IPL 2020: Match 37 – CSK vs RR – Who Said What

The 37th match of the Indian Premier League saw action between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Chasing an easy target, RR won the game by seven wickets. Batting first, CSK posted a below-average total of 125 on the board, where an absolute collapse of opening and middle order came on the table. MS Dhoni (28 off 28) and Ravindra Jadeja (35* off 30) could gather only a handful of runs while batting.

Jos Buttler was named as the player of the match for his terrific match-winning knock. The bowling show of Rajasthan remained splendid, where Shreyas Gopal turned dangerous as he conceded just 14 runs off four overs to pick a wicket. Rahul Tewatia came up with an economical display with the ball to name a scalp to his credit.

Chasing an easy target, Rajasthan stumbled during the start of their chase game as they were reeling at 28/3. However, the partnership between Jos Buttler and Steve Smith finished the game for them easily. Buttler came with a splendid knock of 70* off 48 balls to take his team home. Deepak Chahar proved his mettle well again with the new ball as he conceded just 18 runs to pick two early wickets.

Winning skipper, Steve Smith said

Sharjah is a little different from here. The wicket was stoppy, not the best for batting, and good to be on the winning side. I thought we bowled well in the powerplay. The spinners bowled good lengths, with the googlies and leggies, building a lot of pressure. Tewatia and Shreyas have been sensational for us. Buttler took the pressure off me. I just knocked it around, and he just batted the way he usually does. He always maintains a good strike-rate. I didn’t know I’d nicked the ball (LBW call), but I was relieved to see that I had.

There was a bit for the fast bowlers. The reason I brought on Jadeja was to see how much it’s stopping. But it didn’t stop much. In the second innings I think it got better because our spinners didn’t get the same bite. It’s about going back to the process, and then see if the process is wrong. We play in front of millions of people so there is nothing to hide. We’re trying a few things. You don’t want to chop and change. Insecurity is something you don’t want to prevail in the dressing room. Fair enough, this season we weren’t really there. Also the youngsters, we didn’t see the spark to push the guys. But what this result has done is give those youngsters a chance in the rest of the tournament.

Player of the match, Jos Buttler said

Nice to get a win on the board tonight. I tried to come out with some intensity in my batting. I didn’t think I had enough last game, and I decided to take a few more options tonight, and it came off. You have to keep trusting yourself and particularly when there’s no scoreboard pressure, you can play yourself in and let cut loose in the end. I’m happy (batting at number 5) to do whatever the team needs to me do. This is my role for now.