Rajasthan Royals scored their most emphatic win of the season when they embarrassed two-time champion Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Openers Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane made attractive half centuries as the unbeaten Royals easily overhauled the target of 157 set by Chennai in 18.2 overs for their fifth straight win this season.
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Royals made a great start and the opening pair put on a partnership of 144 runs, with skipper Watson scoring 73 runs off 47 balls, while Rahane remained not out on 76. It was the best opening stand for Royals, eclipsing the 135 runs put on by Graeme Smith and Naman Ojha in Durban in 2009.
Watson, who was making his first IPL appearance this season, took over the reins from stand-in-skipper Steven Smith and celebrated his return to the field with six fours and four sixes.
.@ajinkyarahane88 was all smiles and why not? He just bagged the Orange Cap & Man of the Match trophy! #RR pic.twitter.com/r4o1tV7b70
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 19, 2015
Rahane, who made his second fifty of the season, matched Watson stroke for stroke. He now has 231 runs in five matches, a total that earned him the right to wear the Orange Cap for being the leading run-scorer in the tournament.
Watson was finally bowled off a Ravindra Jadeja yorker in the 17th over, but by then the result was a foregone conclusion.
Earlier, electing to bat in hot conditions, Super Kings lost early wickets, but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (31 not out) and Bravo (66 not out in 36 balls), put together an unbeaten 91-run fifth wicket partnership to lift the team to 156 for four.
Bravo, who brought up his 50 in just 29 balls, smashed eight fours and a six while Dhoni was a tad slow in his 37-ball stay.
Dwayne Smith made a 29-ball 40 after CSK were reduced to 39-3, with opener Brendon McCullum (12), Suresh Raina (4) and Faf du Plessis out in quick succession.
Chennai skipper Dhoni said plying back-to-back matches in hot conditions could be the reason for their insipid display.
One team, one dream, one mission! #AlwaysARoyal #RR pic.twitter.com/WD6eOZDCd7
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 19, 2015
“It was an off day for us,” he said. “It was quite a good wicket and it played how we thought it would play.
“It was a back-to-back game for us after Mumbai, and the heat could have been a factor (for the disappointing performance) but we have to come back.”
Watson said: “Chennai are a great team, so it was a good win against them. The pitch was a little bit slow and little bit dry, but we summed up the conditions pretty quickly and the bowlers bowled well.
“I am very proud of the way we played. We are getting better every year. The people we have brought in this year complement the team and we continue to learn.”