IPL 2018, RR vs CSK: Jos Buttler keeps Royals with match-winning 95 over Super Kings

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Jaipur, May 11: Jos Buttler (95 n.o off 60) led from start to finish to keep Rajasthan Royals alive in the Indian Premier League after a four-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Friday (May 11).

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Needing 12 off the last over, Royals almost saw their hopes slip after scoring just four off the first three balls of Dwayne Bravo. However, Buttler then smashed a rare leg-side six to bring down the equation to two off two. CSK then succumbed to the pressure and Buttler sealed the win with a ball to spare.

Royals remain sixth on the table with 10 points off 11 games, but three teams are locked on 10 points. CSK too did not move up the table but they can seal their IPL 2018 playoffs spot with a win in their last three games.

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Timing and the element of surprise worked for Royals, who were set a 177-run target by CSK. Buttler gave his side a confident start and despite the frequent fall of wickets, managed to stay strong to see his team through.

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It looked an uphill task for the Royals but Buttler took it up as a challenge. He struck three boundaries off David Willey in the first over of the innings and got himself going. All three were well-timed hits on the off-side, played through the gaps for quick 12 runs.

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He improved that against Harbhajan Singh, hitting two boundaries and a six in the company of Ben Stokes, who was promoted up the order in a surprise decision. Against the off-spinner, Buttler showcased the reverse-sweep, his go-to shot on the day which later snapped the Royals' streak without boundaries in the death overs.

While Stokes didn't really contribute much up the order, Buttler did the major part of the work. Stokes and Ajinkya Rahane after him departed cheaply even as Royals made 55 in the first five overs. Sanju Samson, another dependable batsman in the Royals line-up, steadied the middle overs for Royals by rotating the strike well. However, a miscommunication with Buttler over a single saw him being run out for 21 in 12th over and kept the game evenly poised.

The danger man was still Buttler anyway. Shane Watson fudged the difficult return catch by Buttler on 58 in the 16th over. Even CSK captain MS Dhoni dropped him on 81 and it probably cost CSK the match. Stuart Binny (22 off 17), who was biding his time, got Royals back into the game with a timely six off Dwayne Bravo before falling off the next delivery. K Gowtham too struck two sixes in the penultimate over off Willey (1/47) to leave the rest of the work to Buttler.

Earlier, Suresh Raina struck 52 off 35 balls to help CSK post 176/4 in 20 overs. Raina, who stepped in at No 3 after Ambati Rayudu's early dismissal, stood tall against the ineffective Royals bowlers. He and Shane Watson (39 off 31) stitched a second-wicket stand of 86 runs to give Chennai the upper hand. CSK looked to score more than 200 at one stage but a late resurgence by the Royals bowlers denied Chennai a good finish.

On a pitch that offered a lot of turn for the spinners, the trio of K Gowtham, Ankit Sharma and Ish Sodhi (1/29) did not come good for Royals. Raina and Watson easily read the slow deliveries, even the googlies, and kept the scores ticking for CSK.

CSK waited patiently and then unleashed their fury on the Royals bowlers. New Zealander Sodhi conceded just four off his first over, but Watson and Raina each smashed a six in the ninth over to push up the run rate. Watson then pulled a short one by Jaydev Unadkat over the deep midwicket region.

The middle overs were the most productive for CSK. Raina and Watson rotated the strike well and did not restrain themselves from going big. CSK made 79 from 6.1 to 15.6 overs and lost just two wickets in the process.

In fact it was only when pacer Jofra Archer came into the bowling attack that Royals found their breakthroughs - twice. First, Rayudu departed in the third over after getting an inside edge into the stumps while trying to punch a short ball through cover. Archer returned to the attack only nine overs later, immediately sending back Watson, whose top edge was picked by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.

But Archer came with his own problems. He bowled three wides in that 12th over and conceded 23 runs in his two overs, before returning to bowl in the death. His last two overs were better for Royals as he went for 19 runs.

MS Dhoni (33 n.o off 23) and Sam Billings (27 off 22) took CSK closer to the 180-run mark after that.