Press Trust of India
Ahmedabad, April 19: A rampaging Rajasthan Royals (RR) thrashed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by eight wickets as openers Shane Watson (73, 47b, 6×4, 4×6) and Ajinkya Rahane (76 n o, 55b, 6×4, 2×6) batted brilliantly to help the team register their fifth consecutive win in a match of IPL-VIII, here Sunday.
Chasing 157 for a win at their adopted home ground at Motera, RR rode on a 144-run record opening stand between skipper Watson and Rahane to canter home in 18.2 overs and hand CSK their first loss in this edition.
After taking stock of the slow-paced wicket in the first six overs, Watson cut loose before the strategic time-out to punish the CSK bowlers at will. In the ninth over off the innings, the second bowled by left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, the Aussie went into an overdrive hitting the bowler for two successive sixes. When Ravi Ashwin came to bowl the next over, Watson also hit him over mid-wicket for a towering sixe. In between, Rahane also helped himself to a four. By virtue of his unbeaten knock, Rahane became the holder of the Orange Cap with 231 runs from five innings.
Watson was finally done in by a yorker from Ravindra Jadeja as the left-arm spinner got a consolation wicket in the 17th over. CSK delayed the inevitable by getting another wicket as Smith (6) gave a simple caught and bowled chance to Dwayne Bravo in the 19th over.
Earlier electing to bat in hot and testing conditions, CSK lost early wickets, but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (31 n o, 37b, 4×4) and Bravo (62 n o, 36b, 8×4, 1×6) stitched an unbeaten 91-run fifth wicket partnership to lift the team to 156 for four in 20 overs. But Dhoni looked very slow in his efforts and mistimed the ball on a number of occasions.
Looking to make full use of the power play in the first six overs, CSK opener Brendon McCullum (12) fell to leg-spinner Pravin Tambe (1/36) after he mistimed a pull to James Faulkner at mid-on. Suresh Raina (4) was the next to go as Chris Morris (1/19) got the left-hander caught behind in the sixth over.
Young left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma (1-26), who opened the bowling for RR, then got Faf du Plessis back in the dug out to reduce CSK to 39 for three. Dwyane Smith looked good but when on 40, James Faulkner deceived him with a slower one to have the batsman castled.
Brief scores: CSK 156 for 4 (Dwyane Bravo 62 n o, Chris Morris 1/19) lost to RR 157 for 2 in 18.2 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 76 n o, Shane Watson 73) by eight wickets.
