Faf du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu scored at a firing rate before Dwayne Bravo's 20 runs off 8 balls came handy in the death overs as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) posted 188/9 in their allotted 20 overs against Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.
Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, CSK was right on track for a big score before Chetan Sakariya dismissed both Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu in his third over.
Sakariya in the 14th over broke CSK's momentum and came back to dismiss skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Most CSK batsmen got a move on but weren't able to convert it in a big score. In the final four overs, CSK scored 55 runs despite losing four wickets.
Put in to bat first, CSK got off to a decent start before it was undone by Mustafizur Rahman, who dismissed opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad in the fourth over.
But Faf du Plessis continued his onslaught as he pulled off two back-to-back scoops for boundaries. The South Africa batsman then sliced a six over long-off before smashing another four as he took on Jaydev Unadkat in the fifth over.
Chris Morris ended Du Plessis' stint before completion of the powerplay to reduce CSK to 45/2. Moeen Ali continued from he left the other night as he whacked the ball right from the word go.
However, Rahul Tewatia dismissed the England all-rounder in the 10th over against run of play as CSK lost the third wicket at the score of 78.
In the 11th and 12th over, CSK got a move on as Suresh Raina and Ambati Ambati Rayudu clubbed 30 off 12 balls. However, Rajasthan Royals again made a comeback as Chetan Sakariya dismissed both the batsmen in the same over to reduce CSK to 125/5.
The next few overs saw CSK scoring a sluggish rate and Dhoni (18) tried to free his arms by smashing two boundaries but wasn't able to middle the next ball.
In end, Sam Curran and Dwayne Bravo's contribution helped CSK get over the 180-run mark.
Brief Scores: CSK 188/9 (Faf du Plessis 33, Ambati Rayudu 27; Chetan Sakariya 3-36) vs Rajasthan Royals
( With inputs from ANI )
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