Live cricket score, Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2018: Shane Watson nears ton, CSK eye big total

Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the two franchises that returned to the Indian Premier League (IPL) after serving bans in the aftermath of the 2013 spot-fixing scandal, will come face to face for the first time in the ongoing edition, keen to regain lost momentum. A loss in their last outing has hurt both the former champions and they will look to get back to winning ways when they face off. With two wins and as many defeats, RR are fifth with four points, while CSK also have equal number of points with two wins from three games. They are placed fourth because of better net run-rate. Follow live cricket score of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) vs (RR) Rajasthan Royals, Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune here (LIVE SCORECARD | LIVE STREAMING INFO)

21:08 hrs IST: Stupendous over from Gopal, only three runs off it. Chennai Super Kings are 153/3 after 14 overs. Watson 85*, Billings 1*. Unadkat comes into the attack.

21:05 hrs IST: OUT! Dhoni looks to clear the long-on boundary but finds Gowtham. Second wicket for Gopal. Sam Billings comes to the crease.

21:01 hrs IST: FOUR! Now Dhoni joins the party. Chennai Super Kings are 150/2 after 13 overs. Watson 83*, Dhoni 5*. Strategic time-out.

20:58 hrs IST: FOUR! Length delivery on middle stump from Binny and Watson hits it towards the fine leg boundary. The former Australian captain has been magnificent tonight!

20:56 hrs IST: Nine runs off the over despite Raina’s wicket. Chennai Super Kings are 131/2 after 12 overs. Watson 70*, Dhoni 0*. Binny is back into the attack.

20:54 hrs IST: OUT! Gowtham takes a brilliant diving catch at deep mid-wicket. Raina departs for 46(29). First scalp for Gopal. MS Dhoni comes to the crease.

20:51 hrs IST: FOUR! Flighted delivery from Gopal and Raina times it over cover. Excellent timing! Deserves a fifty.

20:49 hrs IST: Costly over from Laughlin, 15 runs off it. Chennai Super Kings are 122/1 after 11 overs. Watson 70*, Raina 38*. Shreyas Gopal comes back into the attack.

20:46 hrs IST: FOUR! Length delivery from Laughlin, Raina makes room and hits it over extra cover. Can’t get any better!

20:45 hrs IST: Ben Laughlin comes back into the attack. The wicket doesn’t have much on offer. What can Rahane do from here?

20:44 hrs IST: Consecutive boundaries for Raina. The wicket of Rayudu hasn’t stopped the flow of runs. 200 looks very much gettable. Chennai Super Kings are 107/1 after 10 overs.

20:40 hrs IST: Expensive over from Gowtham, 19 runs off it. Chennai Super Kings are 97/1 after 9 overs. Jaydev Unadkat comes back into the attack.

20:39 hrs IST: FOUR! Fuller delivery from Gowtham and Watson launches it over mid-wicket. Looks set to get past the three-figure mark.

20:37 hrs IST: SIX! Short delivery from Gowtham, Watson rocks back and clobbers it over long-on for a maximum. That brings up his fifty!

20:35 hrs IST: Single off the last ball for Raina. Spinners have done well in the last couple of overs. Chennai Super Kings are 78/1 after 7 overs. Gowtham to continue.

20:32 hrs IST: Great over from Gowtham, only five runs off it. Chennai Super Kings are 74/1 after 7 overs. Watson 42*, Raina 19*. Shreyas Gopal comes into the attack.

20:29 hrs IST: K Gowtham comes back into the attack. Rajasthan in desperate need of wickets or else, they could be chasing anything above or around 200.

20:26 hrs IST: FOUR BOUNDARIES IN A ROW! While the third one was a low full-toss and Raina worked it to fine leg boundary, the fourth one was guided to the third man boundary. Chennai Super Kings are 69/1 after 6 overs. Strategic time-out.

20:25 hrs IST: FOUR! Short ball but Raina adjusts well and hits it well past the fielder at short fine leg.

20:24 hrs IST: FOUR! Half-volley from Stokes, Raina gets down on one knee and lifts it over cover for his first boundary.

