Twitter Reactions: Rajasthan make a Royal start defeating CSK in their opening game

The Rajasthan Royals (RR) have started their campaign on a winning note in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). They defeated the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a high-scoring game where 416 runs were scored in 40 overs. It was all about Sanju Samson when the Royals batted as he plundered CSK bowlers hitting nine sixes while Steve Smith also played his part and eventually their efforts bore fruits as they defended 216.

The chase of 217 was always going to be a tough one for the three-time champions. Their openers Shane Watson and Murali Vijay took their time early on to get going. And though they added 56 runs for the first wicket in 6.4 overs it was slow for the score they were after. Moreover, both the batsmen got out after taking their time which made the task tough for the middle-order batsmen.

Sam Curran came out and played a cameo of 17 runs off 6 balls but the team needed more from him even as the debutant Ruturaj Gaikwad bagged a golden duck. Rahul Tewatia was the wrecker-in-chief as he sent back both of them and had also castled Watson earlier. MS Dhoni, like previous game, delayed his arrival and finally came out to bat at seven when the team’s score was 114/5 with only 38 balls left in the innings.

Faf du Plessis was set at the other end by then who took the attack to the opposition to bring the equation down to 86 off the last five overs. This is when the former South African skipper decided to tee off and hit some gigantic sixes. He smashed a total of 7 sixes during hid 37-ball 72 and was eventually dismissed by Jofra Archer in the penultimate over.

At the same time, MS Dhoni struggled at the other end which made it so tough for Du Plessis alone. The CSK skipper teed off in the final over hitting three consecutive sixes but the game was lost by then. The Men in Yellow finished with exactly 200 runs after 20 overs to lose the game by 16 runs in the end.

Sanju Samson and Steve Smith put on a show for the Royals

After losing the toss, the Royals lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early but what followed was absolute carnage! CSK bowlers didn’t anticipate it all as they were stunned after Sanju Samson started hitting back to back sixes. He took the attack to Ravindra Jadeja and especially Piyush Chawla after the powerplay. If the former went for 14 runs, the leg-spinner was taken apart for 28 runs in his first over.

Samson reached his fifty off just 19 balls to record the joint second-fastest fifty for the Royals in the IPL history. Not just him, even Steve Smith opened up his arms soon thanks to a few no-balls from the opposition bowlers. The duo added 121 runs in less than 10 overs and even when Samson got out after scoring 74 off 32 deliveries, more than 8 overs were left.

Smith was going strong only for the middle-order to botch up a good position. The RR skipper held one end but was dismissed in the 19th over as RR skipped from being 132/1 to 178/2 with 10 balls left in the innings. But the CSK bowlers had to suffer even more. They had no idea Jofra Archer was going to go berserk in the final over and he didn’t spare Lungi Ngidi.

The Proteas bowler was smacked for four consecutive sixes and at one stage, had conceded 27 runs off only two balls thanks to a flurry of no-balls and a wide. However, he came back well in the end to go for only 30 runs in the over as the Royals ended on 216 runs for the loss of seven wickets.

The score was enough as CSK could only reach 200 runs in the chase and eventually, a huge final over in the Royals’ innings turned out to be the difference.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

Incredible effort from Faf du Plessis. What a chase this would've been if his partner was striking even at 140 instead of 75. #CSKvRR

— Raunak Kapoor (@RaunakRK) September 22, 2020

Rajasthan Royals starts their IPL with a victory against CSK by 16 runs. Great performance from Royals with both bat and ball. Sanju Samson, Steven Smith, Rahul Tewatia and Jofra Archer were fantastic for RR. Faf Du Plessis played a wonderful knock for CSK.

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) September 22, 2020

CSK chase a score they would have had they not conceded that many to Archer in the last over.

Watson began well. Faf started slow but recovered but there was always too much to chase.

On MS, we know that restricts him. Other teams will try that too. Upto him to find a way out.

— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) September 22, 2020

Wait for game to be over, then hit 6s for fun to show you can still do it, fans will point to final strike rate of 170 and say what else he could have done… Pfft…

— Gappistan Radio (@GappistanRadio) September 22, 2020

Late late burst by msd. 6 6 6 . Last over. And its all over for #csk as #RR win their first match. #RRvCSK . MSD looked a pale shadow of his usual self

— neeru bhatia (@neerubhatia3) September 22, 2020

Dhoni? He has to keep the team alive but the game is going away…. .

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 22, 2020

Dhoni-Faf partnership:

65 off 31 balls

Faf – 55 off 19
Dhoni – 9 off 12

What was Dhoni's plan?#CSKvRR #IPL2020

— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) September 22, 2020

Even to a die-hardest of hard Dhoni fans, this is bonkers. Good night. #CSKvsRR

— Manya (@CSKian716) September 22, 2020

MS Dhoni is the biggest troll there ever was in Indian cricket.

— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) September 22, 2020

Whatever may be the result, Mahi bhai got the limelight.

— Krishna (@Atheist_Krishna) September 22, 2020

Irrespective of the circumstances, its always a treat to watch Faf in his element!!!#CSKvsRR @ChennaiIPL

— Vaishnavi Deepak (@KindaVaisWoman) September 22, 2020

First high-scoring encounter. Battle Royale. Won by the Royals. Jofra—the difference between the two teams in the end. Special mentions—Samson, Smith (captain + batsman) and Tewatia. #RRvCSK #IPL2020

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 22, 2020

Well played brother @faf1307 .. Hard luck tonight but we will come back stronger. As always @msdhoni great shots @ChennaiIPL #WhistlePodu well played @IamSanjuSamson ! ✌️

— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) September 22, 2020

Different class archer.

Rajasthan royals favs for the ipl this year fwiw.

— Rob Key (@robkey612) September 22, 2020

Too little Too late. #CSK

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 22, 2020

It was so pleasing to see the way @IamSanjuSamson bated tonight . #talent #hitting

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 22, 2020

Looking at CSK's batting…don't think it will be a Desert Storm today even when @rajasthanroyals is playing 😋

Aise Desert storm roz roz nahi aate 😉@sachin_rt#RRvCSK

— VINOD KAMBLI (@vinodkambli349) September 22, 2020

Brilliant win from @rajasthanroyals so many positive to start the season for them. #SanjuSamson #JofraArcher #rahultewatia #shreyasgopal

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 22, 2020

MS Dhoni:

Require run rate at arrival = 16.26 (103 needed off 38)

Scores 9 off 12 balls till the 19th over. Not a single aggressive shot intended.

Then, situation gets to 38 needed off last over.

Hits 3 sixes in a row in the last over.

What logic? #IPL2020 #CSKvsRR

— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) September 22, 2020

A game of sixes by batsmen in this match , Archer stood out for his four super overs. And if you add his four sixes, then #SanjuSamson Samson also won't mid man of the match award to him! #IPL2020 #CSKvsRR

— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) September 22, 2020