After bad last season, CSK find their feet early in IPL 2021

New Delhi: In the 12th match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, three times champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 45 runs. It was a comprehensible win for CSK. In this edition, CSK have got good start and they are now at the second spot in the points table. They had a bad season last year as it was for the first time in IPL history that they did not qualify for the playoffs.

Now, with two wins in their kitty out of three matches played, it can be said that they are finding their feet quite early in the tournament. In this edition, the team is looking quite batting heavy with capable batsmen uptill the eighth position.

Despite some hiccups, CSK were able to score 188 runs in stipulated 20 overs. That was possible with contributions from many batters. Sanju Samson, the captain of the RR, chose to field first because of the dew factor. Faf du Plessis gave a good start to CSK and contributed 33 runs in just 17 balls. Thereafter, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali and Dwayne Bravo made handsome contributions.

For RR, Chetan Sakariya was the highest wickettaking bowler. He took 3 wickets in 4 overs. On the other hand, Ravindra Jadeja took two crucial wickets for the CSK and contributed in stopping the RR on 143 runs.

CSK skipper MS Dhoni was again talk of the town. He scored two boundaries in his brief innings of 18 runs off 17 deliveries. He has now captained the franchise for record 200 times. After the match, MS Dhoni also talked about his fitness.

He said, “When you are playing, you don't really want anyone to say he's unfit. Performances are something that's not guaranteed. I wasn't guaranteeing performances when I was 24, I can't guarantee when I am 40, but at least if people can't point finger at me that he's unfit then that will be a big positive for me. I have to keep up with the younger guys, they are very fast, it’s good to challenge them.”

Here are some reactions from the yesterday’s game:

#Dhoni #CSKvRR @imjadeja

*Jadeja taking catches everywhere on the field*
*Ball to batsman: pic.twitter.com/w8cMQa9k4x
— Abdeali (@AbdealikK) April 19, 2021

Ravindra Jadeja took 4 catches today.
Everyone to Jadeja: #CSKvsRR #CSKvRR pic.twitter.com/H0XomoUKnY
— GURPANTH SANDHU (@Gurpanthinsan) April 19, 2021