IPL 2019, CSK vs RR: The best captaincy move of the day

Both the teams had contrasting starts to their IPL 2019 season before coming into the game. Chennai Super Kings had won both their matches, while Rajasthan Royals had suffered defeat in both. RR captain, Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to field first as he invited the home team to bat first.

CSK got off to a very poor start as they lost Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson early. When Kedar Jadhav got out, CSK was in all sorts of problems before two cool heads in the form of Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni got together. The two IPL stalwarts came together to steady the CSK ship before Dhoni decided to launch a merciless attack on the bowlers.

The CSK captain seemed to be in mood as he scored 75 runs off just 46 balls to take his team's score past 170. The target of 176 is never easy and it got even tougher for RR when they lost early wickets. RR lost their first three wickets for just 14 runs as they seemed down and out.

Then experienced Steve Smith joined Rahul Tripathi at the crease who had been promoted by RR. The decision to promote Rahul Tripathi ahead of Steve Smith and Ben Stokes shocked a few people but it proved to be correct. It seemed to be the game-changing decision of the day but Mr Tactician, MS Dhoni had a trick up his sleeve too.

CSK captain held back his strike weapon Imran Tahir, who did brilliantly in the middle overs. The South African leg-spinner dismissed Steve Smith and Rahul Tripathi to break the back of RR innings. Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer tried their best but they fell short as Dwayne Bravo held his nerves in the final over of the innings.

CSK won the match by eight runs to make it three wins in a row to cement their position at the top of the IPL Points Table. After scoring match-winning innings, Dhoni's decision to bring Tahir late in the bowling attack also played a crucial role in CSK's win.