IPL 2019: Match 25, CSK vs RR – Chennai Super Kings Player Ratings

The 2019 edition of the IPL is proving to be a very exciting season with close finishes. After a cliffhanger in Mumbai last night, the action moved to Jaipur for another humdinger. The Rajasthan Royals locked horns with the Chennai Super Kings in the match that went down to the final ball of the game. Needing 3 to win off the final ball, Mitchell Santner emerged as the hero for the CSK as he clobbered a six to seal the game.

Things were never really easy for CSK in the run chase though. They were stuttering at 24/4 at one stage of the game. Chasing a modest total of 151 seemed like a big task. Veteran heads MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu showed great composure to rebuild the innings and carry forward the run chase. Both batsmen notched up their fifties to get their side back in the game. While Rayudu perished soon after his fifty, Dhoni stayed on till the final over.

Some last over drama unfolded and eventually, Ben Stokes failed to contain 18 runs in the final over and CSK won by 4 wickets. Earlier in the game, the hosts had a similar fate with the bat. They struggled big time to get going after a brisk start from Jos Buttler. The fact that Ben Stokes top scored with a score of just 28 spoke volumes about the struggle the batters had in the innings. The CSK spinners got their strangle hold in the innings and that set the tone for their ascendency in the match.

Here are the CSK Player Ratings for the match:

Shane Watson – 1/10

Shane Watson’s poor run of form continued in this match as well. After having started the season on a decent note, Watson seems to have missed out on his touch a bit. He is not being used as a bowler, and as the opener of the side, his struggle is quite evident. He was undone by Dhawal Kulkarni on a peach of a delivery in the very first over of the chase.

Faf du Plessis – 2/10

Faf du Plessis loves to thrive is testing conditions. Every time there has been a tricky surface of play, the veteran Proteas star has stepped up. The expectation was pretty much the same in this match as well. Du Plessis failed to uphold his reputation and perished after scoring 7 off 10 balls.

Suresh Raina – 1/10

Suresh Raina had an off day with the bat. Owing to Watson’s early dismissal, Raina had to walk in to bat in the very first over of the chase. He started off with a flashy boundary but was unfortunate to get run out soon after. He could only score 4 before becoming a victim of Jofra Archer’s direct hit.

Ambati Rayudu – 8/10

Ambati Rayudu was one of the top performers for the CSK team last season. Coming in to this season, he came in with a big name for himself. Rayudu, however, had been largely failing leading in to this game. Here in Jaipur, when the tough task came calling, Rayudu stepped up to strike form. He hit a good 57 off 47 balls and stitched a handy partnership with MS Dhoni in the middle overs. The innings was no where close to being the fluent best that he is capable of, but it would certainly do a world of good to his confidence.

Kedar Jadhav – 1/10

Yet again in this season, Kedar Jadhav was not used as a bowler in the match. He played as a specialist batsman and walked in to bat at a tricky time in the run chase. He missed out on the opportunity of scoring big and only ended up adding more pressure on his team by getting out on 1. Much to his defence, he became a victim of a sensational catch from Ben Stokes.

MS Dhoni – 9/10

The batting conditions were definitely not the best in Jaipur. Despite this, MS Dhoni showed intent the moment he walked in to bat. He hit three sixes early on in his innings to ensure that pressure did not mount too much on his side. He batted along till the final over and notched up a clinical fifty too. He failed to take his side over the line though, and was dismissed in the final over. Dhoni scored 58 off just 43 balls with a couple of fours and 3 sixes to his name.

Ravindra Jadeja – 8.5/10

One rarely gets to see a batter fall over on the pitch and still manage to hit a six down the ground. Ravindra Jadeja just did that in the final over of the match. CSK needed 18 to win, and Jadeja hammered one down the ground to ease out things for his side. Earlier in the match, he bowled a handy spell of 2/20 in his quota of 4 overs. He bagged the big wickets of Steven Smith and Rahul Tripathi.

Mitchell Santner – 8.5/10

Mitchell Santner had a wonderful comeback in the season. Santner got in to the side for the second time in this season. His debut was not too impressive, but he managed to do very well in this game. In the four overs that he bowled, he conceded just 25 runs and also had the wicket of Sanju Samson to his name. With the bat, he played the knock of his life. He hit a six off the final ball of the over to win the match for his team.

Deepak Chahar – 8/10

Deepak Chahar has been an excellent find for the Men in Yellow. Chahar bowled a decent spell up front yet again. While Buttler was on charge, Chahar managed to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane. Later, he bagged another wicket to finish with 2/33 to his name. Chahar’s consistency comes as a big positive for his team.

Shardul Thakur – 6/10

Shardul Thakur got his complete quota of overs to bowl in this game. The pace bowler proved to be highly expensive as he leaked a lot of runs. Thakur did not look too challenging to the batters and he was taken away for 44 runs in his spell. He, however, managed to danger man Jos Buttler, and later Riyan Paraga to finish with 2/44.

Imran Tahir – 5/10

The track in Jaipur aided the spin bowlers and Imran Tahir had his chance to leave an imprint. While he failed to pick up any wicket, he did manage to keep things tight at his end. In the four overs that he bowled, he gave away only 28 runs. He certainly did his job with the ball.

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