Royals do the double over CSK
A comprehensive victory, and Royals go back into the group of three at the top of the table with 10 points each. They have the best net run rate of that trio: 0.939. With this win, they've also made it 4 out of 4 while batting first.
And you could see why they're so good batting first. Their openers are the quickest off the blocks in the tournament, and Yashasvi Jaiswal made an outstanding 77 that began with three fours in the first over. They endured a bit of a wobble midway through their innings, but Dhruv Jurel has been a great find this season, and he and Devdutt Padikkal took them past 200, making them the first side to ever do this at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
And Royals may not have had Trent Boult today, but with Adam Zampa coming in, they had the best spin trio in the competition. Even though Yuzvendra Chahal only bowled two overs (there were two left-handers in the middle for large parts of the innings), the other two did brilliantly, with Zampa picking up three wickets and R Ashwin two to effectively seal the win. Moeen Ali and Shivam Dube flickered briefly, but by then the asking rate was beyond CSK.
A terrific game for the Royals, and relief after back-to-back defeats. A lot of teams might be in a quandary when they face Royals: will they want to chase, which is what most teams prefer, or will they look to bat first and stop Royals from doing what they do best?
MS Dhoni makes a good point post-match, bringing up all the boundaries Royals scored off edges towards the end of their innings. He believes Royals ended up with a "par-plus" score, but the edges may have given them "at least 5-6" boundaries. Luck always plays a role in cricket, particularly in T20, and it certainly did today. You can feel for CSK even if Royals did look the better team for large parts of this game.
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Holder closes it out
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Jason Holder executed his wide yorkers pretty well in the 17th over but went for plenty nonetheless. He keeps doing his thing in the 19th and gets the results on this occasion. Only the one boundary off it, with Ravindra Jadeja managing to get underneath a straight yorker that doesn't miss its length by much, but it's all but impossible for CSK now. They need 37 to win, and 36 to force a Super Over.
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Dube gives CSK faint hope
CSK needed 74 from 24 at the end of the 16th over. They now need 58 fro 18, after Shivam Dube launches Jason Holder for a straight six and squeezes two wide yorkers for fours behind square on the off side. He's now on 46 off 25, and CSK are still in this game, but only just.
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It's all happening
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Moeen Ali and Shivam Dube went on a bit of a boundary spree from the fourth legal ball of the 12th over to the fourth legal ball of the 15th. Some absolutely gorgeous, clean striking from the two left-handers, but Adam Zampa ends their partnership, 51 off 25 balls, with a quick wrong'un that Moeen edges to the keeper while attempting to flay the ball through the covers. It's a super catch from Samson too, because it came off the toe of Moeen's bat.
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Vote away!
Who should sit out when Boult returns for Royals?
239 votesJason Holder
Adam Zampa
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Ashwin gets two in an over
Ajinkya Rahane has absolutely hammered fast bowling this season, but this is a big ground and a spin-heavy attack and he's come in to bat after the powerplay. A different sort of challenge, and he doesn't quite match his earlier feats from the season.
Rahane looked busy without finding the boundary, and then he stepped out to Ashwin and failed to get the power he needed to clear long-on. Ended up chipping it straight to him. He's out for 15 off 13.
Two balls later, Ambati Rayudu - brought in as Impact Player - looks for the slog-sweep and picks out Jason Holder at deep midwicket. Ashwin is all over his old team, and CSK are sinking quickly.
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Zampa does it again
Ruturaj Gaikwad was going at a pretty good rate, but Royals were still well behind the asking rate after their slow start, and the pressure to keep hitting big consumes him. Steps out to Zampa, but can't get to the pitch of a hard-spun legbreak, and he miscues it to Padikkal running in from long-on. He's out for 47 off 29, and Royals are 69 for 2 in the 10th over.
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A photo of MS Dhoni
Because why not?
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Zampa strikes
Royals had tied Conway down expertly, and he tries to break out of the rut by going after Adam Zampa, but the ball is perhaps a touch too full for him to get the desired elevation, and he hits it flat and straight to mid-off on the circle.
That ends the sixth over, and CSK are 42 for 1. It's their lowest powerplay score of the season. Sampath points out that their previous lowest, 45 for 1, also came against Royals.
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Gaikwad relieves a bit of pressure
Royals' seamers had begun brilliantly, conceding just 15 off the first 3.4 overs. There was plenty of method to this, particularly their targeting of the stumps against Devon Conway, for whom width is oxygen. But Ruturaj Gaikwad manages to get a couple of boundaries away off Jason Holder at the end of the fourth over. He backs away to make room and Holder follows him both times, but gets his length a little wrong both times. Gaikwad swats a shortish ball over mid-on for four, and then helps a full-toss over square leg for six.
Even so, CSK are well behind the asking rate, at 25 for no loss after four overs.
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Unlucky Pathirana
I mentioned all the edged boundaries Pathirana conceded today, and it's been a season-long thing for him. Shiva Jayaraman digs into the data, and discovers that he's conceded the highest percentage of not-in-control runs of any bowler in one season since IPL 2018.
A flurry of boundaries in the last three overs, off which Royals ransack 49 runs. Dhruv Jurel and Devdutt Padikkal do the bulk of the hitting, with a bit of luck going their way too. Matheesha Pathirana concedes a six and four fours in his last two overs, and three of the fours come off the edge.
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Royals will take the runs whichever way they come, though, and they become the first team to get to 200 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. It will take quite an effort from CSK to chase down 203 on this ground, against the spin trio of Ashwin, Chahal and Zampa. They have the batting to do it, though, so the chase should make for tasty viewing, whichever way it goes.
