Chennai Super Kings are on song as they defeated Rajasthan royals by five wickets in a thrilling encounter at Chepauk on Monday. Mike Hussey and Shane Watson batted brilliantly and scored 88 and 101 for their respective teams. James Faulkner was good with the ball as he picked up three wickets for Rajasthan Royals while on the other hand R Ashwin also did some fine job ending up with the figures of 2/20. But some poor bowling from Rahul Shukla and Kevon Cooper ensured that CSK had the last laugh.

Here we bring to you the hits and flops of match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

HITS
 

Mike Hussey: Hussey continued his brilliant run with the bat and scored another electrifying 88 off just 50 balls. He once again showed how to galvanize innings without going for lofted shots. He kept scoring boundaries to keep the scoreboard ticking at the required rate. His partnership of 90 runs with Suresh Raina turned out to be the foundation stone for CSK’s victory.

Suresh Raina: Raina finally came into the party with a blistering 51. He scored four fours and two sixes. He has that ability to bat till the last. He just needs to stay focused and stop playing those reckless shots at times.

Shane Watson: Watson was just stupendous with the bat as he scored maiden century of IPL-6. He batted till the 18th over and scored 101 runs which were decorated with six fours and six sixes. He decimated the bowlers all over the ground when his other teammates were having tough time to even rotate the strike. Though, he went for 21 runs off 11 balls he bowled and Rajasthan Royals lost the match with one ball to spare.

James Faulkner: Faulkner was simply outstanding with the ball. The way he crafted his Yorkers and short balls in death overs was a treat to watch. He gave three quick blows to CSK by dismissing Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja at a very crucial juncture of the match. He ended up with the figures of 3/20 in his four overs.

R Ashwin: Ashwin also bowled really well and ended up with the figures of 2/20 in his four overs. He bluffed the batsmen with his slower ones and got them out.

FLOPS
 

Ravindra Jadeja: Jadeja was a big flop with the bat and the ball. He gave away 45 runs in just three overs and went wicket-less. To add salt to his injury was his batting as he departed for duck and was yorked quite perfectly by James Faulkner.

Rahul Dravid: Dravid got out after scoring just six runs and his captaincy also looked very rusty in this match. He wasn’t having any back-up plans to restrict Mike Hussey and Suresh Raina from scoring those boundaries and even the best of his bowler went for plenty. He himself did some poor fielding in last three overs and gave away easy ones and twos to CSK.

Chris Morris: Morris turned out to be very expensive as he went for 32 runs in his three overs. His ball was drifting down the leg-side and Watson kept on hitting that for fours and sixes. His accuracy was missing quite badly in this match.

Murali Vijay: Vijay has continued his flop-run by scoring just three runs against RR. He seems to be the only loop hole in CSK’s batting line-up as of now. He should try to spend as much time as possible at the crease.

Rahul Shukla: Shukla turned out to a flop with the ball as he gave away 24 runs in his two overs. He was smacked for five fours by Mike Hussey because of his slow bowling in the very beginning of the innings.

Kevon Cooper: Cooper was the biggest disappointment for RR as he gave away 49 runs in his three overs. He got smashed for seven boundaries and one six. Almost every batsman scored against him. He kept doing the same mistake of giving width to batsmen and they kept hitting him for boundaries.

By Amit Chopra
Indian Sports News Network