03rd April 2010 – M A Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai: Rajasthan Royals put up a brave fight but the target of 246 set by Chennai Super Kings (CSK ) proved too much for them as they fell short by 23 runs. RR matched every shot played by CSK in their innings and stayed in the hunt till the penultimate over of the game. RR might not have won the game but they certainly proved that they are not an “ordinary” team.
After CSK set a steep target of 247 for RR, not too many gave them a chance even to get close to CSK’s score but RR showed some real character to play like they did and gave CSK a run for their money. Michael Lumb (37) and Naman Ojha got RR off to a good start once again. Lumb was the aggressor initially and kept the RR chase on track. Once Lumb departed Naman Ojha stepped up and played another blinder of an innings scoring an unbeaten 94 runs (55b, 8X4, 6X6). Ojha who was the man-of the match against CSK in last game played between these two sides played wonderfully well and almost got RR home. Ojha together with the Shane Watson (60, 25b, 5X4, 5X6) put on a 93 run stand for the 3rd wicket and threatened to take the game away from CSK. Watson showed why he was so badly missed by RR in the earlier games as he smashed the ball all around the park. A little more of Watson and RR would have won the game.
Earlier in the day CSK played wonderfully well to score 247 in their allotted 20 overs mainly helped by Murali Vijay (127) who scored a brilliant hundred. Albie Morkel also made a significant contribution scoring 62. All the RR bowlers had a tough time on a flat track and in blazing heat and they could not do much to stop the CSK batsmen who were on rampage.
The Return of Shane Watson and Naman Ojha’s form would certainly be quite heartening from RR’s point of view. However they would want their bowlers to come up with a much improved performance. Also their fielding in the last two games has not been as sharp as they would have wanted it to be. Shane Warne and his team would be disappointed with the result here but they certainly can take heart from their batting performance and use this defeat to inspire them to greater things in the tournament.
Match details:
Match: RR V CSK
Date: 03rd April, 2010
Venue: M A Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
Toss: Chennai Super Kings, who chose to bat
MoM: Murali Vijay
Breif scores:
CSK – 246/5 – M Vijay 127 (56b, 8X4, 11X6), A Morkel 62 (34b, 3X4, 5X6) S Watson 4-0-47-2
RR – 223/5 - N Ojha 94 (55b, 8X4, 6X6) S Watson 60(25b, 5X4, 5X6) D Bollinger 4-0-15-2
Result: CSK won by 23 runs.