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Sri Lankan magic
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A superb 16th over from Matheesha Pathirana - a couple of searing yorkers angled across Shimron Hetmyer, a couple of hard-to-pick slower balls, and a top-edged hook off a bouncer that made MS Dhoni applaud. Only seven off it, and the pressure tells on Hetmyer, whose attempt to manufacture room off the first ball of the next over, against Maheesh Theekshana, ends up as an inside edge into the stumps.
Royals are rapidly losing steam after that flying start. They're 146 for 4 in 16.1 overs.
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Can Royals end the Jaipur jinx?
A banger of a stat from Sampath: Of all the grounds that have hosted at least 20 IPL games, only one has failed to produce a 200-plus total. That ground is the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
Royals looked like they could easily blast their way past 200 when they began their innings today, but that total is looking a little more distant now, as the flying Yashasvi Jaiswal falls in the 14th over. Terrific double-strike from Tushar Deshpande. Jaiswal looks to make room to slap through the off side, but he ends up too much underneath a shortish delivery, and slices it in the air to the backward point fielder.
Just seven runs off that double-wicket over, and Royals are 132 for 3 in 14.
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Deshpande strikes
The seamer hits a hard length with an offcutter at the start of the 15th over, and Samson ends up hitting a strange sort of shot because of the in-between length, looking to hit down the ground with a straight bat against a shortish length. Can't find the power he wants, and ends up holing out to long-on.
Royals are 125 for 2 in 13.1 overs, and Shimron Hetmyer is the new batter.
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Two terrific saves
Nine runs off the 12th over, bowled by Matheesha Pathirana, but it could easily have been 13 if not for two superb boundary saves. Jaiswal sliced one to Ravindra Jadeja's right at deep point, and then there was a sort-of mirror image when Sanju Samson scythed one to Devon Conway's right on the opposite boundary, but both shots yielded just doubles when they could have easily gone for four thanks to the athleticism of the two boundary-riders.
Royals are 113 for 1 after 12 overs.
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Powerplay royalty
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Theekshana quietens Royals' progress
Royals are 85 for no loss after eight overs, and they could have been doing even better if not for Maheesh Theekshana, who has bowled three overs, including two in the powerplay, while conceding just 18 runs. He's also had one lbw shout turned down (which CSK unsuccessfully reviewed) against Jaiswal, and had one big-turning offbreak go through Jos Buttler's gate only to miss off stump.
Key to his display has been his pace and his in-between length, too short to sweep or loft down the ground, and not short enough to pull.
Update: And Theekshana's bowling contributes in some small measure to CSK getting their first wicket. Buttler looks to break the shackles after Theekshana's quiet eighth over by taking on Ravindra Jadeja, but he steps out and fails to clear the fielder at long-on.
Royals are 86 for 1 in 8.2 overs.
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Fifty!
Yashasvi Jaiswal brings up his half-century off just 26 balls, getting there with a single down the ground in the seventh over. Earlier in that over he played one of the shots of his innings, a reverse-sweep all the way for six over the backward point boundary, off Ravindra Jadeja.
Royals are 75 for 0 in seven overs.
Sampath Bandarupalli informs us, meanwhile, that this is Jaiswal's third fifty in five innings against CSK.
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The Jaiswal effect
He began tonight's game with three fours in the first over, and it wasn't unexpected, because he's been doing it all season.
So far in IPL 2023, Jaiswal has hit 11 fours and a six in the first over - 12 boundaries in all. Rohit Sharma, with seven boundaries, is a distant second.
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More of the same
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Jos Buttler takes two fours off Tushar Deshpande in the second over, and Jaiswal continues to torment Akash in the third. Royals are flying here, and they're really doubling down on one of their biggest strengths. Before today, they had a powerplay run rate of 11.66 while batting first, the best of all teams this season. By the end of the powerplay today, you can be sure that number will look even more impressive.
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Jaiswal up and away
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Three fours in the first over, all to Yashasvi Jaiswal. Akash Singh is the unlucky bowler to run up against all that timing and placement. Two glorious drives between cover and mid-off, and a clip off the legs.
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Boult out, Zampa in
It's Royals' 200th game, and Sanju Samson says he would have loved to see some pink in the stands, but it's mostly yellow. "And we know why," he adds with a chuckle.
Royals choose to bat first, backing their strength after losing two in a row while chasing. Trent Boult, one of their biggest strengths while defending, is out with a niggle, though, and Adam Zampa is in. Boult missed the meeting between these two sides in Chennai as well, and Zampa was part of a strong performance from Royals' spin trio in a tight win.
MS Dhoni, the reason for all the yellow in the stands, is happy enough to chase. "A decent amount of pace but the bounce is on the lower side," he says of the pitch here in Jaipur. CSK are unchanged.
Rajasthan Royals: 1 Jos Buttler, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Devdutt Padikkal, 5 Dhruv Jurel, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Jason Holder, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal. Subs: Donovan Ferreira, M Ashwin, Riyan Parag, KM Asif, Kuldip Yadav.
Chennai Super Kings: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Matheesha Pathirana, 9 Tushar Deshpande, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Akash Singh. Subs: Ambati Rayudu, Dwaine Pretorius, Subhranshu Senapati, Shaik Rasheed, Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
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Can Royals get back to winning ways?
They've lost their last two games, against LSG and RCB, and another defeat here will make their storming start to the season look like a bit of a distant memory. Rajasthan Royals need a win tonight, and it won't be easy, because they're facing the red-hot, table-topping Chennai Super Kings. Royals are at home, though, and they'll have the confidence of having beaten CSK in their earlier meeting this season at Chepauk.
A few questions for Royals to answer regarding their use of the Impact Player, and their reluctance to maximise Jason Holder's batting gifts. That and a lot more to read up on, here in Sidharth Monga's preview.
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