In the current season of the Indian Premier League, Kolkata Knight Riders did the same thing against Royal Challengers Bangalore. On Thursday in Jaipur, the Rajasthan Royals did the same thing against the Chennai Super Kings.
Before the game, CSK had the most points in the IPL, with 10. But after the Royals beat Chennai, Sanju Samson and the rest of the team moved to the top spot, even if only for a short time.
Thursday, Yashasvi Jaiswal, a young player, stepped up against CSK. After his team batted first, he stepped up at the right time to give them the needed start.
Jaiswal and Buttler are known for putting up fifty runs together, and Thursday was no different. From the start, Jaiswal was making all the right moves. When he was up against Akash Singh, he hit a four against him by smashing the ball through the covers.
The next ball Jaiswal hit was between extra cover and mid-off for another boundary, giving him a second boundary. On the fourth ball, Jaiswal’s boundary was different. He chose to flick the ball toward midfield and hit the fence.
There were early signs that Jaiswal was going to be mean. The 21-year-old got fours and sixes regularly, so the runs never stopped for him. On the way to his fifty, he hit six fours and three sixes, which took only 26 balls. That’s how bold Jaiswal was. He played cricket with no fear and wiped out the bowlers.
But for Jaiswal, it wasn’t the pressure to start well and do well. It was about keeping a high rate of hits, and Jaiswal knew what was happening. He knew his team would have a hard time if they didn’t get to at least 200.
“It’s not just about this season.” I’ve been working with the team’s managers and keeping in touch with top players like Dhoni sir and Virat bhai. I like being under pressure and want to be there when it’s there. At the award celebration, Jaiswal said, “I was only thinking about keeping my strike rate high, and I knew we needed 200 to defend on this surface.”
Jaiswal was on the mark. Given CSK’s batting line-up and the batting field’s strength, RR did the right thing by winning the toss and batting to get to a safe, defendable score.
CSK’s chase, on the other hand, did not go as they had hoped. Devon Conway (8) and Ajinkya Rahane (15) were both out before they could do anything, but Shivam Dube (52) once again stepped up to the challenge.
He had a job to do when he went up to bat in the 10th over. The odds for CSK were 69/2 at the time, and they needed one significant relationship to give them new hope.
But no way could happen. Rahane and Ambati Rayudu were out quickly, and Moeen Ali was out for 23 runs off 12 balls despite being aggressive. Dube needed more than a 51-run stand with Moeen to make the chase happen, but just like Rahane and Ambati Rayudu, Moeen was also out.
Before Moeen was taken out, the goal was already looking unlikely. CSK was 124/5 in the 15th over, and no matter what they did, things went wrong.
In the 17th over, Dube hit Holder for six and two fours, but the runs stopped coming after that, and the needed rate for the last three overs was almost 20 runs per over.
Ultimately, CSK fell far short of the goal (32 runs). If CSK’s first two batters had formed an important and influential relationship, things would have been different, and the chase would have been a bit more tense.
After all, Jaiswal’s bold hitting won the game, and Dhoni even said he gave away “too many runs” in the powerplay.
“It (the goal) was a bit better than average.” “The first six overs gave away too many runs, but at the same time, that was the best time to bat on the pitch,” Dhoni said after the game.
On Sunday, both RR and CSK will play again. On the same day, RR plays the Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium, and CSK hosts the Punjab Kings in the afternoon.
