#IPL continues to thrill fans! CSK, Rajasthan Royals emerges triumphant against their opponents
New Delhi, May 14: In yet another thrilling match in VIVO IPL 2018, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) registered a comprehensive victory over Mumbai Indians (MI) by 7 wickets on Sunday. On the other side, Chennai Super Kings took a step closer to the Playoffs after they defeated the table toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets.
Rajasthan Royals VS Mumbai Indians
Jos Buttler scored his fifth consecutive half-century to power the Rajasthan Royals to a seven-wicket win over the Mumbai Indians. In pursuit of 169 at the Wankhede Stadium, the Royals lost opener D’Arcy Short in the first over, but were put back on track by a 95-run partnership between Buttler and Ajinkya Rahane. After the latter was dismissed, Buttler carried on and completed the job and he finished undefeated on 94. The Royals got home in 18 overs.
In the first part of their chase, the Royals got to 51-1 in the powerplay, added 81-1 in the middle period, and knocked off the remaining runs in the next three overs. The one other notable contribution in the Royals’ chase came from Sanju Samson, whose 13-ball 26 contained two fours and two sixes, and helped hasten the chase.
Earlier in the evening, Suryakumar Yadav and Evin Lewis came out all guns blazing and added 51 runs in the first six overs. The MI opening pair extended their association to 87 runs for before Yadav’s mishit found the fielder at short fine-leg. The hosts lost two in two when Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a first-ball duck, the captain’s pull shot finding Jaydev Unadkat at deep backward square-leg.
Lewis was dismissed a little while later with a loose drive carrying to sweeper cover. The left-hander made 60 from 42 balls, and his innings contained 4 fours and as many sixes. MI slipped briefly, losing three wickets in 3.3 overs, before Hardik Pandya’s cameo helped them past the 150-run mark. Hardik’s 21-ball 36 contained three fours and two sixes.
MI added 82 runs in the middle nine overs and an unsatisfactory 45 runs in the final five overs to eventually finish at 168-6. For the visitors, Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes took two wickets each, while Dhawal Kulkarni and JaydevUnadkat chipped in with a wicket apiece.
CSK VS SRH
CSK defeated the table toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets in Pune. After opting to bowl, the CSK bowlers called the shots early on but lost grip on proceedings once the ball stopped swinging and allowed SRH to get to 179-4. The run-chase turned into a formality after Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu stitched together a 134-run opening partnership. Watson was dismissed in the 14th over, but Rayudu carried on, scored his maiden T20 hundred, and took CSK home. The hosts got home with one full over to spare. With this win, CSK take their tally of points to 16 and are more or less sure of a playoff berth.
In the evening, the CSK bowlers exploited the swing that was available because of the heavy atmospheric conditions and kept the visitors quiet early on. Shikhar Dhawan, and one drop batsman Kane Williamson, batted cautiously and saw through the difficult period, before cutting loose. Both batsmen struck the ball well, helped themselves to half-centuries, and stitched together a 123-run partnership.
Dhawan was the first to reach his half-century; he got to the milestone in 38 balls and carried on to make 79. Williamson struck five boundaries and two sixes in his fifty, getting to the milestone in the sixteenth over. Unfortunately for the Sunrisers, both batsmen were dismissed off consecutive deliveries; Dhawan's cheeky scoop off Dwayne Bravo found Harbhajan Singh at short fine-leg, and Williamson's aerial glide off Shardul Thakur was pouched by Bravo, running to his left from wide third man.
The SRH innings was of three parts; they were 51-1 after 9 overs, added 90 runs in the next seven overs, and further added 38 runs in the last four overs. Shardul Thakur would be the most successful bowler in the match as the CSK pacer returned figures of 2-32.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indians 168-6 (Suryakumar Yadav 38, Evin Lewis 60, Hardik Pandya 36, Jofra Archer 2-16) lost to Rajasthan Royals 171-3 in 18.0 Overs (Jos Buttler 94*, Ajinkya Rahane 37, Sanju Samson 26) by 7 wickets.
Man of the Match:
Jos Buttler, for match-winning 94 not out.
Sunrisers Hyderabad 179-4 (Shikhar Dhawan 79, Kane Williamson 51, Shardul Thakur 2-32) lost to
Chennai Super Kings 180-2 in 19.0 Overs (Shane Watson 67, Ambati Rayudu 100*)by 8 wickets.
Man of the Match:
Ambati Rayudu, for his match-winning 100 not out.