Mitchell finishes off with last-ball sizzler after half centuries from Dhoni and Rayudu help CSK beat Rajasthan to continue winning run
Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni (right) with Mitchell Santner during last nightu00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s match against Rajasthan Royals. Pic/AFP
Riding on MS Dhoni's 58 and Ambati Rayudu's 57, Chennai Super Kings completed a thrilling four-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here last night. It was Dhoni's 100th win as IPL captain.
Chasing RR's 151-7, CSK completed the chase in one of the most entertaining and action-packed final overs of this edition, where CSK's Mitchell Santner, needing three off the last ball, finished it off with a six.
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Earlier, losing four wickets for 24 runs after 5.5 overs, CSK's old hands Rayudu and Dhoni staged a remarkable comeback with a 95-run partnership. Instead of going for fancy shots, the duo concentrated on the ones and twos, occasionally going for the the odd boundary or a six to ensure the asking rate did not hit the roof. Rayudu cut loose in the 15th over when he carved a six and a four, to bring up his half century, claiming 13 runs off pacer Jaydev Unadkat.
However, Shreyas Gopal and Jofra Archer pulled things back again for RR, conceding five and seven runs respectively in the 16th and 17th overs. Rayudu's dismissal in the 18th over, bowled by Ben Stokes, then put the entire pressure of seeing CSK through, on Dhoni, who seemed to be running out of breath under hot conditions. He somehow brought the equation to 18 needed off the last over. Jadeja began it with a six off Stokes, who however, clean bowled Dhoni off the third ball.
A no-ball controversy in the next delivery then saw Dhoni come on to the ground from the dugout to question the umpires, who had initially signalled for the illegal delivery but later changed their decision. Dhoni was furious, but a last-ball six by Santner would have calmed things down. Stokes (28) and Jos Buttler (23) were the top-scorers for RR, while Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur claimed two wickets each for CSK.
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