CSK 204/5 (20.0 Ovs)
RR 140-all out (18.3 Ovs)
Chennai Super Kings won by 64 runs
SK have climbed to the top of the table after this massive 64-run win. That's it from our coverage of this game. I've been Sagar Chawla, and on behalf of Nikhil Jadhav, Akshay Maanay, Abhinand Raghavendran, Pradeep Krishnamurthy and our scorer Shashikant Singh, it's a goodbye!
Watson, MoM: There's no doubt I had extra motivation tonight (against his former team). Nice to put in the performance that I did tonight. Grateful for the opportunity I've had for CSK. Glad to repay them tonight. Not sure, just one of those things that happened in the first couple of overs (about the dropped catches). Don't mean to drop them, but that's the way it goes. It went my way tonight, got to make the most of it. When you feel like you're not learning, it's time to stop. I'm still working on certain aspects of the game. MS and Fleming know how to set up a really good team dynamic. Fortunate to be a part of CSK and to contribute to the win tonight. Chris (Gayle) is the greatest T20 batsman in the world. To be able to score so many T20 hundreds. That's the reason he's called the Universe Boss. He keeps bossing attacks around the world.
(2/2): As far as the wicket is concerned, I'm not sure that it was coming on nicely, especially when the ball got old. There was spongy bounce. Back of length was hard to hit. Batsmen did the job, they put on more than what was required on the board. Made the bowlers' life easy. Spinners had to vary their line and lengths along with the pace. It's a league stage, it's not like the quarters or semis, where if you lose you're out, so there's not that much pressure. For CSK whenever we played in Chennai, we used to bat first a lot of times in Chennai. Dew is a factor here. Today also there was a bit of dew later on. I saw the fielders wiping the ball and everything. Slowly what has happened is that people are getting comfortable either way. If wicket is good, not many teams will mind batting first or second.
Dhoni, CSK captain (1/2): Big game for us, we lost the last one. It's like an unknown territory for us. CSK is used to being slightly behind, before getting into the groove. This year has been different. Everyone has contributed. Have to keep the fitness levels up, most of us are over 30. It's a long-ish tournament, have to be fit. Experience really counts. No point getting injured when you're trying to stop a single or a double. The kind of players we've got, they'll always make that up. We've got a few good fielders who are very good. They are doing most of the work when it comes to the boundary fielding. Just want to keep the players fit. Change of venue - to be frank - CSK wasn't there for couple of years. I played for Pune at that point of time. The fans over here, they supported the team and stood by me. It's time to return the favour. They have the choice whether to support CSK or the other team. By the end of the seventh game, we'll see a lot more yellow in the crowd. It's Chennai Super Kings, not Pune Super Kings.
Shardul Thakur: It takes years to practice and get into rhythm, but once it happens, I want to stay in rhythm and execute better. We were involved in some high-scoring games and had some nail biting finishes in the tournament so far, so we knew what was coming. I think I executed my skills well and am hoping for more of the same in the upcoming matches.
Rahane, RR captain: Credit goes to CSK the way they played, especially Watson at the top of the order. Unfortunately, we dropped that catch. But, the way he played was incredible. If you field well and take the catches, it'll help. Our players are working hard on fielding. We need to work hard and move forward. We bowled slightly on the poor side. They bowled straighter lines and lengths. It was difficult to hit. CSK were too good tonight. It's important to believe in our ability. We just need to go out there, try to improve and be positive. His (Watson) intent was completely different. He was positive from ball one.
23:34 Local Time, 18:04 GMT, 23:34 IST: Discernable chants of "CSK CSK" from the yellow army, many of whom have travelled here from Chennai in the Whistle Podu Express. And their team put on a show for them - led by Watson's brilliant hundred. Such was his belligerence at the start, that despite a jaded finish, 200 on the board was a given. Their bowlers had enough cushion to work with and they did the job that was asked of them. The Royals clearly struggling in that bowling department. Especially in the powerplay, it looks like Rahane doesn't know where to go. Shreyas Gopal has been doing an outstanding job for them, but on pitches where the ball is not stopping and gripping, their pacers - who are well suited for bowling cutters - are disappearing. Jofra Archer couldn't be more missed right now.
Biggest defeats for RR in IPL (by runs):
75 vs RCB, Cape Town, 2009
71 vs RCB, Pune, 2015
67 vs DD, Delhi, 2010
64 vs CSK, Pune, 2018*
75 vs RCB, Cape Town, 2009
71 vs RCB, Pune, 2015
67 vs DD, Delhi, 2010
64 vs CSK, Pune, 2018*
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