Shane Watson’s ton leads CSK to have resounding victory over Rajasthan Royals

Pune, April 21: Chennai Super Kings registered a resounding 64-run win over the Rajasthan Royals at the MCA International Stadium in Pune on Friday. Asked to bat first, CSK piled on 204-5 riding on Watson’s ton, after which their bowlers bundled out the Royals for 140. 

CSK, playing their first match at their adopted home ground, raced to 69 in the first six overs, then added 92 in the middle overs, before adding a below-par 43 in the final five overs to finish at 204 for 5. There were three noteworthy partnerships in the CSK innings including Watson and Ambati Rayudu added 50 in 4.3 overs, Watson and the returning Suresh Raina added 81 in 7.2 overs, and finally, Watson added 42 in the company of Dwayne Bravo.

Faced with an asking rate of 10.25, the Rajasthan Royals never got going in their run-chase. Opener Heinrich Klaasen, who replaced D’Arcy Short in the XI, lost his stumps in the second over, RR’s man-in-form Sanju Samson was dismissed in the third over, and captain Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed in the fifth over.

Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes stitched together a 45-run partnership for the fourth wicket, the biggest in the RR innings. Stokes’ 45 made from 37 balls topped the score for Rajasthan Royals. Rajasthan Royals were folded for 140 in 18.3 overs. Shardul Thakur, Dwayne Bravo and CSK debutant Karn Sharma chipped in with two wickets each.

Brief Scores:

Chennai Super Kings 204-5 (Shane Watson 106, Suresh Raina 46, Shreyas Gopal 3-20).

Rajasthan Royals 140 in 18.3 over (Ben Stokes 45, Deepak Chahar 2-30, Shardul Thakur 2-18, Dwayne Bravo 2-16, Karn Sharma 2-13) by 64 runs.

Man of the Match:

Shane Watson, for his all-round performance (106 & 1-13).