Rajasthan Royals (RR) finally ended their losing streak of 3 matches by registering a thumping win over CSK. RR chased down the target of 188 runs quite comfortably with 2.5 overs remaining and 6 wickets in hand. Vaibhav Suryavanshi sparkled with a mesmerizing knock of 57 runs in 33 balls. Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the 14 year old prodigy was in sublime touch.
CSK’s season has been forgettable so far. MS Dhoni’s unit hasn’t been able to find a winning combination. CSK now are languishing at the bottom of the points table with 10 defeats from 3 matches and a NRR of -1.030. It was the first match for CSK after the abandonment as there was good contest but RR outshone CSK.
Ayush Mhatre & Dewald Brevis’ help CSK put fighting score
RR had asked CSK to bat first. The surface was quite a belter, similar to DC vs GT match. CSK had a terrible start just what they didn’t needed. Devon Conway was undone by the sheer brilliance of Yudhvir Singh in the 2nd over & Urvil Patel also was foxed in the 2nd over. We can say, Conway’s & Urvil’s urge to dominate Yudhvir backfired very badly as they couldn’t pick the hard length. CSK’s score was 12-2 in 2 overs.
Ayush Mhatre was unbothered with the fall of wickets at the other end, Ayush Mhatre was in the beast mode just against RCB where he was hitting straight down the ground and powerful shots. Yudhvir Singh was at the receiving end when Ayush Mhatre & Ravichandran Ashwin smashed 24 runs in the 4th over. The peculiarty of Ayush’s strokeplay was that he played inside out shots and trusted his instincts.
Ayush Mhatre, though, was foxed by Tushar Deshpande on the 5th ball of 6th over as he couldn’t pick a slower delivery and catch was taken by Kwena Maphaka at long on. Ayush Mhatre’s barnstorming knock of 43 runs in 20 balls (8 fours and 1 six) gave CSK the impetus but the timing of the wicket was perfect for RR. Perhaps Ayush should have not played another big shot given he had struck 3 back to back fours. CSK scored 68 runs in the powerplay overs but lost 3 wickets.
There was a drastic collapse from 68-2 to 78-5 in 7.4 overs. The veteran duo of Ravichandran Ashwin & Ravindra Jadeja were dismissed cheaply. RR were back in game and it looked like they would bundle out CSK cheaply. Shivam Dube & Dewald Brevis though had other ideas.
Sanju Samson brought in the part-time spinner Riyan Parag in 10th over which backfired. Dewald Brevis slaugtered the ball and it looked he got his mojo back as CSK’s score was 102-5 in 10 overs. Shivam Dube & Dewald Brevis tried their best to smash a boundary per over & the left hand-right hand combination frustrated RR immensely.
Akash Madhwad in 14th over got rid off the dangerous looking Brevis and RR were again back in game. Brevis & Dube stitched 59 runs partnership in 36 balls and got the team out of trouble. MS Dhoni came into bat at No.8 position when 6.2 overs were left in the match. The crowd went beserk and ecstatic.
MS Dhoni was struggling a bit to smash the bowlers, especially against Wanindu Hasaranga & Riyan Parag. In the 16th over, MS Dhoni smashed a gigantic six on the bowling of Riyan Parag but that was his only boundary in the match. MS Dhoni’s knock of 16 runs in 17 balls not only stopped the flow of boundaries and singles but put pressure on Shivam Dube & other batters to go all guns blazing from the word go,
Akash Madhwad was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets in his 4 over spell and conceded 29 runs. CSK managed to score 41 runs in the last 5 overs and lost 2 wickets which was the turning point of the match as a target of 188 wasn’t a sure shot match winning one.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s flamboyant knock overpowers CSK
Yashasvi Jasiwal & Vaibhav Suryavanshi had their task cut ou,t which was to give RR a stupendous start & that happened. Khaleel Ahmed was taken to the cleaners in 3rd over by Yashasvi Jaiswal as the batter got into the minds of the bowler as all of his variations were not yielding result as Jaiswal struck 19 runs in that over with 3 fours and 1 six.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s breath-taking cameo of 36 runs in 19 balls set the tone for RR. The partnership between Yashasvi & Vaibhav was of 37 runs and there was not much pressure on the youngster then. Sanju Samson & Vaibhav Suryavanshi took their time and made sure that they don’t fall in the foxy variations of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja & Noor Ahmad.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi though post powerplay overs hammered Noor Ahmad. In the 8th over, the young brodigy hit back to back boundaries as the ploy of short ball didn’t work for Noor. It seemed as if Vaibhav & Suryavanshi toyed CSK’s bowlers which was quite shocking to see.
Samson & Vaibhav stitched a mammoth partnership of 98 runs in 59 balls, which was the turning point. Sanju Samson’s calm & fierce knock of 41 runs in 31 balls gave the much-needed confidence to Vaibhav Suryavanshi at the other end. Ashwin got scalps of both Vaibhav & Samson in the same 14th over, but RR’s score was 138-3 in 14 overs, needing another 50 runs to win.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi struck his maiden half-century in IPL 2025. It’s quite commendable that in the knock of 57 runs in 33 balls, he hit 4 fours and 4 sixes and didn’t show complete urgency to have an upper hand over the opposition. It really shows the maturity that Vaibhav Suryavanshi has developed at such a young age.
Dhruv Jurel & Shimron Hetmyer made sure that this time, there are no more hiccups in the run chase. The duo against DC & LSG couldn’t take the team over the finish line, and the franchise & management & players had received a lot of flak. RR chased down the target of 188 runs in grand fashion.
CSK’s bowlers looked clueless when the onslaught was happening. CSK’s bowling attack doesn’t have that much ‘X’ factor, specifically in fast bowling but the spin trio: Ashwin, Jadeja & Noor haven’t performed according to their credentials.
What lies ahead for RR & CSK
RR’s season has ended with a lot of if & buts. The franchise though must be proud with the rise of Vaibhav Suryavanshi who shook the world cricket. CSK on the other hand now would be aiming to avoid wooden spoon as RR have 8 points from 14 matches & CSK now will have to register a thumping win over GT on 25th May to boost the NRR and most importantly all the eyes will be on MS Dhoni whether he will give a hint/announcement of playing next IPL or not as that has been the talking point along with CSK’s shocking performance mostly in all 3 facets of the game.
Also Read: LSG vs SRH: Rishabh Pant’s Unexpected Downfall In IPL 2025