Defending Champions Chennai Super Kings pulled off a tense victory against hosts Rajasthan Royals to make their way into the top four. In what was a rain-delayed contest at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, CSK chasing a low target of 127 got home after losing six wickets and with 11 balls to spare. It needed some stunning heroics from Albie Morkel (18* from 6 balls with a four and 2 sixes) and Srikkanth Aniruddha (18* from 6 balls with a four and 2 sixes) to carry CSK to victory. This is now CSK’s sixth victory in 13 matches and for the Rajasthan Royals, it’s a spot of bother after a seventh loss in the tournament.
Asked to bat first after losing the toss, Rajasthan Royals struggled to find any momentum in their innings with three rain breaks not helping them at all. A brilliant spell of 4-1-8-2 from Ben Hilfenhaus along with support from the likes of Yo Mahesh (4-0-21-0) and Ravindra Jadeja (4-0-21-0) ensured that Rajasthan Royals could only post a total of 126 for 6.
The top scorer of Rajasthan Royals was Brad Hodge who made 33 from 28 balls with 2 fours and a six. He was followed with Stuart Binny who chipped in with 27 from 18 balls with 3 fours and a six.
In their run chase, Chennai Super Kings slipped to a worrying 84 for 6 in 16.2 overs to open up chances of a shock win for Rajasthan Royals. However, an unbeaten stand of 43 from Albie Morkel and Srikkanth Aniruddha ensured that CSK was truly alive to qualify for the play-offs in the IPL 5.
Ben Hilfenhaus for his dream figures of 2/8 in 4 overs got the Man of the Match award.
