RR vs CSK highlights, IPL 2021: Dube, Jaiswal hit blazing fifties, RR beat CSK by 7 wickets to stay alive

FOUR! It would have been a regulation catch to the first slip but the only problem for Rajasthan was that, there was no one. It was there to hit, Gaikwad went at it with hard hands but got an outside edge. Thankfully for him and CSK, there was no one and it went for a four. Akash Singh is frustrated, understandably so. 

Was that a dropped chance? Glenn Phillips did all the work, went for the catch, it just about carried to him but it was near impossible for him to hold on to it. A great effort from the debutant there. Du Plessis had absolutely smoked that short delivery from Aakash. 

Chetan Sakaria starts well. No loose deliveries to du Plessis and Gaikwad, gives away only runs in his first over. 

FOUR! The worst delivery that Akash Singh bowled in this over and rightfully punished by Gaikwad. It was short and it just sat up. Gaikwad is in too good a form to miss out on that one. He smacks it through the off side to collect his second four. CSK 10/0 after the first over. 

FOUR! You can't get off to a better start than this one. The perfect straight drive from Ruturaj Gaikwad off the first ball of the match. Nothing much wrong from young Akash, it was a decent length delivery but Gaikwad, who is in form of his life, puts the front foot forward and hits it straight back past him to get off the mark with a boundary. 

Ruturaj Gaikwad on strike and he is set to face debutant left-arm seamer Akash Singh. 

A milestone for the legend MS Dhoni. This is his 200th match as captain in the Indian Premier League. Out of the 14 editions of the IPL, he has played as a captain in 13. 12 of those for CSK and one for the Rising Pune Supergiants

“The past matches and the experience we have, it's easier to chase. It has always been the same from the past two-three years. You need to show the character, commitment towards the franchise. I would like everyone to put in some great performances,” said RR captain Sanju Samson at the toss. 

“We are one side who don't make many changes. We are playing back-to-back games, so it's important to keep the players fresh. It's better to rest them,” said CSK captain Dhoni at t he toss. 

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, KM Asif, Josh Hazlewood.

Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Shivam Dube, Glenn Phillips, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Akash Singh, Mayank Markande, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman

CSK, on the other hand, have brought in Sam Curran for Dwayne Bravo and KM Asif in place of Deepak Chahar. 

We are hearing that the Rajasthan Royals have made four changes to their XI. 

Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson wins the toss and opts to bowl first against Chennai Super Kings in Abu Dhabi.

“We definitely have a chance to qualify if we win our next three games. You are always going to have games where you will regret sometimes, the closer ones. We need to do well in the next three games,” says RR's David Miller. 

The six that Dhoni hit in the last over against Sunrisers Hyderabad to finish off the match sent Twitter into frenzy. Dhoni finishing off matches with a six, was regular sight for cricket fans not too long ago and they would like to begin, the CSK captain has few more of those up his sleeves. 

This is the best looking pitch, flat wicket with a good covering of grass. Wouldn't be much quick, neither will it spin much. It has an odd crack though. The fast bowlers need to stick to the back of a length area and use their variations. Expect it to be a batting-friendly pitch, reckon Nick Knight and Pommie Mbangwa.

The pair of Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the 11 innings that they have batted together in the IPL, have put on a partnership of 50 or more 7 times. With 722 runs together, they are the third best pair for CSK in the IPL. This season there have put together 6 fifty-plus opening partnerships for the which is the joint 2nd most in a season for CSK.

The excitement is building up.

Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming did say that there won't be too many experiments in the CSK XI despite them confirmed in the playoffs but it might not be a bad idea to rest Dwayne Bravo and bring Sam Curran in. At the start of the season, Bravo and Curran played together in their first 3 matches but have been used alternatingly in the matches that have followed.

Chris Morris - IPL's highest oversea pick - has been a major disappointment for Rajasthan Royals this year. RR team director Kumar Sangakkara also agreed with that. It might not be a bad idea for RR to bring in Oshane Thomas in this must-win game against CSK in Abu Dhabi. Thomas had bowled with confidence in the CPL and his extra pace can be factor. 

Chennai Super Kings had beaten Rajasthan Royals comfortably the last time these two sides met in India in the first leg of IPL 2021. CSK had posted 188/9 and then restricted RR for only 143/9 to win the match 45 runs.  

With 15 wins in 24 matches between the two sides, it is safe to state that the Chennai Super Kings have had the upper hand over Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. The Royals have managed to beat the Dhoni-led side only 9 times. They have to get to double figures today in Abu Dhabi. 

The Rajasthan Royals currently are at the 7th spot in IPL 2021 points table. With only three matches remaining, the best they can do is it reach 14 points, which mind you, will give them a fair chance to reach the playoffs but their NRR is also a concern. But first things, first, they need beat CSK today to keep the hopes alive.

Chennai Super Kings are already through to the playoffs but they would want to finish as the table toppers or at least in the top two, which will give them two shots at reaching the finals. A win tonight against Royals would more or less ensure that. There is a possibility that DC and RCB too finish with 20 points and assuming CSK lose their next two matches after winning this, they still should have the net run rate to finish in the top two.