have scored in the powerplay, their fourth-highest powerplay score this IPL. RR bowlers have possibly erred by looking for swing and offering a few balls too full, and CSK have cashed in.
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Ashwin gets Ravindra
Brought on in the fourth over, R Ashwin has got Rachin Ravindra out. Ravindra tries the big slog sweep, and gets a top edge. However, he has given CSK a quick start. CSK 32 for 1 in 3.3 overs.
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CSK off and running
16 CSK's second-highest score in the first two overs this IPL. Usually their openers have tended to watch out the first two but Rachin Ravindra is looking for boundaries here. He has hit a sumptuous flicked six off Sandeep Sharma
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Nandre Burger is Impact Player
Rajasthan Royals are thinking pace and hard lengths rather than the extra spinner in Keshav Maharaj. So Nandre Burger comes in. And Trent Boult opens the innings to Rachin Ravindra. This is Boult's 100th IPL match, and he has to go wicketless in the first over. CSK 4 for 0.
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How difficult was the pitch?
30 Number of aggressive shots played by RR, which is the sixth-lowest in non-all-out innings when setting totals this IPL. That firstly tells you RR decided this was not a pitch risking big hits on as seen when they lost two wickets in the final over when they tried to force the issue. Moreover, they got only 14.6 per over off their aggressive shots, which shows how difficult it was to hit.
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RR kept to 141 for 5
That's 23 fewer than the lowest total defended successfully this IPL. Just seven fours and six sixes there. It was a slow pitch, and the CSk bowlers were superb in using the surface to their advantage. Tushar Deshpande and Maheesh Theekshana were excellent with the new ball, Simarjeet Singh got Yashasvi Jaiswal in his first over, letting Ravindra Jadeja bowl through against two right-hand batters, and then the quicks closed out well. Riyan Parag has ekpt RR in the fight with his unbeaten 47 off 35. RR will likely bring in Keshav Maharaj as the Impact Player. Let's see if they can defend it.
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Simar 4-0-26-3
Great comeback from Simarjeet Singh after travelling for a few the last match. He has just hit the hard lengths today with changes of pace. His four wides - all on height - show that he has erred on the short side if he has. Three big wickets have come around, reducing RR to 113 for 3 in 17 overs. Now Tushar Deshpande has two left, and Shardul Thakur one.
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Simar gets three
After playing out the spinners, RR are banking on getting stuck into the last six overs of pace, an extended death stage if you will, but they have been set back in the first over itself. Sanju Samson gets a pace-on ball but ends up drilling it straight down mid-off's throat. He is gone for 15 off 19. No boundary for him. It's 91 for 3 in 14.2.
Dhruv Jurel comes in, but now the question arises: do they get Rovman Powell in to get some late runs or do they hold out and get an extra spinner in on a slow pitch?
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Jadeja 4-0-24-0
Just one boundary off Ravindra Jadeja who has bowled through from overs 8 to 14. And when Jadeja bowls his allotment, CSK are great odds to win because he only bowls out when the conditions ande match-up are suitable, which means he has done well, and which means CSK are ahead.
Maheesh Theekshana, too, has bowled out for 28 despite bowling three overs in the powerplay. It's 89 for 2 in 14 overs. W
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RR rebuild
More than rebuild actually, RR seem to have decided there is no point over-aiming on this pitch. Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag have added 19 off 17 with only one boundary attempt, a six off a slower ball off Simarjeet.
And then Parag tries a reverse-sweep with deep point in place, another odd choice of shot. Maheesh Theekshana has dropped him, though. It's 69 for 2 in 11.1.
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Simar gets both openers
Hey it's Jos Buttler, and who am I, but he hasn't played the smartest shot here. Firstly there is a deep fine leg in place. Secondly this is a slow pitch. But he has ramped, and found that deep fine leg. Reminds me of Rahul Dravid playing that shot in the 2009 IPL final with deep fine leg in place, the turning point handing the win to Deccan Chargers. RR 49 for 2 in 8.1 overs.
