JAIPUR: Chennai Super Kings have dominated most of the teams in this IPL, but they have failed to crack the Rajasthan Royals code.
CSK, the four-time champions, lost both their matches against the Royals. The second defeat - by 32 runs - against the Sanju Samson-led team at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Thursday evening meant CSK slipped to the third spot on the points table.
After a rollicking start, the Royals were unable to keep the same momentum in the middle overs, but they managed to finish off the innings the way they began by piling up 202/5.
"We came back quite nicely in the game. We were a little bit unlucky in the last 3-4 overs, just with a few nicks here and there, probably 16-20 runs more than what we thought. That's just how the game goes. Those extra 20 runs made it quite tough. We should have restricted them to around 180-185," said CSK head coach Stephen Fleming in a post-match press conference.
The former New Zealand captain admitted that the hosts team bounced back quite well after back-to-back defeats and had done brilliantly in both the Powerplays. He believed they lost the match in the Power Plays.
"The first six overs, they were outstanding with the bat and the ball as well. That just set the two innings up for them. We could have been better, but part of that is playing away from home, trying to find out the right length to bowl, what sort of swing conditions we are going to get. That's part of the challenge of playing away," said Fleming.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal blasted 77 off 43 balls to set the tone before Devdutt Padikkal (24 not out) and Dhruv Jurel (34 off 15) provided the late cameos to bolster Royals. Later, spinners completed the job for the hosts. Fleming lauded the home team saying they had a great game.
"I thought it was a good game. Rajasthan Royals played well. This pitch was a lot different in appearance than the last one, and it played well. It started to get a bit slower towards the end. Rajasthan played a great home game and got out of the blocks very well. Jaiswal played great innings to create some momentum," said Fleming.
The result took RR to the top of the table with 10 points and the best NRR among all the teams. Fleming admitted that CSK always struggled while chasing a stiff target of 203 runs.
"We came up against a team that took the pace off the ball, so we couldn't get any momentum in the first six overs. Conway is in outstanding form as well, but he couldn't get underway, the rhythm of the innings was slow. And then when we tried to catch up, we made mistakes. This is just pressure, it's just good bowling. We did well with Shivam Dube to create a little bit of forward momentum and gave ourselves a small chance, but it was just always a few overs too far," he said.
