Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings have met each other 22 times in the IPL. (File/Reuters)
The 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was originally scheduled to kick off on March 29. The spread of the COVID-19 virus has resulted in an indefinite postponement with the possibility of it being cancelled. So we’re reliving some of the best clashes between the franchises and standout performances. Rajasthan Royals (RR) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK) was set to be the blockbuster match of the day (May 4) as per the original schedule.
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Rajasthan Royals was the first team to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008 under the leadership of former Australian spinner Shane Warne. Their opponent in the final of that edition? CSK. However, despite the initial stumble Chennai Super Kings went on to lifted the trophy three times over the years.
Head to Head –
Both the teams have met each other 22 times with the first encounter between the two sides on May 4, 2008 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. All but one of the matches have been played in the Indian Premier League, with the one game being played in the 2014-15 edition of the now-defunct Champions League Twenty20.
CSK holds the edge over RR in the clash, having won 14 of the 22 matches.
An IPL final to remember
(Rajasthan Royals 164/7 beat Chennai Super Kings 163/5 by three wickets)
Yusuf Pathan imposed himself on the biggest stage, taking three wickets before smashing a scintillating 56, to help the Shane Warne-led Rajasthan pull off a last-ball thriller.
Chasing 164 was never easy and the scorecard read 42/3 at the start, making matters worse for Rajasthan. However, a 65-run stand between Pathan and Shane Watson provided the impetus. L Balaji was bowling the last over and with three needed off 2 balls, Sohail Tanvir ran a quick double before hitting the winning runs off the final ball.
Chennai outwit Rajasthan in a run-fest
(Chennai Super Kings 246/5 beat Rajasthan Royals 223/5 by 23 runs)
On a belter of a track, Murali Vijay produced one of the most destructive innings in T20 cricket. His 56-ball 127 was laced with 11 sixes and eight fours, and took CSK to their highest IPL total.
Vijay’s knock was not all slogging as he used the crease effectively. His most productive shot was the leg glance, that fetched 42 runs. Despite a 94 by Naman Ojha, Rajasthan’s chase fizzled out. However, the match produced 469 runs in 40 overs.
WAT-O-TON
(Chennai Super Kings 186/5 beat Rajasthan Royals 185/4 by five wickets)
Shane Watson’s first hundred of IPL 2013 went in vain as Chennai Super Kings chased down Rajasthan Royals’ target of 186. His 101 off 61 balls was a total carnage that started in the third over when he launched Mohit Sharma over his head for a six.
However, Hussey (88) and Raina (51) stole the game from the Royals.
THE DARK SIDE
After the spot-fixing scandal hit the IPL in 2013 and the Supreme Court-appointed RM Lodha panel suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two years for bringing “the game into disrepute”.
The three-member panel also handed life bans to Chennai and Rajasthan’s key officials, Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra respectively, from any cricket-related activities.
S Sreesanth and his former Rajasthan Royals team-mate Ankeet Chavan, Ajit Chandila were also banned for life by the BCCI after being arrested in May 2013 on suspicion of taking money to concede a minimum number of runs.
Last year, the Supreme Court revoked the life ban imposed on Sreesanth and asked the BCCI to decide afresh on the point of quantum of punishment given to him within 3 months.