IPL 2018, CSK vs RR: 3 things that went unnoticed in the match

It was the first match of the Chennai Superkings at their adopted home, Pune. There were some doubts if CSK would be able to adjust the new conditions as their spin-heavy attack is more suited to the dry surface of Chepauk stadium.

However, some blistering batting from Shane Watson and some disciplined bowling from Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur ensured that all such doubts quickly disappeared.

The man of the match Watson hammered the Rajasthan attack to all parts of the ground and in the process became only the second centurion of this year’s IPL.

A match touted to be as a close encounter between two evenly matched sides turned out to be a one-sided affair as Rajasthan’s batting capitulated.

Sportskeeda takes a look at three things that might have been missed by the fans in today’s match.

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#1 Three wicketkeepers one each side

A total of six wicketkeepers were playing in the match including Dhoni

While everyone was busy keeping an eye on Watson’s powerful innings, people forgot to notice that both teams were playing with three wicketkeepers each in their side.

While Chennai had the likes of M.S Dhoni, Sam Billings and Ambati Rayadu as options for wicket keeping, Rajasthan could call upon Henrich Klassen, Sanju Samson or Jos Buttler to do the job.

Chennai especially could have called upon Billings to don the gloves as Dhoni had been suffering from a dodgy back.

Anyways, it is always good to have a backup keeper in the team as the need to change the keeper may come up at any time. A total of six wicketkeepers were playing in the match which is a record for any IPL game.

#2 Shane Watson crosses the powerplay for the first time

Watson carried CSK innings on his shoulder

Watson has had a quick start in all the three games that he has played this season. But he hasn’t gone on to convert any of those starts into a big score.

In fact, each time he has been dismissed in the powerplay overs itself. However, all that was to change today as he carried the Chennai’s innings on his shoulders and was only dismissed on the penultimate ball.

Watson provided those crucial blows in the middle overs that Chennai had missed in the previous games. His magnificent knock of 106 runs off just 57 balls propelled Chennai to a massive score of 204 in their 20 overs.

#3 Ben Stokes not finishing his quota

Rajasthan heavily depends on the all-round capabilities of Stokes

Be it batting or bowling, Rajasthan depends a lot on their most expensive buy- Stokes. He may go for runs but Stokes gets you those crucial wickets and is used by the captains when they need to break a partnership.

However, after not doing much of note with the ball in previous matches, it seems Rahane has lost his faith in Stokes.

After having dismissed Raina, it was time for Rajasthan to squeeze some tight overs from their senior bowlers.

However, it was baffling to see Rahane opt for the gentle outswingers of Stuart Binny instead of Stokes.

The result was that Binny was smashed for a massive 18 runs off his over and CSK reached 150 in just the 13th over.

In the end, Stokes did not even complete his quota of four overs. These are worrying signs for the Royals fans.

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