20:23 hrs IST: Tidy over from Laughlin, five runs and a wicket. Chennai Super Kings are 53/1 after 5 overs. Watson 38*, Raina 2*. Stokes to continue.

20:20 hrs IST: OUT! Good length delivery from Laughlin, Rayudu looks to cut but gets a thick outside edge and Jos Buttler does the rest. Suresh Raina is in at No. 3.

20:18 hrs IST: Third bowling change. Ben Laughlin comes into the attack. Can he strike?

20:17 hrs IST: FOUR! Poor bowling from Stokes. Straying down leg and Watson helps it to fine leg boundary. Easy pickings. Chennai Super Kings are 48/0 after 4 overs.

20:14 hrs IST: FOUR! Short delivery from Stokes, on middle and leg, Rayudu pulls it past the fielder at short fine leg.

20:12 hrs IST: SIX! Too short from Unadkat, Watson gets into position early and pulls it over mid-wicket. Chennai Super Kings are 37/0 after 3 overs. Ben Stokes is into the attack.

20:10 hrs IST: SIX! Overpitched from Unadkat, outside off, Watson lifts it over cover for another maximum. Looks in top form!

20:09 hrs IST: Single off the last delivery for Watson. Moves to 19. Chennai Super Kings are 25/0 after 2 overs. Jaydev Unadkat comes into the attack.

20:07 hrs IST: SIX! Fuller delivery from Gowtham, Watson stays in the crease and smacks it over the long-off boundary for a maximum.

20:05 hrs IST: FOUR! Full and straight from Binny, Rayudu comes down the track and lifts it over cover. Chennai Super Kings are 14/0 after the first over. K Gowtham comes into the attack.

20:04 hrs IST: Edged and dropped! Rahul Tripathi misses an easy chance at first slip. Watson gets a life. How costly will that prove to be for the visitors?

20:02 hrs IST: FOUR! Back of a length delivery from Binny and Watson hits it through cover. Can’t bowl him there.

20:01 hrs IST: FREE-HIT! Slower ball from Binny, Watson goes back and hammers it straight over the bowler’s head for his first boundary.

20:00 hrs IST: Time for live action. Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu make their way out in the middle and so do RR players. Stuart Binny to start the proceedings.

19:37 hrs IST: Teams -

Chennai Super Kings: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, MS Dhoni(c/wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir

Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane(c), Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Stuart Binny, Krishnappa Gowtham, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Ben Laughlin

19:34 hrs IST: So Suresh Raina is fit and he replaces Murali Vijay. Karn Sharma comes in for Harbhajan Singh. For RR, Heinrich Klaasen makes his debut while Stuart Binny replaces Dhawal Kulkarni

19:31 hrs IST: Rajasthan Royals have won the toss and have opted to field.

19:15 hrs IST: “There’s a nice covering of grass, the ball will carry through to the keeper nicely, there will be a bit of spin on offer. Expect the captain winning the toss to have a field first’, says Michael Vaughan, in his pitch report.

19:07 hrs IST: STAT ATTACK - Sanju Samson needs 66 runs to complete 1000 runs for Rajasthan Royals in Indian Premier League.

19:02 hrs IST: Two-time champions CSK, on the other hand, made a rampaging start to their campaign with back-to-back wins against defending champions Mumbai Indians and KKR.

While Dwayne Bravo came to their rescue with a 30-ball 68 against Mumbai Indians in their first match, it was Sam Billings who put the finishing touch to their superb runchase against Kolkata Knight Riders in a high-scoring match.

18:57 hrs IST: Rajasthan, under new captain Ajinkya Rahane, had a bad start to their campaign but they have done well with two back-to-back wins before Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) outclassed them by seven wickets.

18:52 hrs IST: Hello and welcome to HT’s live coverage of IPL 2018 match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune.

While it’s still early days in the season, both teams need to fix a few issues before the tournament moves towards the business end. And bringing in Ravindra Jadeja ahead of the big-hitting Dwayne Bravo can’t be an option for Chennai.

For the Royals, they desperately need to find bowling momentum going forward. They haven’t bundled out the opposition even once so far and with 14 wickets in their four games, they’ve been the most ineffective bowling attack.