IPL 2023: Sandeep Sharma clinches victory for Rajasthan Royals in thrilling encounter against Chennai Super Kings

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 12 : A nail-biting finish came to a dramatic end as Sandeep Sharma barely managed 21 runs in the final over as Rajasthan Royals stood victorious over Chennai Super Kings by 3 runs at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday.
The entire game was defined by the final six balls. The best finishers in CSK history Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni stepped up but fell short on the final ball as Dhoni needed a boundary to keep CSK alive in the final ball. It was a do or die moemnt for Dhoni. Sandeep came around the wicket and executed a perfect yorker to keep Dhoni silent on the final ball. Dhoni and Jadeja ended their innings with an unbeaten knock of 32(17)* and 25(15)* respectively.
Chennai Super Kings didn't have a dream start to their chase of 176 as the dangerous man in form Ruturaj Gaikwad departed in the third over for a score of 8(10). Sandeep Sharma bowled beautifully to deceive Gaikwad with his swinging deliveries.
Ajinkya Rahane came in with a reputation to live after his last match heroics. Conway and Rahane settled the nerves of the entire stadium with their partnership. Rahane struck a beautiful six after they shared a small banter just one ball ago. It seemed as if Rahane would walk away with the last laugh, but Ashwin was in no mood to let Rahane walk away so easily.
With his experience at Chepauk, Ashwin trapped Rahane right in front of the wicket in the 10th over of the match to end his quick fiery knock (31/19). Ashwin came back in the 12th over and picked up Sivam Dube's wicket (8/9).
Rajasthan Royals spinners orchestrated CSK's middle-order downfall with their economical bowling. Chahal and Zampa stuck to their line and length. Moeen Ali 7(10) , Ambati Rayudu 1(2) and Devon Conway 50(38) fell to the spinner duo.
The middle-order batters lost their wickets under pressure, uncertainty was hidden behind their shot selections.
MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja kept CSK in the game, they slowly kept the scoreboard ticking and punished every loose delivery by converting them into boundaries.
However, their unbeaten innings weren't enough to seal the game for CSK as they ended up falling short by 3 runs. Even vintage Dhoni was not enough to pull a victory out for Chennai Super Kings at their fortress.
Earlier in the match, Yashasvi Jaiswal began his innings in a fashion he has done in earlier matches. However, he could not last long and was out on a score of 10 runs, which came off eight balls. Tushar Deshpande surprised him with a bouncer and he mistimed the shot. The ball went straight into the hands of Shivam Dube.
Devdutt Padikkal came to bring RR back into the game and he and Buttler went on to find boundaries at consistent intervals.
Dhoni brought Ravindra Jadeja in the 9th over to change the dynamics of the game. Jadeja didn't take much time to leave his mark as he dismissed Padikkal who was looking dangerous at 38 (26).
The veteran Indian spinner struck once again and Sanju Samson was walking back to the pavilion for a duck after facing two balls. As Rajasthan's innings was on the verge of a collapse, Ravichandran Ashwin came in to steady the sinking ship.
His partnership with Buttler proved crucial as the team quickly switched gears to gather runs. Ashwin joined the party with two successive sixes to boost the run rate in the 15th over but ended up losing his wicket with a mistimed shot.
Dhoni gambled in the 17th over and brought Moeen Ali to change the equation of the game and limit Rajasthan's scoring rate.
Moeen completely took Buttler by surprise as the English batter made an attempt to play a sweep shot but ended up completely missing it. The ball crashed into the stumps and Hetmeyer was left with a huge task in his hands. The Royals were 142/5 in the 17th over.
Hetmeyer and Dhruv Jurel tried to hit boundaries but CSK's cost-effective bowling kept the run rate in check. Jurel tried to score a maximum, but he failed to get the ball across the boundary.
Hetmeyer found the boundary on the first ball of the final over to take RR's score beyond 170 run mark. Jason Holder came to take strike but ended up losing a wicket for a golden duck. Zampa came in and flicked the ball and Theekshana dropped the catch. He ended up getting run out on the final ball as Rajasthan ended their innings with a score of 175/8.
Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 172/6 (Devon Conway 50(37), MS Dhoni 32(17) and Ravichandran Ashwin 2/25) and Rajasthan Royals 175/8 (Jos Buttler 52(36), Devdutt Padikkal 38(26) and Ravindra Jadeja 2/21) vs Chennai Super Kings.