Abu Dhabi: Rajasthan Royals (RR) rode on a splendid bowling show and a magnificent innings by Jos Buttler (70 n o, 48b, 7×4, 2×6) to outclass three-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their IPL game here, Monday.
RR first restricted CSK to a modest 125/5 before Buttler and skipper Steve Smith’s (26 n o) 98-run unbroken fourth wicket partnership took them home. They completed the chase with 2.3 overs to spare.
Chasing only 126, RR had to deal with some early hiccups as wonderful spells from Deepak Chahar (2/18) and Josh Hazlewood (1/19) reduced RR to 28/3 in 4.3 overs. However, Smith and Buttler cautiously approached towards the target before the Englishman raising the ante. Smith played second fiddle to Buttler.
Earlier opting to bat, CSK never got going and lacked the fire power to put up a decent score after being reduced to 56/4 in 10 overs.
Opening the batting again, Sam Curran made 22 off 25 balls before being dismissed by Gopal. Ravindra Jadeja top-scored for CSK with a 30-ball unbeaten 35 and skipper MS Dhoni made a run-a-ball 28 while adding 51 runs for the fifth wicket.
Jofra Archer (1/20) was terrific with the new ball but he would be disappointed with his outing on the field. Besides Archer, the spin duo of Shreyas Gopal (1/14) and Rahul Tewatia (1/18) were economical in the middle overs, while young Kartik Tyagi (1/35) too was impressive.
Brief scores: CSK 125/5 (Ravindra Jadeja 35 n o, MS Dhoni 28; Shreyas Gopal 1/14) lost to RR 126/3 (Jos Buttler 70 n o; Deepak Chahar 2/18) by seven wickets.
