Chennai Super Kings (CSK) registered a convincing five-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Chepuak on Sunday (May 12).
Opting to bat first, the Royals posted a below-par 141/5 in 20 overs on a two-paced track. Riyan Parag was the top scorer with 47* off 35 balls.
Medium-pacer Simarjeet Singh starred with the ball for CSK, claiming three wickets by conceding 26 runs in his four overs.
In reply, the hosts overhauled the target with 10 deliveries to spare. While skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad anchored the chase with 42 not off 41 balls, the likes of Rachin Ravindra (27) and Daryl Mitchell (22) also chipped in with handy contributions.
After the game, CSK captain Gaikwad said there was no reason for them to deviate from the strategy of playing on turning pitches at home.
It was CSK’s final league game in this year's IPL at Chepauk. The defending champions can still play at the iconic venue if they qualify for the final.
"Definitely we would love to play on such wickets. It brings our spinners into play and with huge boundaries, there is an amount of risk to hit sixes," Gaikwad said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"That is always the plan whenever you come here. Sometimes, the wicket is flatter and we go to the yorkers. When the wicket is slow and you have a bigger side, you want to take the pace off," he added.
Reflecting on his cautious knock, Ruturaj Gaikwad said: "As a team, we have stroke-players so my job was to stay there till the end."
He added that their powerplay score made it easy to chase down the target despite losing a few wickets in the middle overs.
"When we were 55-1, I felt we were cruising. One or two wickets can allow the opposition to get back. Generally, I thought we were cruising and there was no pressure until the end."
Player-of-the-Match Simarjeet Singh, who was out of action for more than a year before this IPL, expressed his gratitude towards CSK management for taking good care of him.
"I am very thankful to the CSK management, the physio and my trainer to treat me the way they did when I was injured. It is a blessing," Simarjeet stated.
On the other hand, RR skipper Sanju Samson said it is very difficult to predict the kind of pitch that will be on offer in away games.
"We are not really sure what to expect from away games. We thought batting first was the better option," Samson said in the post-match interaction.
"They had a better idea of what to chase being used to playing here, we thought it would have been slower in the second innings, but the wicket was instead better.”
"When you play at night chasing is a no brainer due to the dew. The pitch gets heated up during summers so I expected the wicket to slow down in the second innings," he further remarked.
Despite the loss, RR are holding the second spot in the team standings. With two games left, there is a very good chance of them finishing in top two in the play-offs.
