Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered their first loss in the second phase of IPL 2021 after Rajasthan Royals (RR) chased down 190 runs with 7 wickets in hand and 15 balls remaining. RR openers blew away CSK's bowling attack in the powerplay as they added 77 runs in 5.2 overs which set the tone for a comfortable run chase.

Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed 50 off 21 deliveries, while Evin Lewis added 27 runs in 12 deliveries before getting out to Shardul Thakur. Shivam Dube was included in the playing eleven for this match and he scored unbeaten 64 runs to take his side over the line.

CSK captain MS Dhoni admitted that RR batted very well and jokingly added that a target around 250 would have been ideal on this pitch which assisted batters. 

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"It was a bad toss to lose to start off, but I feel the Royals batters batted really well. Around 250 may have been about right on that surface (laughs). There was dew and the ball started coming on well, still, you needed to bat well and that's what they did. An ideal start in a tall chase where they took the game on in the PP," said Dhoni during the post-match presentation.

"I think initially it was stopping a bit, which we saw with their wrist spinners. As the innings progressed, it started coming on well, Rutu's was an outstanding knock. When you lose the game, it can get brushed under the carpet but he batted very well to get us up to 190," he added.

CSK were playing without their two quality bowlers, Dwayne Bravo and Deepak Chahar. Dhoni said they missed both the pacers who could have done better for them in this high-scoring match.

"The batsmen need to assess quickly what a good score is. In T20s, you tend to go hard and then realize it's not a 160-180 wicket. They've done it well, assessed really well. Dwayne and Deepak aren't here, of course, I missed them. Both of them are quite experienced," he said.

Super Kings have already made it to the playoffs with 9 wins in 12 matches. Dhoni said they are learning from these matches before the playoffs. 

"Once you start going after the bowlers, it paid off. We could've used the dimensions of the field better. Have to forget this, you can go through it in a tournament like this, learn what we could have done," said Dhoni.

"The same thing can happen in the knockouts too, we've done it well, learning from each and every game. Don't think we could've scored more than 190," he added. 

(With Inputs of ANI)