The Rajasthan Royals (RR) pulled off a nail-biting 6-run win over the Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati on Sunday, marking their first victory of the season with Riyan Parag stepping in as captain. They managed to score 182/9, but Parag thought they could have done better with the bat. He credited the team’s strong bowling and fielding for the win. It felt like a long wait for just two games. We still think we were about 20 runs short. We lost a couple of wickets quickly in the middle overs, but we bowled really well. After two tough games, we decided to wipe the slate clean and play better together, said Parag, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
One notable move was not having Jofra Archer bowl all his overs. Parag explained this was a situational decision, thanks to having several good bowlers. I had options today, and Nitish and I just went with what felt right, he added. The Royals’ fielding was also impressive, which Parag attributed to their fielding coach, Dishant Yagnik. Our fielding really helped us cover those runs we missed earlier. We’ve been working hard with Dishant, and it’s clearly paying off, he said.
In the match, CSK chose to bowl first after winning the toss. Though Jaiswal was out early, Sanju Samson (20 runs off 16 balls) and Nitish Rana (81 runs off just 33 balls with six fours and six sixes) built an 82-run partnership. Riyan Parag (37 runs off 28 balls) tried to hold his ground but kept losing partners, and RR ended up with 182/9 in their 20 overs. Noor Ahmed and Matheesha Pathirana (2/28) were standout bowlers for CSK, while Khaleel Ahmed (2/38) also bowled well.
During CSK’s chase, they lost Rachin Ravindra without any runs. A 46-run partnership followed between Rahul Tripathi (23 runs off 19 balls) and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad. However, Shivam Dube (18 runs) and Vijay Shankar (9 runs) were out quickly, putting CSK at 92/4. Gaikwad fought hard with a score of 63 runs off 44 balls, but his dismissal was a turning point, leaving CSK at 129/5. MS Dhoni (16), Ravindra Jadeja (32), and Jamie Overton (11) did their best, but CSK fell short with 176/6 after 20 overs. Wanindu Hasaranga was the top bowler for RR with 4 wickets, while Sandeep Sharma and Jofra Archer grabbed one wicket each.
With this victory, RR finally has two points and sits in ninth place on the points table, while CSK is in seventh with one win and two losses.