IPL 2020: Samson’s Stunning Innings Crushes CSK

Kerala youngster Sanju Samson’s blistering innings and Steve Smith’s classy performance helped Rajasthan Royals to register their first victory in IPL 2020. Rajasthan completely dominated the match right from the beginning and won over CSK by 16 runs. CSK seemed to be in the chase during the beginning of the second innings, but soon they started giving up after losing wickets. CSK now has a win and a loss in their first two IPL matches.

Rajasthan was invited to bat by CSK after the latter won the toss. Steve Smith(69) opened the batting along with debutante Yashaswi Jaiswal. The young lad fell right in the second over of the match. Even after losing an early wicket, RR didn’t lose the momentum, thanks to stupendous innings by Sanju Samson. He started hitting right after entering the crease and didn’t stop it until he got out. Finally, Sanju got caught when his score was 72.

After Samson’s dismissal, Smith took the responsibility of building the score. Though he didn’t get enough support, Smith managed to score whenever he got a chance. In the end, he got out in the bowling of Sam Curran. After Smith’s departure, Rajasthan had a bleak chance of scoring 200. But the 30 runs last over ensured the team to reach a total of 216. England’s quickie Jofra Archer had hit four consecutive sixes in that over. Sam Curran took three wickets for CSK.

Chennai started off well while chasing the humongous total of 217. Openers Murali Vijay and Shane Watson gave a flying start and made 56 runs partnership for the first wicket. Spinner Rahul Tewatia(3/37) bowled Watson in the seventh over. Within a few balls, Murali Vijay also departed. Sam Curran came in the fourth position and made a blistering cameo. He then got out for a score of 17. The next batsman Kedhar Jadhav also failed to make an impact.

When Dhoni came to the crease, the required rate was more than 15. When everyone expected Dhoni to hit big, it was du Plessis(74) who tried hard to decrease the run rate. It felt like Dhoni gave up on this match way before he came to batting. At a certain point, CSK’s loss became inevitable. By the end of the match, they managed to score only 200. Chennai will next face Delhi Capitals on September 25. RR will take on Kings XI Punjab on September 27.