New Delhi: Chennai Super Kings won the match by 12 runs and reclaimed top-spot in the table. With the win, they have also booked a place in the play-offs. The match witnessed the brilliance of West Indian athlete Dwayne Bravo, who took two stunning catches and and two wickets towards the end after making a quick-fire 15 runs from eight balls. Ravindra Jadeja took four wickets to stifle Rajasthan Royals' run-chase during the middle overs. And Brendon McCullum playeda pivotal innings of 81 runs on top of slow, tricky wicket.
Chennai Super Kings won by 12 runs
Rajasthan Royals innings, target 158
Over 20 || 145/9 (Morris 16; Tambe 1)
Worst possible start to Twenty20 final over from Dwayne Bravo. A six from a over-stepping no-ball. But the West Indies did more than enough to concede another six more runs from the remaining deliveries. In between, he also took the wicket of Ankit Sharma, thanks to a jumping catch by Ashish Nehra at short third man.
WICKET: Ankit Sharma c Ashish Nehra b Dwayne Bravo 0 (1b)
Over 19 || 130/8 (Morris 3; Ankit 0)
A dropped catch from one of the safest pairs of hands around, Brendon McCullum at long-off boundary; a wide, a no ball, a catch. Big over.
Mohit Sharma started with a side, then a single, bofore a no-ball. Off the second legitimate ball, Morris lofted high, but McCullum dropped the sitter. The next delivery, Dwayne Bravo took another great catch to send Faulkner home.
WICKET: James Faulkner c Dwayne Bravo b Mohit Sharma 16 (13b)
It was followed up with the wicket of Rajat Bhatia.
WICKET: Rajat Bhatia c Faf du Plessis b Mohit Sharma 0 (1b)
On the hat-trick ball, Mohit missed the target. Ankit Sharma is the new man. Rajasthan need 27 runs from six balls.
Over 18 || 125/6 (Faulkner 15; Morris 1)
Dwayne Bravo dropped Sanju Samson off the first ball of his third over. A skier, near the non-striker's end, which resulted in a single. Faulkner took another single from the next delivery. Then Samson picked the slower delivery to hit for a six over deep midwicket. The very next delivery, Bravo got his 18th wicket of the season, as Samson's hit over the covers failed to clear the boundary. Dwayne Smith took the catch.
WICKET: Sanju Samson c Dwayne Smith b Dwayne Bravo 26 (17b)
Chris Morris is the new man. And Rajasthan need 33 runs from 12 balls.
Over 17 || 115/5 (Samson 19; Faulkner 13)
Anothe busy over. Ashish Nehra returned to bowl his last over of the day. He conceded eight runs, which included a boundary from the blade of James Faulkner and four singles.
Rajasthan need from 18 balls.
Over 16 || 107/5 (Samson 17; Faulkner 7)
Finally some runs for Rajasthan after Jadeja show in Chennai. After two singles off Dwayne Bravo's first two balls of the over, Samson hit a six over deep midwicket boundary. A single to Samson then Faulkner hit his first four. 14 runs from it.
Rajasthan need 51 runs from 24 balls.
Over 15 || 93/5 (Samson 9; Faulkner 1)
Ravindra Jadeja is having a dream spell. Into his fourth over and got the wicket of Deepak Hooda off the first ball. It's his fourth scalp of the day. The moment Hooda lofted the ball, he knew it was a wicket, with Suresh Raina waiting at long-on.
WICKET: Deepak Hooda c Suresh Raina b Ravindra Jadeja 15 (14b)
James Faulkner is the new man.
With that Jadeja has completed his spell, for a figure of 4-0-11-4. Match winning stuff.
Over 14 || 90/4 (Hooda 15; Samson 7)
Dwayne Bravo, who has already taken 17 wickets this season and is among the leading wicket-takers, got his first over. Four singles from the first four deliveries, then a dot ball to Hooda. excellent bowling from the West Indian as the crowd spelled out his name from the stands loud. The over ended with a gentle glance by Hooda. Five runs from it.
