Rajasthan Royals kept their playoff hopes alive as they beat Chennai Super Kings by 4-runs after Jos Buttler's stunning knock of 95* off 60 balls, at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Friday (May 11). After restricted CSK to 176, Buttler single-handedly guided RR home with one ball to spare.
Chennai Super Kings rides on Suresh Raina's 52 off 35 balls and Dhoni's unbeaten 33 off 23 balls to reach 176 after 20 overs.
Buttler strikes again
After putting 176 on a pitch which was on the slower side, CSK found themselves favorites to win this match. However, Buttler had some other idea. He provided RR a flying start despite losing two wickets in powerplay where RR scored 57 runs. He started with back to back three boundaries to David Willey on first 3 balls of the match. He followed this with 2 fours and a six to Harbhajan Singh in next over. RR lost the first wicket on 48 as Ben Stokes was dismissed by Harbhajan Singh after hitting a four and six in previous two balls. However, Ajinkya Rahane's poor form continued in this game as well as he was dismissed by Jadeja after hitting the boundary on the previous ball.
Buttler kept playing his shots and reached to his fourth successive fifty off just 26 balls. He put on a 46-run stand for the third wicket with Sanju Samson before Samson got run out after scoring 21 off 22 balls. However, CSK put pressure in middle overs with tight line and length. RR needed 38 runs in last 3 overs. They collected10 runs in 18th over and left with 28 off 2 overs. Kaeishanppa Gowtham then hit two sixes to Willey in 19th over and collected 16 from that over. With 12 needed in last over, Bravo gave only 4 runs in first three balls before Buttler hit six on 4th balls and changed the equation completely. He then took 2 runs on 5th balls and provided RR a much-needed win. He was awarded Man Of The Match for his stunning knock.
How CSK reached to 176?
CSK decided to bat first after winning the toss. However, they lost Rayudu on 19 in 3rd over. But after that Suresh Raina and Shane Watson didn't give any chance to RR and put on an 86-run stand for the second wicket. Raina was more aggressor in the partnership. In this process, he reached to his fifty off just 32 balls.
However, RR bounced back in this game by picking Watson and Raina in back to back overs. In the end, Dhoni and Billings' partnership worth 55 runs off 40 balls lift CSK to 176. Dhoni remained unbeaten on 33 off 23 balls including a six and four. While Sam Billings scored 27 off 22 balls. Ish Sodhi was the pickup bowler for RR as he conceded only 29 runs and picked 1 wicket in 4 overs.
Have CSK had a chance
Well, on a pitch that offered some help for spinners. Made CSK favorites after halfway mark. They kept in pressure most of the RR batsmen but Buttler made the difference. However, Gowtham's lusty blows also hurt CSK badly but it was Buttler, who took the game away from CSK. Shardul Thakur was the only bowler, who could able to stop Buttler. He gave away 22 runs in 4 overs and picked a wicket of Prashant Chopra. Jadeja was also good with the ball and conceded 28 runs in his 4 overs and dismissed Rahane.
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