Dubai: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Rajasthan Royals by seven runs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium here yesterday.
Defending their total of 140 for 6, Super Kings bowled out the Royals for 133 in 19.5 overs with left arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja picking up 4/33 from his four overs.
Put in to bat, Super Kings kept losing wickets at regular intervals right from the start. It was only opener Dwayne Smith who blazed through the Royals bowling attack with the highest score of the match, hitting 50 off only 28 balls which included six superb boundaries and three sixes.
After West Indian Smith got out it was only Jadeja late down in the order, who scored an unbeaten 36 off 33 deliveries including two boundaries to help his team reach a respectable total.
The Royals’ all-rounder Rajat Bhatia was the pick of the bowlers taking 2/13 from his four overs while James Faulkner, Pravin Tambe and Stuart Binny clinched a wicket each.
In reply, the Shane Watson-led Royals never got off to a start as they lost wickets regularly. The Super Kings’ bowlers also kept the run rate in check, not allowing the 2008 edition champions to score at a fast pace. Amidst, Jadeja’s excellent bowling, medium pacer Mohit Sharma and Ishwar Pandey also got rid of allrounders Binny (8) and Faulkner (4).
The Royals’ batting performance was so poor that the highest score of the innings came from No.10 batsman Dhawal Kulkarni, who remained unbeaten at 28.
Rajat Bhatia (23) and Kulkarni tried to take the fight to the opposition but there efforts weren’t enough as Rajasthan Royals were bowled out for 133 in 19.5 overs. Rajasthan Royals needed 24 balls in the last over and when Kulkarni hit Ashwin for two big sixes, it looked like the match was going the other way. With nine needed off two balls, Pravin Tambe ran himself out failing to respond to batsman Kulkarni’s call for two in time, resulting in a narrow defeat. Man of the match Jadeja was the key for the Chennai-based team during their bowling. AGENCIES
