Yesterday's clash in Abu Dhabi saw the Rajasthan Royals dominate Chennai Super Kings, winning comfortably by 7 wickets. The result complicates the playoff picture for Dhoni's side, who must now win their final four matches and rely on other teams' outcomes to secure a spot. Chennai's effort resulted in a target of 126 runs, which Rajasthan successfully chased in 17.3 overs, losing just three wickets in the process.
Rajasthan Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings comfortably by 7 wickets in yesterday’s game in Abu Dhabi. With this defeat, the path for Dhoni’s team to reach the playoffs has become difficult. Now CSK will have to depend on the results of the other team along with winning the remaining 4 matches in order to progress to the playoffs. Chennai gave Rajasthan a target of 126 runs. Rajasthan achieved this target by scoring it in 17.3 overs for the loss of 3 wickets.
Jos Buttler was the star for Rajasthan, topping the scoring with 70 runs, including seven fours and two sixes. He was well-supported by Steve Smith, who chipped in with 26 runs off 34 balls, as the pair put together an unbeaten 98-run stand. While Ben Stokes scored 19 and Robin Uthappa added 4, Sanju Samson was dismissed for zero. For the Super Kings, Deepak Chahar managed two wickets and Josh Hazlewood took one. Notably, MS Dhoni made history by becoming the league's first player to reach the 200-match milestone.
Setting the stage, Chennai managed 125 runs for the loss of 5 wickets across their 20 overs. Ravindra Jadeja top-scored for CSK with 35 runs off 30 balls, hitting four boundaries. Kedar Jadhav remained unbeaten with 4 runs from 7 balls, whereas MS Dhoni was run out after scoring 28 off 28. Other contributions included Sam Curran, who scored 22 off 25 before falling to Shreyas Gopal, Ambati Rayudu with 13 off 19, Faf du Plessis with 10, and Shane Watson with 8.