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Jadeja went onto pick his 100th IPL wicket. © BCCI
CSK seal thriller
Stokes might have bowled a top notch yorker to get rid of Dhoni but he has also bowled a no-ball and a wide in this final over and needing three from the final ball, Santner sends one over his head to seal a thrilling win for CSK. Wow, what a game! What drama!
Controversy
Oh boy, this IPL just isn't short on controversies. Stokes bowls a full toss in the final over with three balls left in the chase and the umpire gives it a no-ball for height. But the square leg umpire says it isn't a no ball. So the decision is overturned and Dhoni is absolutely furious. He has infact entered the field here and is seen shouting at the umpire. Wow, I'm not sure if he is supposed to enter the field like that. Eventually, the no ball isn't given and CSK need six from the final two balls.
Peach
Top yorker from Stokes and Dhoni is gone. His stumps are rattled and CSK's hopes are dented. Santner has to get a boundary to keep his side in the hunt.
Dhoni struggling
He is not getting those boundaries but is fetching those twos against Archer. As a result, he is struggling and is down. He is getting some attention from the physio. CSK need 22 from 7 balls. Increasingly difficult this is.
Massive wicket
Stokes gets the breakthrough!! The pressure gets to Rayudu. He looks to tonk it over deep midwicket but he doesn't get the required connection. Shreyas Gopal runs sideways and judges the catch to perfection. That was a top top take by the legspinner. He is contributing everywhere. CSK are under the pump. They need 30 from the final two overs. Looks tough.
Two top overs
Shreyas Gopal was excellent varying his pace and then Jofra Archer followed it up with a top over on his own bowling at full tilt. And suddenly, the pendulum has swung again. CSK need 39 runs from the final three overs. Archer still has one left so the damage has to be done now in this over.
50 for Ambati
Timely knock! Ambati has looked really good tonight. He needed this badly. Rayudu has been timing the ball well and has looked increasingly confident. CSK need 51 from the final five overs. They have the momentum on their side and are certainly the favourites. RR need a wicket here to storm back.
Here's the catch
Dhoni, Rayudu resurrect chase
This is a massive game for Rayudu in his bid to retain his spot in the ODI side for the World Cup and he is delivering the goods here. At the other end, Dhoni looks pumped up. He has already smashed two sixes and these two have added more than 50 for the fifth wicket. CSK are not out by any means. They need 65 from 38 balls now.
Update - 50/4 after 10 overs
Dhoni goes for the big one and gets it to perfection. CSK are 50/4 after ten overs. They now need 102 from the final ten overs. This is going to be a huge task considering they already lost 4 wickets but as long as MS is out there, CSK will feel confident.
Fan suggests
What a catch!!
Catch of the tournament? Definitely a candidate!! You got to see this. Jadhav sees width against the pacy Archer and cuts it but Stokes at point dives to his left and takes the catch two-handed. That was a stunner and very similar to a top goalkeeping save in football. CSK are in big trouble losing four wickets now in the powerplay.
Faf falls
This is a top top start from RR here. Unadkat strikes again as Faf pulls and finds the only man stationed in the deep. CSK are 15/3 here after four overs and this is trouble. They need a partnership here.
Poor from Raina
He glances one down the leg straight to the fine leg fielder and sets off for a run. He is quite casual here and doesn't expect the fielder to aim at the non-striker's end. But Jofra Archer does exactly that and he gets the direct hit spot on as well. Raina is caught short and CSK are in trouble early here. 5/2 and Rayudu walks out.
Peach
Watson is gone already!! He hasn't been in good form and you don't to receive such a delivery when you are not in form. Kulkarni has the knack of swinging the new ball and after bowling three dots, he bowls one on good length and that straightens after pitching to hit the stumps. Top delivery! It's a maiden to start proceedings.
RR post 151
A pretty good finish in the end. At one stage, it appeared as if Royals would post a score only around 135 but Shreyas Gopal's little cameo at the death where he made 19 off just 7 balls helped his side post 151 on the board. Not a match-winning score but at least they have something to play with now. Early wickets are going to be the key else Watson and du Plessis will inflict a lot of damage.
Top delivery
Stokes was scratchy until now and he isn't going to fire tonight. Chahar comes for his final over and bowls a knuckle ball. Stokes misses it and the stumps are rattled. RR lose number seven.
Shardul strikes again
Riyan Parag is the next to depart. A cross-seam delivery at a back of a length bowled short and wide has been edged behind to the keeper. RR lose number six. Archer joins Stokes out in the middle. Can RR get 150?
