IPL 2020 - Samson, Smith power RR to 16-run win over Dhoni's CSK in Sharjah

Rajasthan Royals (RR) cruised to a 16-run win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Tuesday (Septemeber 22).

Earlier in the day, CSK skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bowl first.

Rajasthan did not get off to the best of starts as they lost debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal for just 4 runs. However, skipper Steve Smith (69) and Sanju Samson formed a formidable partnership of 121 runs.

Samson brought up his 19-ball 50 while Smith also reached his half-century.

However, the partnership was broken by Ngidi, who sent Samson back to the dressing room for 74. Devid Miller (0), Robbin Uthappa (5), Rahul Tewatia (10), Riyan Parag (6) all failed to get going as Archer (27*) and Tom Curran (9*) took RR to 216/7 in the end.

In chase of a mammoth total of 217, CSK got off to a decent start before opener Shane Watson (33) got dismissed by Rahul Tewatia. Just two runs later, Murali Vijay (21) also took the long walk with CSK on 58/2.

Right after dismissing Vijay, Rahul Tewatia picked up Ruturaj Gaikwad's (0)  wicket in back to back deliveries but did not manage to bag a hattrick.

Sam Curran and Kedar Jadhav couldn't influence the game much and scored 15 and 22 runs, respectively.

However, Faf du Plessis's 37-ball 72 propelled CSK to an almost reaching distance.

Skipper MS Dhoni did showcase his power-hitting with three consecutive sixes in the final over of the match and stayed unbeaten 29 off 17 balls as CSK finished the day on 200/6.

Rajasthan's next match will be against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on September 27 while CSK takes on Delhi Capitals (DC) on September 25.