Watson, Rahane share 144-run stand as hosts beat Chennai by 8 wickets to win fifth straight game and remain atop
In the past, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings had faced each other 15 times, with the former winning only five of those. Thus, going into Sunday's encounter here at the Motera Stadium, the Men in Yellow were the favourites.
But this is the IPL, where past records mean little. A record 144-run partnership for the opening wicket between Ajinkya Rahane (76*) and captain Shane Watson (73) sealed a comprehensive eight-wicket win for the Royals. In the process, the Royals made it five in a row and handed MS Dhoni & Co. their first defeat this season.
The Royals were bolstered with captain Shane Watson passing the fitness test and replacing strike bowler Tim Southee. Yet, the Royals' bowling attack looked undeterred, reflecting their bench strength.
In-form Chennai openers Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum looked determined to steal the limelight. However, Watson had different ideas. The Aussie juggled his bowlers around, using five bowlers in the first six overs to unsettle the opening duo. He summoned spinners Ankit Sharma and Pravin Tambe in the powerplay, and it proved decisive as McCullum departed for 12 while trying to hit leggie Tambe out of the park.
CSK found themselves on the backfoot after Chris Morris removed Suresh Raina for four. Faf du Plessis didn't hang around either, Sharma getting rid of him in the next over, courtesy a superb catch by Morris at long-off.
Smith, who was looking good on 40, went for a shot too many as James Faulkner bowled him at the start of the tenth over. It required West Indies discard Dwayne Bravo and Dhoni's unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 91 from just 65 balls to get Chennai to a modest score of 156/4. While Bravo scored a breezy 36-ball 62, Dhoni, by his own admission, ate up quite a few balls in his 37-ball 31.
If the Royals' bowling was good, their batting was even better. Ajinkya Rahane, who is leading the Orange Cap race, batted with authority. Not afraid to play innovative shots, the Mumbaikar made his intentions clear with a chip shot over mid-on off Ashish Nehra.
Watson took some time to settle down before he changed gears. The opening partnership of 100 runs was Royals' eighth in history and surpassed their previous best of 135.
Watson and Rahane toyed with the Chennai attack which consisted current Indian players in Mohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin. In fact, Watson was ruthless against the spinners. He hammered Ashwin and Jadeja for two sixes each to stamp his authority.
After the match, Chennai coach Stephen Fleming said they were totally outplayed.
"It was pretty one-sided for a top-of-the-table clash. We were totally outplayed in all departments and that comes as a surprise to us. We were playing well. It's just the nature of the IPL. We absolutely got hooped by a team that's full of confidence," he said.
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