CSK humbled as Rajasthan make it five in a row

With both teams coming in to the match with unbeaten record in the season so far, it was going to be a battle of strength between CSK's batting firepower and the RR's bowling variations. That's exactly where the match was decided.The Royals made early inroads dismissing the top order cheaply and curtailed the big hits towards the end. The ever consistent Ajinkya Rahane and returning skipper Shane Watson then produced a batting masterclass to give RR a comfortable win.

                                          MS Dhoni having won the toss decided to bat, maybe keeping the very hot conditions in mind. Watson though was upto the task, as he rotated the bowlers regularly, and it worked out beautifully for RR. Pravin Tambe got rid of Brendon McCullum, who was looking to dominate the bowling early on. Raina and Du Plessis also perished soon. With wickets falling around him, Smith curtailed his attacking instincts, but still managing a solid 40 off 29 balls. He was dismissed in the first ball after the first strategic time-out and with no recognised batsmen to follow, the CSK pair of Dhoni and Bravo had to steady things first. It was Bravo who got things moving, finding the gaps in the field to perfection. That Bravo managed 62 off 36 balls with just one hit over the ropes, is proof of how intelligently he played. But the heat tired him towards the end, ad with Dhoni not connecting with the ball at all, CSK could manage only 156/4.

                                         Watson, who was playing his first match of the tournament, came in to open the innings with Rahane. The duo batted with utmost ease as they made light work of the CSK bowling which looked toothless.Watson especially took a liking for the spinners as they were never allowed to settle.Dhoni too looked short of ideas as the Indo-Aussie batting pair put up 144 runs for the first wicket, a record for RR. Both hit brilliant 70's with Watson being dismissed just 13 runs shy of the target. Rahane remained unbeaten and sits comfortably at the top of the batting charts at the moment.
                     It was a thrashing no doubt for CSK, a rare off day, while the Royals juggernaut rolls on.