Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson won the toss and elected to bat first against Chennai Super Kings in a crucial Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Sunday. The Royals made one change to their playing XI, bringing in Dhruv Jurel in place of Karun Nair. Chennai Super Kings, on the other hand, brought in Maheesh Theekshana in place of Mitchell Santner.
For fourth-placed Chennai Super Kings, it is imperative to win both their remaining matches as they have 12 points from as many games with a net run rate of 0.491. The second-placed Rajasthan Royals, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back after two consecutive defeats. Rajasthan are currently second with 16 points from 11 matches.
The match began with a cautious start from both teams, with the Royals scoring just 25 runs in the first five overs. However, Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson then took control of the innings, scoring boundaries at regular intervals. Buttler was particularly aggressive, hitting three sixes and four fours in his innings of 49 runs off 33 balls. Samson, on the other hand, played a more measured innings, scoring 38 runs off 35 balls.
The Royals continued to score at a brisk pace in the middle overs, with Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer contributing valuable runs. Parag scored 25 runs off 16 balls, while Hetmyer scored 31 runs off 20 balls. The Royals eventually finished their innings on a strong note, scoring 188 runs for the loss of six wickets.
In reply, Chennai Super Kings got off to a poor start, losing Ruturaj Gaikwad and Robin Uthappa cheaply. Moeen Ali and Shivam Dube then tried to rebuild the innings, but they were both dismissed in quick succession. Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni then put on a brief partnership, but it was not enough to save the match for Chennai Super Kings.
Jadeja was eventually dismissed for 32 runs off 24 balls, while Dhoni remained unbeaten on 28 runs off 23 balls. Chennai Super Kings were eventually bowled out for 150 runs in 19.4 overs, handing Rajasthan Royals a comfortable 38-run victory.
