IPL 2018, RR vs CSK: Hits and Misses

It was a special occasion at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur as the Rajasthan Royals team sported pink jerseys in collaboration with the Rajasthan government to promote Cancer awareness across the state. On what looked like another slowish pitch, MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat first.

CSK lost an in-form Ambati Rayudu in the 3rd over but Suresh Raina and Shane Watson shared an 86-run stand provided a good platform for the ‘Men in Yellow’ to finish with a flourish. But with the pitch slowing down, Sam Billings struggled and MS Dhoni also found it hard to find the boundary. However, Dhoni ran hard between the wickets and scored 33 in 23 deliveries to help CSK get to 176. Ish Sodhi was the most economical bowler for RR while Archer despite being expensive, he picked up a couple of key wickets.

Chasing a stiff target on a slow surface, Jos Buttler gave RR a rocking start. They did lose two wickets but also scored 57 in the first 6 overs. Buttler after the flying start put his head down and batted through to take RR home with just one ball to spare.

Krishnappa Gowtham came in towards the end and scored a 4-ball 13 which proved to be an important knock as it took the pressure off Buttler. But it was the England wicket-keeper who finished things off in the final over.

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#5 Miss: Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu dragged a short and wide delivery back onto his stumps.

Ambati Rayudu has been one of the most consistent players in this IPL. In fact, he has never been dismissed in the single-digits in this season. However, in the last couple of games, he’s not been able to convert his starts. He’s scored 21 and 32 in his last two innings and has failed to kick on after getting set.

For the second consecutive game, Rayudu opened the batting alongside Shane Watson. He struck a couple of good-looking boundaries. He lofted one over extra cover off Krishnappa Gowtham before hitting one straight down the ground.

The 32-year-old Hyderabad batsman was using his feet well and was looking set for another big knock. But he dragged a short and wide delivery off Jofra Archer back onto his stumps. Rayudu was out for 12 and CSK were 19/1.

#4 Hit: Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina was looking in good form in this game.

Suresh Raina started the season poorly before he roared back into form with a couple of good knocks. He then got out after getting starts in the last couple of games. However, the left-handed batsman hit his third half-century of the season and got some vital runs.

Coming into bat at No. 3 in the third over of the innings and started with a nice flick to mid-wicket and collected his first boundary to get off the mark. In the powerplay, Raina went after the bowling and tried to make full use of the field restrictions. He had raced off to 29 off 16 deliveries.

With the pitch slowing down, the Uttar Pradesh batsman looked to rotate the strike more as he forged an 86-run partnership with Shane Watson. Raina eventually ended up scoring a 35-ball 52.

#3 Miss: Ben Stokes

Just when it looked like Ben Stokes was getting into his groove with the bat, he was castled by Harbhajan Singh.

The premier England all-rounder has been quite disappointing in this IPL. Despite scoring a couple of 40s, he’s hardly got with the bat and with the ball, he rarely bowls all his four overs. His form was a major worry for Rajasthan Royals and that worry continued as Ben Stokes had another disappointing outing.

In this game, Stokes bowled his full quota of four overs and failed to pick up a wicket. He had figures of 0/31 in his four overs in this game. With the bat, RR sprung a surprise when the sent Ben Stokes alongside Jos Buttler. But the 27-year-old all-rounder struggled despite scoring a four and a six.

Stokes faced just three balls in the first three overs as Buttler was farming most of the strike and was striking the ball very well. Stokes struggled then found an inside-edge which ran away to the fine-leg boundary before hitting a superb six over mid-wicket. But he was dismissed off the very next delivery as Harbhajan Singh went through him and bowled him.

#2 Hit: Krishnappa Gowtham

Gowtham's two sixes in the 19th over proved to be vital.

If you look down the scorecard, you might think that how can a 13-run knock and figures of 0/28 be termed as a hit. However, the impact Krishnappa Gowtham’s innings had in the chase was huge.

Gowtham walked out to bat in the 18th over and with 31 required off 14 balls, it was still tall ask for RR. But Gowtham struck a six off the first ball he faced as he sent a length delivery over long-on. Then off his third delivery, the Karnataka all-rounder hit another maximum and this time it was over long-off.

Though he was dismissed off the next ball those two sixes off David Willey in the 19th over changed the momentum of the chase and more importantly took the pressure off Jos Buttler who was going very well at the other end. And that 4-ball 13 was a crucial knock in that chase of 177 as it brought down the equation to 12 off the final over.

#1 Hit: Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler was magnificent as he struck a 60-ball 95 to guide RR home.

Another game while opening the batting, another brilliant inning from Jos Buttler. The England wicket-keeper batsman has been terrific at the top of the order and has given RR an excellent start in every game he’s opened.

Chasing 177 on a slow pitch, Jos Buttler helped RR get off to a flying start. He started off by scoring 3 fours off David Willey on the first 3 balls of the innings. He then scored a couple of fours and a six in the next over as he raced off to 27 off 12 deliveries.

But RR lost a couple of quick wickets which meant he had to slow down and look to bat through the innings. The 27-year-old batsman got his fifty in 26 deliveries. But then with the pitch slowing down, he could only manage to score a little over run-a-ball.

However, he carried his bat and took RR home with a magnificent knock. He struck an unbeaten 95 (11 fours and 2 sixes) and hit 12 runs off the final over to help RR get their 5th win of the season.