Time-Out
Over 13 || 85/4 (Hooda 12; Samson 5)
A good over fotr Rajasthan. 10 runs from Negi's last over with Samson punishing slow left arm bowler. Hooda took a double, then a single before giving strike the Samson. Samson hit the third ball of the over for a four, behind the point. A wide followed. With two singles, it the over yielded 10 runs.
Rajasthan need 73 runs from 42 balls.
Over 12 || 75/4 (Hooda 8; Samson 0)
Ravindra Jadeja is on a roll. Got his third wicket of the match. Bowling his third over on the trot, he removed dangerous Karun Nair with a simple looking delivery, which took an unexpected kick depriving Nair of control. Ravichandran Ashwin took an easy catch at short fine leg.
WICKET: Karun Nair c Ravichandran Ashwin b Ravindra Jadeja 10 (12b)
Sanju Samson is the new man.
Over 11 || 71/3 (Nair 9; Hooda 7)
Deepak Hooda got into action. he hit Pawan Negi for a four off the last ball of the 11th over. Earlier in the over, a double and two singles have already taken. Rajasthan need 87 more runs from 54 balls.
Over 10 || 63/3 (Nair 6; Hooda 0)
Dwayne Bravo stopped the time for few moments, hanging mid-air, to take a brilliant catch at long-on. Shane Watson perished to a sensational catch. After running hard for few singles, Watson lofted Jadeja for a certain six, but the West Indian super-athlete reduced the Australian's effort to dust.
WICKET: Shane Watson c Dwayne Bravo b Ravindra Jadeja 28 (30b)
Deepak Hooda joined Negi in the centre.
Time-Out
Over 9 || 59/2 (Watson 26; Nair 6)
After losing two quick wickets, Rajasthan batsmen helped themselves with a good over. Pawan Negi continued for his second over and leaked 10 runs, which included two fours - one each to Nair and Watson.
Rajasthan need 99 more runs from 11 over at 9 an over rate.
Over 8 || 49/2 (Watson 20; Nair 1)
With that arrived Ravindra Jadeja, one of the many slow bowlers at MS Dhoni's disposal. And what an introduction! Steven Smith returned disappointed after his leg stump was clipped by a straighter from the left-arm spinner. The Aussie, with all his talent, once again doomed to his uncertain stance. Dhoni was extra jubilant asking the referee for the third opinion.
WICKET: Steven Smith b Ravindra Jadeja 4 (6b)
Karun Nair joined Watson as Rajasthan's work just got uglier with the fall of their skipper. Two runs for a wicket. Jadeja should be happy.
Over 7 || 47/1 (Watson 20; Smith 4)
MS Dhoni finally brought in a slow bowler into the attack. Pawan Negi, who failed with the bat in their innings, started with a brilliant first over, conceding seven runs - five singles and a double. Watson and Smith are happy rotating the strike, but the asking rate has already crept over eight an over.
111 runs more to win for Rajasthan from 13 overs.
Over 6 || 40/1 (Watson 17; Smith 0)
A mistimed shot cut-short Ajinkya Rahane's outing. Good delivery from Mohit Sharma though. Bowling his third over on the trot, Mohit produced a short length delivery tempting Rahane to play a pull shot. Dwayne Bravo took a good catch at deep-midwicket.
WICKET: Ajinkya Rahane c Dwayne Bravo b Mohit Sharma 23 (17b)
Two skippers for Rajasthan in the centre as Steven Smith joined his Aussie compatriot Shane Watson. The over yielded eight runs.
Earlier in the over, Rahane and Watson had taken a three and a double.
Over 5 || 32/0 (Rahane 21; Watson 11)
Ashish Nehra started his third over on the trot with a dot ball, the a lenght delivery followed which stayed low, forcing Watson to play from the back-foot for a single. Then, Rahane played an exquisite drive through the mid-on area for his fourth boundary. Rahane rotated the strike sensibly. Off the fifth delivery, Watson got enough bat on the shot to get his first boundary of the match, cut through the backward point. With a single, the over yielded 11 runs.
