Rajasthan disappointed; Dhoni-led CSK triumph

RR made three changes to their playing (Mork)eleven – the Patels (Niraj and Munaf) and Morne made way for Swapnil Asnodkar, Shane Harwood and Siddharth Trivedi.

CSK made a couple of changes to their playing eleven – George Bailey and Manpreet Gony made way for Murali Vijay and Jacob Oram.

On winning the toss, Shane Warne, RR’s skipper, chose to bat.

The first Powerplay of RR’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 34, and lost a wicket.

Naman Ojha, who faced a couple of balls, failed to get off the mark. Three balls into the match, Morne broke the one-run stand.

RR scored 50 off as many balls (8.2 overs). CSK had conceded three extras at that point.

The second-wicket pair put on 50 off 47 balls. While Graeme Smith’s contribution to the partnership was 23, Asnodkar’s contribution to it was 25. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was three.

Asnodkar, whose 25-ball innings included three boundaries and a six, eventually scored 26. Fifty balls after Ojha’s dismissal, he was trapped leg before wicket by Muttiah Muralitharan, who broke the 53-run partnership.

Ten overs into the match, the drinks break was taken. RR had scored 61 for the loss of a couple of wickets at that point. While Smith had scored 28, Ravindra Jadeja was batting on four.

Smith, whose 33-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, eventually scored 30. Twenty-one balls after Asnodkar’s dismissal, he was stumped by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, CSK’s skipper. Muralitharan broke the run-a-ball stand.

Jadeja, whose 19-ball innings included three boundaries and a six, eventually scored 27. Eleven balls later, he was caught by Suresh Raina. Lakshmipathy Balaji broke the 17-run stand.

RR scored 100 off 15.1 overs (91 balls). CSK had conceded four extras at that point.

Although his innings included a six, Yusuf Pathan had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he scored 11. Ten balls after Jadeja’s dismissal, he was caught by Jacob Oram. Shadab Jakati broke the eight-run stand.

The sixth-wicket pair put on four. Lee Carseldine, who faced eight-ball innings included a boundary, scored nine. Five balls later, Balaji ran him out.

Although his innings included a six, Abhishek Raut, who faced five balls, had no reason to be in seventh heaven – four balls later, he was stumped by Dhoni. Needless to say, Jakati was in seventh heaven.

Warne, whose 11-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, scored 21. He was unbeaten, as was Harwood, who had no reason to be in seventh heaven – he scored half-a-dozen.

The number of extras they eventually conceded gave CSK no reason to be in seventh heaven. RR scored 140 for the loss of seven wickets off 20 overs.

Oram, who bowled a wicketless over, conceded eight.

Sudeep Tyagi, who bowled a couple of wicketless overs, conceded a dozen.

Raina, who bowled three wicketless overs, conceded 21.

Morkel and Balaji bowled three overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 24, the latter conceded 13.

Jakati and Muralitharan bowled four overs each, picking up a couple of scalps apiece. While the former conceded 35, the latter conceded 22.

The first Powerplay of CSK’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 37, and lost a couple of wickets.

Vijay, whose 12-ball innings included a six, scored 10. Three overs into the chase, he was trapped leg before wicket by Trivedi, who broke the 19-run stand.

Raina, who bowled 11-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 13. Three overs later, he was caught by Carseldine. Amit Singh broke the 18-run stand.

CSK scored 50 off eight overs (48 balls). RR had conceded half-a-dozen extras at that point.

Ten overs into the chase, the drinks break was taken. CSK had scored 67 for the loss of a couple of wickets at that point. While Matthew Hayden had scored 30, Subramaniam Badrinath, the player of the match, was in seventh heaven.

The third-wicket pair put on 50 off 47 balls. While Hayden’s contribution to the partnership was 25, Badrinath’s contribution to it was 19. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was half-a-dozen.

CSK scored 100 off 15.1 overs (91 balls). RR had conceded nine extras at that point.

Hayden, whose 44-ball innings included four boundaries and a six, eventually scored 48. Sixty-five balls after Raina’s dismissal, he was stumped by Ojha. Warne broke the 89-run partnership.

Badrinath’s half-century – which included eight boundaries and a six – came off 38 balls.

He eventually scored 59 off 41 balls, which included nine boundaries, in addition to the six. He was unbeaten, as was Oram, who faced a couple of balls, scoring a run.

RR eventually conceded 10 extras. CSK, who scored 141 for the loss of three wickets off 18.2 overs, won by seven wickets with 10 balls to spare.

Harwood, who bowled a couple of wicketless overs, conceded 22.

Jadeja, who bowled 2.2 wicketless overs, conceded 14.

Pathan, who bowled four wicketless overs, conceded 28.

Singh and Trivedi bowled three overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 25, the latter conceded 23.

Warne, who bowled four overs, conceded 27. He picked up a scalp.