RR vs CSK, 4th Match at Sharjah, IPL, Sep 22 2020 - Match Result

And that is that. There will be a lot of debate around CSK's approach. Is their job to provide the separators a spectacle or realistically decide what they can get from the game and try to take that? The spectacle was provided by RR, and it was lovely to watch. Goodnight and good luck

Sanju Samson, the Man of the Match: "That's what my gameplan is. I got lucky to get those few full ball in the starting of the over. The intent is there from the very first ball. I have been working very hard on my fitness, my diet, my training. I have understood that my game is a lot of power so I have to train accordingly. That is what my role is, that is what the game demands. I have developed my power hitting a bit more."

Steven Smith: "Sanju Samson played an unbelievable knock. Felt like everything he was hitting went for six. Jofra Archer's last over. I was just giving Sanju strike, wasn't I? He was middling everything. I hope this sets him up for a big IPL. We will wait and see where I bat once Jos is available. Like to keep them guessing. On this wicket, it was all about trying to avoid straight hits for the spinners. A couple of balls were fuller and got above the eyeline but the idea was to stay back of a length."

MS Dhoni: "217 on the board, you have to had a very good start. That was not the case. They batted really well. Steve and Sanju. You have to give credit to their bowlers too. There was a lot of dew. They knew what lengths to bowl. Their spinners didn't try too many things. That was an error our spinners did in their first couple of overs. Without singling out anyone, a controllable we could have controlled is no-balls. Had we not bowled no-balls, we would have been chasing 200, and it would have been a very good game. Faf batted really well.The key is to adapt. When the spinners are bowling really short, what is important is to still hit over mid-on and not go to square leg because the ball stays low here. I think Faf did that really well."

Call me a cynic, but CSK have played the perfect NRR game. They knew they would be bowled out for 120 if they went for the target too early. Don't get fooled by "oh they were just three hits away", but they could hit so sweetly in the end because there was no pressure on them. This was a net in the middle for them, not a contest to win the match. In the process they cut down the margin of defeat to 16 from 60 if they had gone for it

Let this not sour the lovely hitting we saw from Sanju Samson. The CSK spinners bowled too full to him, but it was some clean hitting. And we should be celebrating a great game by RR ant dissecting CSK's approach. Samson was on another level tonight, Smith played the perfect hand given the thin batting, and Archer provided the great finishing kick

With the ball, despite all the dew, RR were better than CSK. Their spinners didn't give the CSK batsmen those slot balls, and their fast bowlers bashed hard lengths. And to think that nobody gave them a chance coming in. And then they lost the toss. They needed something like 216 to win given the short boundaries and the dew

"Funny! There's a way 200+ scores are chased by teams especially in smaller grounds. There's something called 'calculated risks'. Your own commentary said that - " 19.3 SIX, Dhoni finally showed intent". CSK could've easily got it had they shown little more intent. In the last 2-3 overs, there's nothing to lose even interma on NRR. A difference of 20 runs probably, but if you don't take risks how can you win?" Manish Thaduri, you are absolutely right. CSK just didn't want to take the risk of getting bowled out for 130 when going for the target. I am neither a fan nor a critic of their approach, but I am just saying they achieved what they set out to achieve once they had got off to a slow start. Hope that makes sense

And Archer has done his job. All Curran needs to do is not bowl extras

Jadeja is in

Aniruddha: "I am impressed with Dhoni's intent. "

CSK now need a four off each ball. Six of those balls will be bowled by Archer. His target in this over will be to leave Curran more than 37 to defend in the last over

Jokes apart, CSK have played this NRR game well. Had they gone hell for leather, they risked getting bowled out for 120. Now they are looking at a score close to 200

For all the lack of intent early, and after the word Fleming had with him, du Plessis is on the verge of a pretty quick fifty