Over 4 || 21/0 (Rahane 16; Watson 5)
MS Dhoni persisted with Mohit Sharma. Shane Watson took a single off the first ball, then Ajinkya Rahane hit his third boundary, with Dwayne Bravo unable to stop the ball at square leg boundary. Two singles followd, and a double to make it a nine-run over.
Rajasthan need 137 more runs from 96 balls.
Over 3 || 12/0 (Rahane 9; Watson 3)
Ajinkya Rahane stood tall and delivered a telling blow to Ashish Nehra. After a dot ball, the right-handed batsman lofted Nehra for a four over mid-on and bounce once to hit the advertising board. After a brief stoppage, with umpires replacing the ball, Rahane took a single. Then, a circumspect Watson eat up the remaining balls for a single.
Over 2 || 6/0 (Rahane 4; Watson 2)
Mohit Sharma topped up Nehra's first over with a tidy spell. After five dot balls, Watson played a pull shot for a double. Chennai Super Kings will need more of such overs to defend the score and confirm their play-off spot.
Rajasthan need 152 runs from 18 overs.
Over 1 || 4/0 (Rahane 4; Watson 0)
Good start from Chennai in defense of 157 runs. Ashish Nehra kept Ajinkya Rahane honest for the first four deliveries of the innings, before missing his line. It allowed Rahane to free his arms, and got the first runs - a four - over the cover.
Rajasthan need another 154 runs from 19 overs.
Chennai Super Kings innings
Over 20 || 157/5 (Dhoni 13; Bravo 15)
Dwayne Bravo started the over with a four over cover-point off an intended yorker from Chris Morris. But the 28-year-old from Pretoria responded strongly giving away four singles from the remaining deliveries. Eight runs from the final over.
Over 19 || 149/5 (Dhoni 11; Bravo 9)
Dwayne Bravo did just about enough to make contact a widish delivery from James Faulkner, which went for a four through the backward point. It was followed by a couple, then a single, bringing MS Dhoni into the strike. Then, the skipper hit Faulkner produced a monster hit over the mid-wicket boundary, deep inside the sitting rows. After a dot ball, Dhoni reached out to hit a four over the cover fielder. 17 runs from Faulkner's last over.
Over 18 || 132/5 (Dhoni 1; Bravo 2)
Double wicket for Morris. Finally, Brendon McCullum got out. In a bid to increase the scoring rate, he tried to hook Chris Morris off the second ball of the 18th over, but could only manage to clear the inner circle. Ankit Sharma covered some distance from long on to take a diving catch.
WICKET: Brendon McCullum c Ankit Sharma b Chris Morris 81 (61b)
Morris followed it with another wicket, getting rid of Pawan Negi. Steve Smith took the catch at cover.
WICKET: Pawan Negi c Steve Smith b Chris Morris 2 (3b)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo are the new batsmen.
Over 17 || 128/3 (McCullum 81; Negi 1)
Shane Watson returned for second over and started with a wide. Then, from the re-bowl McCullum tried a scoop, but failed to connect. In the next delivery, he tried to steal a single, but ended up losing his partner at non-striker's end. Good throw from Watson to hit the middle stump.
WICKET: Faf du Plessis run out 29 (25b)
New man for Chennai is pawan Negi, the only uncapped player in their ranks. McCullum still maanage to milk 13 runs from the over despite the fall of a wicket with a four and six.
Over 16 || 115/2 (McCullum 70; du Plessis 29)
The slow pitch is taking a toll on McCullum's stroke making. James Faulkner, in his third over, troubled McCullum with slower deliveries. Clearly, McCullum failed hit with the balls either stopping at him or refusing the travel off his bat. But he did tried all his shots.
Seven runs from the over, thanks to three singles and a couple of couple. And a 100-run partnership for Chennai from 74 balls.
Over 15 || 108/2 (McCullum 64; du Plessis 28)
Ankit Sharma completed his quota of four overs. Unlucky for him that the over leaked more than ten runs. He started with a dot ball to du Plessis, followed by a single. But off the third delivery, five wides spoiled the good work.
Chennai added a single to total from the next delivery, before du Plessis pulled for a four. 11 runs from it.
