Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) locked horns in the 47th match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday (October 2).

Asked to bat first, CSK piled up a mammoth 189/4 in 20 overs on the back of opener Ruturaj Gaikwad’s stunning 101 not out off 60 deliveries. Ravindra Jadeja also played a handy knock with the bat, scoring 32* off 15 balls.

Amid the carnage, Rahul Tewatia returned with three wickets for the Royals by conceding 39 runs in his four overs.

Chasing the massive target, RR got off to a flying start as the duo of Evin Lewis and Yashasvi Jaiswal stitched a 77-run partnership for the opening wicket inside the powerplay. In particular, Jaiswal was severe on the CSK bowlers, smashing 50 in just 21 balls. On the other hand, Lewis scored 27 off 12 balls.

However, both the openers got out in quick succession and Rajasthan were in a spot of bother at 77/2. It was then all-rounder Shivam Dube produced a magical innings to take the game away from CSK.

Dube attacked the Chennai bowlers from the outset and added 89 runs for the third wicket with skipper Sanju Samson to put RR on the brink of victory.

After Samson’s dismissal on 24-ball 28, Glenn Phillips (14* off 8 balls) arrived in the middle to partner Dube (64* off 42 balls) and the pair shared an unbeaten 20-run stand to take Rajasthan over the line with 7 wickets in hand and 15 balls to spare.  

Cricket experts on Twitter lauded Rajasthan Royals’ herculean chase led by Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube.

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