Dubai - Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Jofra Archer and Rahul Tewatia star for Royals, while Faf du Plessis' knock goes in vain.
Published: Wed 23 Sep 2020, 8:07 PM
Last updated: Thu 24 Sep 2020, 12:04 AM
Sanju Samson and Steve Smith fired half-centuries, while Jofra Archer came up with a flourish right as the Rajasthan Royals worked off a 16-run victory over the Chennai Super Kings in their opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Tuesday night.
Samson, Smith and Archer put the Chennai Super Kings to the sword as they posted 216 for 7, the highest total so far this season, and then restricted the latter to 200 for 6 in 20 overs at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
The Chennai Super Kings fell short despite a valiant and fighting knock by Faf du Plessis, who made 72 from 37 balls with seven sixes and a boundary.
Leg spinner Rahul Tewatia snapped up three wickets, while Archer was miserly in his four overs, giving away 26 runs.
Earlier, Samson was on song as he whipped up a ruthless 74 from just 32 deliveries with a whopping nine sixes and a boundary, while Smith showed no ill effects of the concussion that had seen him miss the ODI series against England, to make 69.
Smith's knock came from 47 balls with four boundaries and an equal number of sixes.
And despite a mini-collapse in the middle, the Royals went past the 200-mark following some lusty hits from Archer, who blitzed an eight-ball 27 with four towering sixes off Lungi Ngidi.
Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni called right yet again at the toss and opted to have a bowl first again. And although the Rajasthan Royals had a sluggish beginning, they came into their own with Samson and Smith firing away, especially the former.
The Kerala batsman tore into the CSK bowlers, reserving special treatment for Piyush Chawla, who leaked a half-century of runs. The leg spinner conceded 55 runs from his four overs, taking one wicket.
Samson stroked some brilliant shots, mixing aggression with a fine sense of timing. The 25-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, who came at the fall of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal's wicket, reached his half-century from just 19 balls, with the help of six sixes and one boundary, with his strike rate being 263.15.
Samson and Smith also put on 121 runs for the second wicket. Lower down, Archer and Tom Curran's unbroken stand was worth 38.
With the Royals coasting to 54 for one after six overs, Dhoni shifted to spin and Samson welcomed Ravindra Jadeja by clubbing the left-arm spinner for two consecutive sixes.
It was spin at both ends as Chawla came on in the next over and Samson laid into him by smoking three sixes to bring up his 50 and then Smith hoicked a six off a free hit following a no-ball as 28 came off that over.
The Royals reached 100 for one in nine overs with Chawla giving away 47 from his two overs.
Following Samson's dismissal, the Royals encountered a blip as they lost a couple of quick wickets.
David Miller, playing his first match for Royals following seven seasons with Kings XI Punjab, was out without facing a ball, with him being run out, losing his bat while trying to make it to the non-striker's end.
With Robin Uthappa falling cheaply and so too Rahul Tewatia, their innings slowed down before Archer breathed life back into it. The Englishman smacked four successive sixes from the last over bowled by Ngidi, who had a wretched night, conceding 56 runs.
Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals: 216-7 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 74, Steve Smith 69, Jofra Archer 27 not out, Sam Curran 3-33) beat Chennai Super Kings: 200-6 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 72, Shane Watson 33, MS Dhoni 29 not out, Kedhar Jadhav 22, M Vijay 21, Sam Curran 17, Rahul Tewatia 3-37) by 16 runs.
james@khaleejtimes.com
iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