Over 14 || 97/2 (McCullum 64; du Plessis 23)
The break served its purpose for Chennai. McCullum launched the first ball from Rajat Bhatia's third over over the mid-on. It landed just inside the rope. A quick single followed. Then, du Plessis took another single. McCullum fended off the fourth ball, then hit his second six of the innings, lofting Bhatia over the mid-wicket boundary. He then took a double to make it a 14-run over.
Time-Out
Over 13 || 83/2 (McCullum 50; du Plessis 22)
A patient, uncharacteristic fifty from Brendon McCullum. He took 44 balls to reach the mini-milestone. Praveen Tambe returned for his third over and conceded nine runs on this slow pitch. McCullum took a single off the first ball, then du Plessis took a double. After two singles, du Plessis pulled the last ball of the over for his second boundary of the match. Nine runs from the over.
Over 12 || 74/2 (McCullum 48; du Plessis 15)
Should have been a good over for the fielding side, but with McCullum on, it ended with nine runs. James Faulkner started with three dot balls, then McCullum came down the pitch to dispatch the fourth ball through the covers. Then the Kiwi scooped over the wicket-keeper's head for back-to-back four. Faulkner, however, finished with a single to stop the flurry.
Over 11 || 65/2 (McCullum 40; du Plessis 15)
Fifty-run partnership for Brendon McCullum and Faf du Plessis from 44 balls. Rajat Bhatia conceded five runs from his second over, all singles.
Over 10 || 60/2 (McCullum 37; du Plessis 13)
Brendon McCullum is not the waiting type. His innings today certainly looked a patient controlled one, but every now and then, the Kiwi batsman is taking on the bowlers. This time he used the depth of the crease to pull Ankit Sharma for a sumptuous four through the square leg area. After a single, du Plessis peddle-swept for three runs. Ten runs from Ankit's third over.
Over 9 || 50/2 (McCullum 31; du Plessis 9)
Old fox Praveen Tambe returned for his second over. After that 13-run first over, the 43-year-old did well to leak only two runs from the over. McCullum took a single off the first ball, then du Plessis followed with another single. But Tambe fixated McCullum to play four dots, which included a LBW appeal off the last ball.
Time for first Time-Out
Over 8 || 48/2 (McCullum 30; du Plessis 8)
Rajat Bhatia got his first over. Started with a single, to McCullum who played with deft hands towards long-on. Another single to du Plessis, then two dot balls later, McCullum tried an improverished shot, lofting over the wicket-keeper's head for a couple. Dangerously close behind the stumps, standing up. Only five runs from the over.
In between, Brendon McCullum also reached his 2000 IPL runs.
Over 6 || 43/2 (McCullum 26; du Plessis 7)
Steve Smith introduced James Faulkner into the attack. Tidy spell from the Australian left-arm bowler. And also some good ground fielding from his team-mates, specially Ajinkya Rahane at backward point. There were couple of half chances for the fielding team with both McCullum and du Plessis eager to play lofted shots. However,highlight of the over was McCullum's four through the slip. Seven runs from the over.
Over 6 || 36/2 (McCullum 20; du Plessis 6)
Brendon McCullum picked just about right to send Praveen Tambe for a six over the mid-on boundary. The leg spinner recieved another blow, four deliveries later, with McCullum once again hoisting for a six over the long-on boundary. With a single off the last ball, McCullum took 13 runs from Tambe's first over.
Over 5 || 23/2 (McCullum 7; du Plessis 6)
An evenful over from Ankit Sharma. Faf du Plessis fended off the first delivery, then hit played a square cut for his first boundary. Then, a flying Steve Smith missed a half-chance at cover, which resulted in a single to du Plesis. McCullum played the remaining three balls for a single. Six runs from the over.
Over 4 || 17/2 (McCullum 6; du Plessis 1)
Another wicket. Brilliant start from Rajasthan Royals. Suresh Raina departed trying to be adventurous. Chris Morris bowled three dot balls and the pressure was telling. Raina, IPL's all-time leading run-scorer, tried to drive a shortish delivery, but failed to control his shot. James Faulkner took his second catch of the match, at the same position.
