The Chennai Super Kings claimed the battle between second and third on the IPL table as the MS Dhoni led side dispatched of the Rajasthan Royals in Tuesday’s IPL encounter.
Dhoni put the finishing touches on the five-wicket win as the Super Kings managed the Royals’ total of 148 with two balls to spare.
Opener Shane Watson led the Rajasthan attack, scoring 51 from 36 deliveries, including four sixes, but received little help outside of a 30 (off 27) from Ankit Sharma and 22 (17) from Stuart Binny.
The Super Kings struggled with the modest total after Dwayne Smith (44) and Faf du Pleiss (38) departed, saved by the required 12 runs smashed by Dhoni off Aussie James Faulkner’s embarrassing final over.
“That (148) was a par score or just above par,” said Watson. “The wicket was low and slow. We knew if we bowl well we could defend it.”
“MS Dhoni has done it all through this tournament and all through his career. My batting position depends upon the conditions and situation. I still feel we put in a good performance. Dhoni and Jadeja made it tough for us. We fought till the end.”
Faulkner finished with one wicket from his 3.4 overs, but was smashed for 37 runs in the process.
Chennai moved to top of the IPL table with 16 points from 10 games, ahead of Kings XI Punjab with 14 points from nine games.
Earlier in the week, Aaron Finch and David Warner combined for big evenings, but it wasn’t enough to save the Sunrisers Hyderabad from a seven-wicket loss at the hands of the Mumbai Indians.
Finch (68 from 62 deliveries) and Warner (55 from 31) were the only two Hyderabad batsman to get up to much, providing the majority of the side’s 157.
Mumbai matched that by the 18.4th over courtesy of 68 (off 50) from Lendl Simmons and 68 (off 46) from Ambati Rayudu.
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