Rahane and Watson Propel Rajasthan Royal to the top and beat CSK

Pepsi Indian Premier League, 15th match: Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad, Apr 19, 2015.

Chennai Super Kings 156-4, DR Smith 40 off 29, 3 fours and 2 sixes, DJ Bravo 62 not out off 36, 8 fours and 1 six, CH Morris 19-1, JP Faulkner 26-1

Rajasthan Royals 157-2, AM Rahane 76 not out off 55, 6 fours and 2 sixes, SR Watson 73 off 47, 6 fours and 4 sixes, RA Jadeja 29-1, DJ Bravo 30-1.

Rajasthan Royals won by eight wickets with 10 balls remaining.

 An An aggressive Rajasthan Royals trounced Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets, and they propelled themselves to the top of the IPL8 table, as Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane each hit sparkling seventies in a breezy 144-run stand. They have five wins out of five this season, and have now comfortably beaten the only other team that had been undefeated until today. Rajasthan Royals having lost the toss on a hot Ahmedabad afternoon his bowlers delivered him four wickets for 154 runs. Dwayne Bravo slammed a 36-ball 62 to help the visitors recover, but even though he and MS Dhoni could not be parted, Dhoni’s faltering 37-ball 31 weighed down the partnership. Watson was brutish and bullying at the top of Royals’ chase, and Rahane light and flowing. Rahane’s first boundaries were elegant striking drives down the ground, and right through his unbeaten 76 off 55, he never seemed to over-hit a ball. Watson repeatedly backed away towards leg to blast balls through the offside, and when the spinners came on, he slogged and his powerful sweep brought his fifty off 34 balls by belting Bravo over long on, then hit two more fours. He was bowled with 13 runs to get, but effectively, the match was already won. Morris had Suresh Raina caught behind with an angled delivery that bounced higher than the batsman expected in the sixth over, and by the end of the Powerplay, Super Kings were 39 for 2.DJ Bravo’s 62 was all in vain. The wickets kept falling, partly because Super Kings were attempting to lift the pace of the innings. Ankit had Faf du Plessis caught nicely by Morris at the long off fence for one. A few overs later, James Faulkner pegged back the middle stump of Dwayne Smith, as the batsman attempted to swing across the line. When Bravo and Dhoni were joined at 65 for 4 in the 10th over, the pair were forced to rein in their aggression for several overs, until Bravo cracked two successive square boundaries – one on either side of the wicket – off Watson in the 12th over, but both batsmen were more reserved against spin to begin with. The pitch didn’t offer substantial turn, but Tambe was typically economical in his first three overs. Morris and Faulkner bowled tightly throughout the innings. Bravo smoked two fours and a six over cow corner off Tambe’s 18th over to draw near his fifty, which he completed in 29 balls. Dhoni was out of touch, Super Kings could only canter in those final overs. As they did not lose a wicket, their lower-order hitters went unused.