IPL 2020 Match 37: Jos Buttler’s fifty guides Rajasthan Royals to 7-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in low-scoring tie

After Rajasthan Royals produced decent performance with the ball, Jos Buttler notched up an unbeaten half-century to guide his side to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a low-scoring tie of the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

Chasing a lowly target of 127 runs to win, Rajasthan Royals lost both their openers Ben Stokes (19) and Robin Uthappa (4) and wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson (0) inside the Powerplay.

While Stokes fell after being clean bowled by Deepak Chahar on the last delivery of the third over, Uthappa was caught by MS Dhoni behind the stumps on a Josh Hazlewood delivery in the fourth over. Meanwhile, Sanju Samson departed after being taken by MS Dhoni at leg side on the third delivery of the fifth over.

Buttler, who came to bat at No.6, not only smashed an unbeaten knock of 70 runs off just 48 deliveries but also stitched a crucial stand of 98 runs with skipper Steve Smith (26) to help Rajasthan Royals chase down the score in 17.3 overs. 

Buttler’s knock was also decorated with seven boundaries and two sixes.

Earlier, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) failed to stitch partnerships throughout their innings and were restricted to a score of 125/5 by Rajasthan Royals in their stipulated 20 overs.

Ravindra Jadeja was the top scorer for the Chennai franchise with 30-ball 35. Skipper MS Dhoni contributed with 28-ball 28.

For Rajasthan Royals, Jofra Archer, Kartik Tyagi, Shrayas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia bagged a wicket each.

Buttler was declared ‘Man of the Match’ for his impressive performance with the bat.

The victory saw Rajasthan climb up to the fifth spot in the IPL standings with four wins from 10 matches. CSK, on the other hand, dropped to the bottom of the table with three victories in hand.

Interestingly, Rajasthan Royals sealed a 16-run win over MS Dhoni’s franchise in the previous encounter between these two sides this season at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in September.

Brief scores: CSK 125/5 wkts in 20 overs (R Jadeja 35 not out, MS Dhoni 28, S Curran 22, S Gopal 1/14, R Tewatia 1/18, J Archer 1/20) lost to RR: 126/3 in 17.3 overs (J Buttler 70 not out, S Smith 26 not out, D Chahar 2/18) by seven wickets