IPL 2018, CSK vs RR: Bowlers star as dominant Chennai beat Rajasthan by 64 runs

Pune: A dominant Chennai Super Kings beat Rajasthan Royals by 64 runs in their Indian Premier League encounter here on Friday.

With this win, CSK now have six points in the IPL standings, with three wins.

Ben Stokes’ 37-ball 45 was the standout performance for the visitors as they struggled to build a partnership and keep the momentum going.

Heinrich Klaasen (7) had a debut to forget, while Ajinkya Rahane managed just 16 runs.

The CSK bowlers did their task right, with as many as four bowlers taking two wickets each. While Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Karn Sharma and Dwayne Bravo picked up two wickets each, Imran Tahir and Shane Watson got one wicket each.

CSK will next face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday, whereas Rajasthan Royals host Mumbai Indians later on the same day.

RR 117-8 from 15.3 overs

WICKET! Shardul Thakur strikes again, and he removes Stuart Binny as CSK close in on victory.

RR 115-7 from 14.4 overs

WICKET! The CSK bowlers are all over the place now as Shane Watson has just seen off Krishnappa Gowtham. This is a top-class performance by the hosts' bowlers.

RR 111-6 from 13.5 overs

WICKET! The in-form Ben Stokes has been dismissed for 45, as Sam Billings takes the catch again, courtesy the wicket by Imran Tahir.

RR 96-5 from 12.2 overs

WICKET! Dwayne Bravo has struck once again, this time removes Rahul Tripathi courtesy a catch by Sam Billings at deep mid-wicket.

RR 77-4 from 10.1 overs

WICKET! Dwayne Bravo is dancing as he celebrates the wicket of Jos Buttler, who departs for 22. Troubles are mounting for Rajasthan Royals.

RR 32-3 from 4.3 overs

WICKET! Deepak Chahar does the job again, as he removes captain Ajinkya Rahane this time. This is a huge blow for the visitors.

RR 25-2 from 3 overs

WICKET! Deepak Chahar has got the big wicket of Sanju Samson, who departs for just two runs. CSK players and fans are ecstatic on getting the big man.

RR 20-1 from 1.5 overs

WICKET! Heinrich Klaasen's IPL career is off to a forgettable start as Shardul Thakur dismisses him for seven runs.

CSK innings

Opener Shane Watson led from the front as Chennai Super Kings finished with a total of 204-5 during their Indian Premier League match against Rajasthan Royals here on Friday.

Apart from Watson, Suresh Raina was the other fighter for CSK, having scored 46 runs.

Captain Dhoni just managed five runs, whereas Sam Billings too failed to build on his innings.

Dwayne Bravo, meanwhile, supported Watson from the other end as he contributed 24 runs.

RR will now look to chase the total down, as they hope to avoid another defeat in the tournament.

CSK 184-4 from 18 overs

WHAT AN OVER! Shane Watson has just got to his century, as CSK race towards a big total.

CSK 161-4 from 15.1 overs

WICKET! Sam Billings is dismissed, as CSK continue to lose wickets

CSK 151-3 from 13.2 overs

WICKET! Krishnappa Gowtham takes a splendid catch to dismiss MS Dhoni, as Shreyas Gopal gets his second victim.

CSK 131-2 from 11.5 overs

WICKET! Suresh Raina departs for 46, missing out on a half-century on his return.

CSK 107-1 from 10 overs

Shane Watson and Suresh Raina seems like in a hurry to lead the hosts to a huge total as the Men in Yellow are going at more than 10 runs per over.

CSK 50-1 from 4.3 overs

WICKET! Ben Laughlin strikes as he removes Ambati Rayudu for 12 runs, courtesy a catch by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.

Toss update

Ajinkya Rahane won the toss on Friday, and said that Rajasthan Royals would bowl against Chennai Super Kings.

CSK have made two changes, bringing in a fit-again Suresh Raina in place of Murali Vijay and replacing Harbhajan Singh with Karn Sharma.

RR also made two changes, with Stuart Binny replacing Dhawal Kulkarni and Heinrich Klaasen replacing D 'Arcy Short.

Here is how the teams lineup for tonight's match:

Preview

Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will look to start afresh at their new home at the Maharashtra Cricket Association International Stadium here when they take on Ajinkya Rahane’s Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday.

The only game CSK played at the Chepauk stadium in Chennai was against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), after which their home matches were shifted here due to the Cauvery dispute. CSK, though, went on to win that match by five wickets.

CSK suffered their first loss of the season in their last match against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Mohali recently, as former player Ravichandran Ashwin and co completed a thrilling last-ball finish to win by three wickets.

For Dhoni, however, Pune will be a familiar place as he was a part of Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) franchise for the last two years.

Both teams are currently tied on four points, with CSK in fourth position and RR in the fifth respectively.

This will be a crunch match, and a win for either of the team will boost their chances for the remainder of the tournament.

Squads:

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni(captain), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis,, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Kanishk Seth, Lungi Ngidi, Dhruv Shorey, Murali Vijay, Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Kshitiz Sharma, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur,  Harbhajan Singh, , David Willey, N Jagadeesan.

Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane(captain), Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Rahul Tripathi, D Arcy Short, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat, Ankit Sharma, Anureet Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Prashant Chopra, Sudhesan Midhun, Ben Laughlin, Mahipal Lomror, Aryaman Birla, Jatin Saxena, Dushmantha Chameera, , Heinrich Klaasen, Ish Sodhi

When is the match?

The match is scheduled to start at 8 pm IST on Friday (April 20)

Where is the match?

The match will take place at Maharashtra Cricket Association International Stadium in Pune.

Live telecast and timings:

With Star India now acquiring the media rights from Sony Pictures Network India for the upcoming season, the matches will be telecast on various Star Sports channels.

Live streaming:

The matches can be viewed live on Hotstar.com or on the Hotstar app.