CSK vs RR, 47th Match at Abu Dhabi, IPL, Oct 02 2021 - Match Result

What a game, what an evening. Some scintillating batting, a stunning run chase and a tournament that is well and truly alive. Barring the Sunrisers, everyone else has something in it as far as the points table goes. The fun continues on Sunday. Hope to see you then. Thanks for joining us.

Ruturaj Gaikwad is the Player of the Match for his 100 off 60 balls. "Today to start off with, it was a slow wicket, slightly damp. Got better as the game progressed. Needed someone to bat till the 14-15th over. I'm just working on timing the ball really well, maintaining my shape. Right from when I started, have come across many coaches. Everyone's told me I have the gift of timing, just been using that. I think I would say my selection in CSK in 2019 when I didn't get a chance, being in the dressing room, I got to learn a lot. Got to know routines, hard work needed, work to put in. That was a good learning curve. Didn't dream of a 100, aim was to make sure we get to 160-170. Would've loved to be on the winning side, maybe next time."

Sanju Samson: "Aware of the abilities of our youngsters, that's why we get disappointed when we lose matches. Our openers finished off the game in the PP, Jaiswal was superb, hopefully he'll make it big.We have been discussing Shivam in the last 2-3 games. Mahipal did a good job in the first few games, but we thought today could be Shivam's game. Unbelievable batting by Gaikwad, we're afraid of a batsman like him. Really a lot of respect to him. We aren't thinking too far ahead, one match at a time."

Mohit: "Before this IPL, Jaiswal strike rate in T20s was in the low to mid 120s but this IPL he is striking at 150 . Big improvement from the last season where it seems he was not able to put bat onto ball. That's what IPL do, it gives youngster chance to learn and improve from real experience."

Faisal : "RR's win today means RCB could be the third to qualify for the playoffs if they win tomorrow."

Harish: "All Ruturaj's fifties were on a winning case and now his maiden ton ends up in the losing side. Hoping he gets atleast Mom award as a consolation for his great knock"

Vishnu Raj B M: "Oh boy, catches do win matches. What an impact that dropped catch from Rayudu has had on this match....don't know if Chennai would have won if he had taken it, but definitely wouldn't have bern a comprehensive victory for Royals. Jaiswal just took poor Hazelwood apart after that dropped catch."

MS Dhoni is first up for his post-match chat. "It was a bad toss to lose to start off, but I feel the Royals batters batted really well. Around 250 may have been about right on that surface (laughs). There was dew and the ball started coming on well, still you needed to bat well and that's what they did. An ideal start in a tall chase where they took the game on in the PP. I think initially it was stopping a bit, which we saw with their wristspinners. As the innings progressed, it started coming on well, Rutu's was an outstanding knock. When you lose the game, it can get brushed under the carpet but he batted very well to get us up to 190. The batsmen need to assess quickly what a good score is. In T20s, you tend to go hard and then realise it's not a 160-180 wicket. They've done it well, assessed really well. Dwayne and Deepak aren't here, of course I missed them. Both of them are quite experienced. Once you start going after the bowlers, it paid off. We could've used the dimensions of the field better. Have to forget this, you can go through it in a tournament like this, learn what we could have done. The same thing can happen in the knockouts too, we've done it well, learning from each and every game. Don't think we could've scored more than 190."

Rummy: "A low score thriller earlier today on a relatively small ground and now a high scoring game on a big ground. Balance! "

9.50pm Two blinders have literally blindsided Chennai Super Kings for the first time in the UAE leg. Yashaswi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube struck sparkling half-centuries in a tall chase to ensure the Royals are still alive. They now join the race for the fourth spot along with Mumbai Indians, KKR and Punjab Kings. The margin of victory tonight also takes them ahead of Mumbai to sixth spot. All said and done, the Royals will still need to win their next two.

Spare a thought for Ruturaj Gaikwad. Played perhaps one of the most aesthetic knocks you can see, made a terrific century, which he brought up off the last ball with a six, ensured CSK finished with 190 after being placed at 83 for 2 in 12 overs. But hey, Jaiswal came in, smacked a 21-ball half-century to set the tone for the chase. Sensational stuff, we've witnessed batting of the highest quality.

Asif is down with cramps. Moeen to finish the over.

One blow away are the Royals from going ahead of Mumbai on NRR.

Curran is back

RDXBLAST : "As a CSK fan, I want RR to win to cause more headache to MI :)"

Prabhakar: "The ball to Dube looked like a no ball, had it been called a no ball, Samson would have faced this delivery as free hit and remained not out. Will be interesting to see the side angle of delivery to Dube"

Time-out time

MGR: "How much will it affect CSK's NRR?" -- One more win will guarantee a top-two finish. Maybe can do so even if they lose the next two. It's that good.