WICKET: Suresh Raina c James Faulkner b Chris Morris 3 (6b)
Faf du Plessis joined McCullum in the centre.
Over 3 || 15/1(McCullum 5; Raina 3)
Steve Smith introduced Ankit Sharma and the spinner responded with the prized wicket of Dwayne Smith. Brendon McCullum took three balls to take a single. Then, Smith tried a sweep off the fourth ball of the over, but ended up offering a half chance at mid-on, where James Faulkner took a diving catch.
WICKET: Dwayne Smith c James Faulkner b Ankit Sharma 6 (10b)
Suresh Raina is the new man. He took started with a double, then a single to make it a four-run over.
Over 2 || 11/0 (Smith 6; McCullum 5)
Shane Watson shared the new ball and soon he was taken for a boundary, off the very first ball, by Smith through the cover. Then after a dot ball, Smith a took a quick single to give McCullum the strike. The Kiwi skipper played a defensive shot from the back-foot. It was followed by a quick single. The over finished with a dot ball.
Over 1 || 5/0 (Smith 1; McCullum 4)
Chris Morris started with a good, short of length delivery, and it hit Dwayne Smith at the ribs. Three dot balls followed, before the West Indian played a late cut through the third man cordon for the first run, a single, of the match. Then, Brendon McCullum without wasting any time came down the pitch and lofted straight over the bowler for a four. Five runs from the over.
After the run-feast at Mumbai, Chennai's opening pair of Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum would like to do provide a solid foundation.
TOSS: Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first against Rajasthan Royals in Chennai. Steven Smith will lead the Royals today despite the presence of their regular skipper Shane Watson.
Playing XIs
Chennai Super Kings: Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt., wk), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Pawan Negi, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohit Sharma, Ashish Nehra
Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane, Shane Watson, Steven Smith (capt.), Karun Nair, Deepak Hooda, James Faulkner, Ssanju Samson (wk), Chris Morris, Pravin Tambe, Ankit Sharma, Rajata Bhatia
Preview
In a top of the table clash, Chennai Super Kings will look to avenge their first leg loss against Rajasthan Royals when the two former champions clash in a high-octane cricket match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Also read: Points table
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's started their 2015 campaign with three back-to-back wins before running into Rajasthan Royals at Ahmedabad. A defeat to Steve Smith's Royals early in April created ripples in the league. But the most successful IPL team notched up four more wins on the trot, before losing to Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Now they are on course for yet another play-offs with seven wins from 11 outings.
Also read: Fixtures
Rajasthan too were on a roll from the start as they registered five straight victories, before losing to Kings XI Punjab in a Super Over in April. They lost to Royals Challengers Bangalore next and then could just helplessly watch as two of their matches against KKR and RCB got abandoned because of weather. Then, they registered win against Delhi Daredevils before losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad. With six wins in 12 matches, Rajasthan are well placed to book a play-offs spot.
Teams (from):
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (C), Ravichandran Ashwin, Samuel Badree, Ankush Bains, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Matt Henry, Michael Hussey, Ravindra Jadeja, Brendon McCullum, Mithun Manhas, Ronit More, Pawan Negi, Ashish Nehra, Ishwar Pandey, Irfan Pathan, Pratyush Singh, Suresh Raina, Mohit Sharma, Rahul Sharma, Dwayne Smith, Andrew Tye, Eklavya Dwivedi, Kyle Abbott, Baba Aparajith.
Rajasthan Royals: Shane Watson (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Steve Smith, James Faulkner, Deepak Hooda, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Dhawal Kulkarni, Tim Southee, Stuart Binny, Chris Morris, Pravin Tambe, Abhishek Nayar, Pardeep Sahu, Rusty Theron, Dinesh Salunkhe, Vikramjit Malik, Rahul Tewatia, Rajat Bhatia, Sagar Trivedi, Dishant Yagnik and Ankit Sharma.
Also read: Full coverage
Match officials
Umpires - M Erasmus (RSA) and CK Nandan (IND)
TV umpire - CB Gaffaney (NZ)
Match referee - RR Jadeja (IND)
Reserve umpire - Nitin Menon (IND)