100 for Jaddu
He signals 100 after picking up Steve Smith. RR have completely lost their way. Smith looks to sweep Jadeja and doesn't get the connection. Rayudu takes the catch at deep midwicket. With that, Jadeja becomes the first left-arm spinner to take 100 IPL wickets and the 13th overall. This is a shocking display by the Royals tonight. Half of the side is back in the pavilion already.
Jinxed?
Well, Tripathi is certainly not going to make the most of the reprieve he received in the previous over. I'm not sure what these RR batsmen are trying to do. Wickets are falling but they aren't showing enough character to stitch a partnership out there. Tripathi plays a loose drive and gets only a leading edge. Kedar Jadhav at backward point jumps and attempts a catch one-handed. Even though he couldn't take the catch, he manages to bring the ball down and then complete a comfortable catch. RR are 69/4.
Dropped
Now, that's not something you often see. Tripathi edges Santner behind but Dhoni fails to grab the chance. Can he make the most out of this reprieve?
Silly shot
What are these RR batsmen doing? Are they eyeing 75 runs in the powerplay? Smith was trying to hit every ball for a boundary in the fifth over and now Samson is attempting the same. Santner is back into the attack and Samson perishes while attempting a sweep when there is a fielder at the deep. Samson doesn't time it too well and it's pretty much a top edge. The fielder Dhruv Shorey runs in from the deep and almost messes the chance. He keeps juggling the ball and finally grabs the chance. RR in real trouble here despite a very good run rate. Tripathi joins Smith.
One shot too many
That was needless from Buttler. He plays a silly shot to gift his wicket away. Shardul Thakur was introduced into the attack by Dhoni and the Englishman welcomed him with a hat-trick of fours. And then, he looked to hammer the fourth ball of the over for a boundary as well but he miscues this completely to get caught. RR have made 48 in the first four overs but they have also lost two wickets in the process. Contrasting indeed. Smith joins Rahane out in the middle and these two need to build a partnership.
Rahane falls early
Top top review from CSK. Deepak Chahar convinced Dhoni to challenge the umpire's decision and the CSK skipper obliged reluctantly. In the end, it proved to be a great call. Rahane made a great start to the innings fetching a few boundaries but he shuffles across and misses a ball completely to get hit on the pad. The umpire says not out but on review, it's confirmed that the ball would have hit leg stump. Sanju Samson comes in and pulls his first ball for a boundary. Cracking start to the game.
They pick according to conditions
Toss - CSK opt to bowl
There are playing on a new wicket so no wonder CSK opt to bowl. They have made two changes to their side. Harbhajan Singh and Scott Kuggeleijn have been left out for Shardul Thakur and Mitchell Santner. But the big news is that Rajasthan Royals will be welcoming back Sanju Samson. They have also included Riyan Parag in the side at the expense of K Gowtham. Parag is the third youngest player to debut in the IPL. Jaydev Unadkat returns as well and he replaces Prashant Chopra.
Teams:
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w/c), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane(c), Jos Buttler(w), Steven Smith, Sanju Samson, Rahul Tripathi, Ben Stokes, Riyan Parag, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni
The previous encounter
CSK picked up a tight eight-run win over RR the last time these two sides met which was just 12 days ago at the Chepauk. Initially in trouble, CSK were aided by a whirlwind knock from MS Dhoni that helped them post 175 on the board. From 14/3, RR did put up a commendable fight in the chase but CSK had it all wrapped up in the end.
Build up
Six teams are certainly on the right track in their quest for a playoff spot. Rajasthan Royals are certainly not among them. While Royal Challengers Bangalore have failed to open their account, Royals aren't very far behind themselves. They have beaten RCB in their only win so far and now go through a very crucial period where they play thrice in the period of six days. And that period begins tonight with a game against the team that's on top of the table. A victory against Chennai Super Kings can certainly prove to be a massive morale-booster in their bid to turn their campaign around.
Jos Buttler at the top of the order will be the key here. But Royals will be better served if they can get Sanju Samson back in their XI. The exciting batsman from Kerala scored a scintillating ton before getting injured and since then, hasn't featured. Can he recover in time to play tonight? And how about the middle order? Steven Smith scored an unbeaten half-century against KKR but the knock was far from convincing considering the low SR. Can RR take a punt and replace him with Ashton Turner to shore up that middle order? And how about Ben Stokes? The man has certainly not been able to do justice to that massive price tag and needs a solid game tonight.
CSK on the other hand have been clinical. They were involved in some thrillers last time around but in 2019, they have had some dominant wins. Their form in spin-friendly Chennai has been terrific but they will be keen on replicating it away from home as well. Faf du Plessis has done well ever since he got included a couple of games ago but Shane Watson's form hasn't been great. Will that change tonight? We will find out. Welcome to the live blog for this intriguing encounter.