Cricket News: Rajasthan beat Chennai by 16 runs in IPL 2020

Inaugural Champions Rajasthan beat three time champions Chennai by 16 runs in their first Indian Premier League 2020 match of the season at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium to kickstart their IPL campaign on a winning note. Chennai captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first. Sanju Samson and Rajasthan skipper Steve Smith struck 121-run partnership as Rajasthan posted a mammoth 217-run target. Samson scored 74 off 32 balls with one four and nine sixes punctuating his knock. Skipper Steve Smith scored 69 off 47 balls. English pacer Jofra Archer added the finishing touches to Rajasthan's huge total with a confident batting display slamming 27 runs off 8 deliveries with four sixes. Chasing a massive 217-run target, CSK were off to a flying start, with openers Shane Watson and Murli Vijay taking their team past the 50-run mark in 5.5 overs. CSK then lost wickets at regular intervals. However, it was du Plessis who kept CSK's hopes alive. Once again Faf du Plessis put in a good performance scoring 72 runs off 37 balls. Coming in towards the end captain MS Dhoni tried to don the finisher's role but couldn't prevent defeat due to the mammoth target posted by Rajasthan. MS Dhoni scored 29 runs off 17 balls but was heavily criticized for coming late at no.7 as Chennai could only manage 200/6 in 20 overs falling 16 runs short of the target.