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Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave a glimpse of the good old days of thrilling finishes, but unexpected Rajasthan Royals seamstress Sandeep Sharma scored a pair of perfect block holes to earn the Rajasthan Royals win over the Chennai Super Kings in three runs in a close IPL meeting at Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday. Chasing 176, Dhoni (32 of 17 balls) and Ravindra Jadeha (25 of 15 balls), the veterans of many such tantalizing finishes were on the right track as 21 were required after the last over.
The final CSK score was 172 out of 6 as Dhoni did not finish his 200th game for CSK the way he would have liked in his spiritual home with over 30,000 spectators cheering for him.
Punjab’s Sandeep, who played a couple of games for India eight years ago, appeared to lose his temper when he hit a couple of shots and then Dhoni lashed him on the square foot and middle wicket, earning a pair of sixes.
Needing 6 of his last two deliveries, the average player got a wide yorker on Jadea and then a perfect block hole ball on Dhoni when he brought in a couple of singles.
However, Devon Conway had a clumsy approach on the sticky pitch as his 50 of 38 balls provided no momentum and Ravichandran Ashwin (2/25 for 4 overs) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/27 for 4 overs) bowled exceptionally well.
Previously, Jos Battler wasn’t particularly disruptive in his approach but still managed to make the 18th half century of his IPL career as Rajasthan Royals posted a respectable 175 of 8 after being sent to bat first.
While the Royals scored 135 for 4 after 15 overs, the last five overs were not as productive as they expected, with only 40 runs added and four wickets lost.
Ravindra Jadeja (2/21 for 4 overs) was dangerous on a surface that helped the spinners as usual, even as Battler hit three huge sixes on his 36-ball-52. He had a good second stance with 77 runs with Devdutt Padikkal (38 of 26 balls) who was back in his element after struggling with the Punjab Kings.
Toward the end, Shimron Hetmayer (30 of 18) was always an impressive finisher, while Tushar Deshpande (2/37) had only eight runs in the 20th over.
CSK’s bowlers, especially Jadeja, managed to hold off the Royals batters after a fast start with 50 runs in the 6th over.
The Royals did struggle between overs 8–13 as they lost two wickets three balls away with Padikkal and skipper Sanju Samson (0) falling for Jadeia.
The pitch that went to Samson was thrown with high arm speed, and it did turn enough along with enough bounce to cause the batter to play the wrong line.
After a phase in which the Royals’ batters didn’t score a line for just over six overs, Ashwin (30, 22 balls, 1×4, 2×6) hit two straight sixes from left-handed debutant Akash Singh.
He fell even when he wanted to pick up the pace, flying off Akash into the depths.
After the skipper M.S. Dhoni won the toss to go bowling, Deshpande hit an early shot in favor of the home side, dismissing the dangerous Yashasvi Jaiswal (10, 8 balls, 2×4) and was caught by Shivam Dube.
Battler and Padikkal (38, 26 balls, 5×4) added 77 runs in 41 innings before the latter fell to Ravindra Jadea caught by Devon Conway. The partnership set the stage for members of the royal family after Jaiswal was fired early.
Dhoni was congratulated before his match against CSK captain for the 200th time in the IPL by former BCCI President N Srinivasan in the presence of his wife Chitra Srinivasan and former TNCA President Rupa Gurunath.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
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