The Rajasthan Royals (RR) climbed to the top of the table in the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 with a 32-run victory over the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Thursday at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
Yashasvi Jaiswal prospered yet again for RR and powered his side to a mighty first-innings total as the side recorded a confidence-boosting victory at home.
Chasing a challenging target of 203, Chennai Super Kings openers – Ruturaj Gaikwad & Devon Conway were off to a cautious start. Gaikwad finally released the pressure and attacked the Jason Holder over by smacking a four and a six each.
Just when the powerplay was about to end, CSK found their first success courtesy of Adam Zampa who dismissed the left-handed Devon Conway. Ruturaj Gaikwad kept the scoreboard ticking but the right-handed batter perished just when he was nearing his fifty.
RR kept the momentum going after R Ashwin scalped the wickets of Ajinkya Rahane and Ambati Rayudu in the same over. Although, Shivam Dube, who joined Moeen Ali in the middle, came out with clear intention and clobbered three sixes in no time. Adam Zampa broke the partnership thanks to a fine grab behind the stumps to send back Moeen Ali.
The equation was down to 78 off the final five overs for CSK as Ravindra Jadeja joined Dube at the crease. Shivam Dube was hitting the ball magnificently and kept his side in the hunt.
Jason Holder was introduced back to bowl the penultimate over, with CSK requiring 46 off 12 balls. Dube reached his half-century but in the end, the Rajasthan Royals successfully defended the target to clinch a at home.
Earlier, home captain Sanju Samson won the toss and elected to bat first in Jaipur. Opener Yashavi Jaiswal was off the mark straightway with two glorious fours and Rajasthan Royals were off to confident start. The fifty partnership was up in the fifth over, with Jaiswal doing the majority of the hitting. Jos Buttler jumped on the bandwagon with two fine fours off the backfoot as RR moved to 64/0 at the end of powerplay.
The young left-handed opener then introduced the switch-hit for a maximum and brought his fifty in just 26 deliveries. CSK finally found the breakthrough they were looking for after Jos Buttler holed out to the deep off Jadeja’s bowling.
RR were exactly 100/1 at the halfway mark as Jaiswal continued to middle the ball beautifully. Tushar Deshpande came to the rescue for CSK and dismissed captain Sanju Samson and the well-set Yashasvi Jaiswal in the same over.
CSK capitalised on the momentum at the right time as Shimron Hetmyer chopped on to the stumps off Maheesh Theekshana’s bowling. However, RR got back into the game instantly by taking charge of the slog overs. Dhruv Jurel played an entertaining 34-run cameo, which was MSD’s excellent direct-hit while Devdutt Padikkal remained unbeaten on 23* to guide RR to a commanding first-innings total of 202/5.
Brief Scores:
Rajasthan Royals 202/5 (20) Yashasvi Jaiswal 77, Dhruv Jurel 34, Tushar Deshpande 2/42, Maheesh Theekshana 1/24
Chennai Super Kings 170/6 (20) Shivam Dube 52, Ruturaj Gaikwad 47, Adam Zampa 3/22, Ravichandran Ashwin 2/35
Result: Rajasthan Royals won by 32 runs.
 climbed to the top of the table in the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 with a 32-run victory over the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Thursday at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. ){kind=link}