IPL 2021: Chennai Super Kings score 188/9 against RR
An all-round effort by all batsmen helped Chennai Super Kings post 188/9 against Rajasthan Royals in match number 12 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. Interestingly, the CSK innings kept on losing wickets regularly with Faf du Plessis (33) being the top scorer. Further, skipper MS Dhoni promoted himself in the batting order, he couldn't do much damage (18). Here's the mid-innings report.
The Super Kings had a cautious start after RR elected to field. Ruturaj Gaikwad struggled to time the ball initially, however, Faf du Plessis accelerated in the powerplay. In the fourth over, Mustafizur Rahman drew first blood for RR by dismissing Ruturaj. His partner Faf also fell to Chris Morris after smashing 33 (17). CSK managed 46/2 after the first six.
Quite a few batters in the CSK line-up started off well in the match. However, they couldn't capitalize, departing eventually. The likes of Faf (33), Moeen Ali (26), Ambati Rayudu (27), and Suresh Raina (18) got dismissed after getting decent starts.
Left-arm fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat was the pick of RR bowlers in their previous game against DC. However, he remained ineffective this time against the Super Kings. Unadkat conceded 40 runs in four without taking a single wicket. He gave away as many as 19 runs in his third over. Notably, Faf smashed three fours and a six in that over.
Another left-arm seamer Chetan Sakariya brought back the Royals in the hunt in the middle phase. At one stage, Raina and Rayudu started their counter-attack. They shared an 85-run stand after CSK were reduced to 78/3. However, Sakariya broke the partnership after dismissing Rayudu in the 14th over. He got rid of Raina too in the same over, and dismissed Dhoni later on.