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Simar gets Jaiswal
His job is to hit hard lengths, which he did superbly in his first match of this year, but Simarjeet Singh lost his areas in the last match and was taken apart. He is back to hitting those uncomfortable areas for batters, and Yashasvi Jaiswal is out trying to take him on. The ball gets big on him, and he ends up skying it.
Also interesting that Ravindra Jadeja hasn't got the seventh over. Probably because of the left-hand batter. Now that Simar has done the job of getting the left-hand batter out, Jadeja can come in and do his job. It's 44 for 1 in 6.2.
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Old school
42 Number of runs RR have scored in the powerplay, the lowest wicketless powerplay this IPL. The previous lowest, 43, also belongs to RR, but then they were chasing just 148 against PBKS. This is slightly old-school Chennai match. It seems RR's assessment is a slow pitch that will only get slower.
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Quiet start for RR
Just seven runs from the first two overs, bowled by Tushar Deshpande and Maheesh Theekshana. These two happen to be the two slowest teams in the first two overs this year. CSK go at under a run a ball, RR only slightly above. They trust their openers to suss out the pitch in the first two overs, and then go accordingly.
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Powell out
So the one big change in the RR line-up is that Rovman Powell is not in the starting XI. What does that mean? He has not finished off two chases recently. Does that have anything to do with this? He is still not completely out. He could be substituted in should RR lose wickets and need an extra batter, but if they don't need him they could bring in Nandre Burger or Keshav Maharaj.
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CSK lose another toss, RR bat first
Ruturaj Gaikwad has lost another toss, his 11th of this IPL. Sanju Samson has decided to bat first, which means CSK are in the field less than 40 hours after finishing their last match. They also travelled from Ahmedabad to Chennai during those 40 hours. Also they will be on the field in this intense heat.
Dhruv Jurel is fit, and is back.
Gaikwad says the toss is much less of a factor in day games so he was under less pressure to win the toss. However, he does feel bowling is the harder task during this heat before it cools down slightly during the second innings. Gaikwad confirms he and Rachin Ravindra will open, and Daryl Mitchell will bat at 3. That could be the end of the road for Ajinkya Rahane this year then although we will await confirmation. Maheesh Theekshana has replaced Mitchell Santner. So a mystery spinner replaces a left-arm spinner, a bowling variety that can be ineffective against left-right pairs.
Rajasthan Royals YBK Jaiswal, JC Buttler, SV Samson*†, R Parag, SB Dubey, DC Jurel, R Ashwin, TA Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, YS Chahal
Substitutes Rovman Powell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Nandre Burger, Tanish Kotian, Keshav Maharaj
Chennai Super Kings RD Gaikwad*, R Ravindra, DJ Mitchell, MM Ali, S Dube, RA Jadeja, MS Dhoni†, SN Thakur, TU Deshpande, Simarjeet Singh, M Theekshana
Substitutes Ajinkya Rahane, Sameer Rizvi, Prashanth Solanki, Ajay Mondal, Mukesh Choudhary
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The scenarios
So what do teams need to do to make it to the playoffs? Read it here
Chennai Super Kings: Four losses in their last six games have left CSK with plenty to do to ensure a place in the top four. However, wins in their two remaining games will almost certainly ensure qualification, since their net run rate is still a healthy 0.491 despite their 35-run loss to Gujarat Titans. That's a substantial cushion over Delhi Capitals' -0.316, who could also reach 16 if they win their last two. Super Kings will have to contend with a quick turnaround though, as they face Rajasthan Royals next in a day game on Sunday at home, after playing in Ahmedabad on Friday. If they lose that, they could be knocked out as RR, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad and one of Delhi Capitals or Lucknow Super Giants can all finish on 16 or more points. If they do finish on 14, their best bet will be SRH and DC losing their remaining games and LSG losing to Mumbai Indians to stay on 14. Then, their superior net run rate will ensure CSK finish third, ahead of the two other teams on 14.
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What could it be?
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CSK look to get back on course
It's match 61. Serious business from a hot afternoon of Chennai. The geography their opponents represent is no stranger to heat either, the dry kind. Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals. CSK are hanging on to No. 4 but they can ill-afford a lose. RR are almost certain of qualification but they want to formalise that arrangement. Not only that they want to ensure they end up in the top two. So here we go.
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