IPL 2023: All-round RR sink DC to 3rd straight loss; Rahane turns back clock to power CSK to win over MI
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n the third double-header day of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) made upward movements in the points table after dominant wins over Delhi Capitals (DC) and Mumbai Indians (MI) respectively.
The first match of the day saw Rajasthan Royals locking horns with Delhi Capitals at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
Put to bat first by DC, RR scored 199/4 in their 20 overs. A 98-run stand between openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler helped RR reach a big score. Yashasvi scored 60 off 31 balls, consisting of 11 fours and a six. Buttler scored 79 in 51 balls, consisting of 11 fours and a six.
Shimron Hetmyer (39* in 21 balls) played a quick cameo in the end.
Mukesh Kumar (2/36) was the pick of the bowlers for DC, while Kuldeep Yadav and Rovman Powell also got a wicket.
In chase of 200 runs, DC was reduced to 38/3 at the end of their powerplay. A 64-run stand between Lalit Yadav (38 off 24 balls) and David Warner gave DC some hope, but Yuzvendra Chahal (3/27) and Trent Boult (3/29) were too good for DC to handle. The visitors finished at 142/9 in 20 overs.
Ravichandran Ashwin got two wickets while Sandeep Sharma got one as well.
Yashasvi's knock earned him the 'Player of the Match' title.
Following the match, RR skipper Samson expressed happiness with his side's win.
"Almost everything went to plan. I think me not scoring runs did not go as per plan (laughs). The way I play this format I take a few balls to settle in and then go out there and express myself. Those 40-50 runs at a quick rate with Jos going through with his business. My role in the team is very clear. Last game when we played here, it was a swimming pool and we were not able to keep the ball dry. We will have to get used to wet balls. Yuzi (Chahal) and Ash (Ravichandran Ashwin) bhai know how to do it with the wet ball. I think Ashwin is always looking at the batter. The ball being new was very crucial for us and Ash bhai got through two important overs," said Samson.
DC skipper David Warner highlighted the need to start well during a run-chase of 200 and credited pacer Trent Boult for his powerplay spell.
"When you are chasing 200, you need to start well. Cannot take the credit away from Trent Boult. He was really good. It is just about executing your skills. We had a couple of chop ons last evening. We are professionals. We need to work it out. It is frustrating to hit to the fielders. One of our strike bowlers went down as well. Just did not go to plan," said Warner.
In the next match, dubbed as 'El Clasico' of IPL, five-time champions Mumbai Indians took on four-time champions Chennai Super Kings.
Put to bat first by CSK, MI was off to a good start and were cruising at 61/1 in six overs after the powerplay. But spinners Ravindra Jadeja (3/20), Mitchell Santner (2/28) and pacer Tushar Deshpande (2/31) crushed MI's batting line-up. Except for Ishan Kishan (32) and Tim David (31), MI's exciting, star-studded line-up fell flat. Stars like Rohit (21), Cameron Green (12), Suryakumar Yadav (1) failed to fire.
Hence, MI could only put up 157/8 in their 20 overs.
In chase of 158, after falling of Devon Conway for a duck, Ajinkya Rahane lit up Wankhede Stadium with his 61 off 27 balls, with seven fours and three sixes. Supporting knocks from Ruturaj Gaikwad (40*), Shivam Dube (28) and Ambati Rayadu helped CSK chase the target in 18.1 overs.
After the match, CSK skipper MS Dhoni said in the post-match presentation, "Feels good. Not to forget we lost Deepak (Chahar) in the first over. The good thing is spinners bowled well. It was a bit two-paced after 7 overs, started turning. The spinners and the fast bowlers came back well. Sisanda Mangala was good and so was Dwaine Pretorious.
On Ajinkya's knock, he said, "Me and Jinx (Rahane) spoke at the start of the season and I told him to play to his strengths, use your ability to manipulate the fields. I told him to go and enjoy, do not take stress and we will back you. He batted well and he was not happy with the way he got out, that says it all."
Rohit Sharma, the MI skipper said after the match, "We lost our way in the middle. Did not capitalise on the start. It was a good pitch, we were 30-40 runs short in the middle. Credit to their spinners, they bowled well, kept us under pressure and we did not respond well. We need to try different things, need to attack, need to be brave. We have a couple of guys who are young into the IPL. Gotta give some time to them. It will take time, but we need to back them up and show enough trust in their ability."
"The senior guys need to step up, starting with me. We know the nature of IPL. We need to get some momentum, and if you do not, it is going to be tough. Just two games, not all is lost, but the senior guys need to step up with the bat. That is the nature of the tournament. If you win, you can win on the trot. If you lose, it will hamper the momentum. We wanted to do a lot of things right. We have not been able to execute the things that we are speaking about in the changing room. We have to do those things right."
"We know we had a very disappointing last season. You always start afresh. When we won the five trophies, we did not think about it. Every opposition is quality and you have to be the best to defeat them. These two games have happened now, you cannot change. We have to learn and be braver in doing stuff out in the field," concluded the skipper.
RR is at the top of the table with two wins in three matches, a loss and four points while DC is at ninth after losing all their three games. CSK has jumped to fourth position in the points table with two wins and a loss and four points. On the other hand, MI is in eighth position in the points table, having lost both of their games so far.
✔️ IPL 2023: All-round RR sink DC to 3rd straight loss; Rahane turns back clock to power CSK to win over MI
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