Guwahati gears up preparations as Rajasthan Royals’ second ‘home’ venue
After the successful conduct of two matches during IPL 2023 last year, Guwahati gears up to welcome back the Indian…
The match, which was won by Rajasthan Royals by 16 runs and saw 416 runs being scored in the 40 overs of play, equalled the record of of 33 sixes that were hit during an IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018.
On Tuesday, Sanju Samson led the sixes chart with nine maximums, followed by Steve Smith (4), Jofra Archer (4), Shane Watson (4), Faf du Plessis (7), Sam Curran (2) and MS Dhoni (3).
Coming to the match, Samson’s blistering 32-ball 74 at No.3, fast bowler Jofra Archer’s fireworks with the bat — he carted four consecutive sixes in the last over — and leggie Rahul Tewatia’s three-wicket burst helped Rajasthan Royals to a comfortable 16-run win over Chennai Super Kings.
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Meanwhile, Samson, with a blistering 32-ball knock of 74 runs, was the start of the night for the Royals. He was ably supported by skipper Smith’s gritty innings of 69 runs off 47 balls and Archer’s fiery 8-ball cameo of 27 runs in the last over.
Rahul Tewatia with 3/37 was the pick of the bowlers as 2008 IPL champions successfully defended the 216 they had put on the board, despite du Plessis’ efforts of 72 runs off 37 balls for the yellow team.
Chasing the massive 217-run target, CSK were off to a flying start, with openers Shane Watson and Murli Vijay taking their team past the 50-run mark in 5.5 overs.
CSK then lost Sam Curran (17), Ruturaj Gaikwad, who departed without scoring, and Kedar Jadhav (22) at regular intervals. However, it was du Plessis who kept CSK’s hopes alive.
With the required run-rate continuously mounting up, du Plessis showed his prowess after clobbering the Royals bowlers all round the park.
The South African, however, failed to convert it into a win as he was dismissed by Archer in the 19th over. du Plessis 37-ball 72 knock contained a boundary and seven sixes.
Dhoni, however, gave a glimpse of what he was capable of as he hit three consecutive maximus in the last over. But they proved to be ‘too little, too late’ for his team.
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