The Rajasthan Royals maintained their unbeaten record in Pepsi IPL 2015 and firmed up their position at the top of the standings after they defeated the Chennai Super Kings by a resounding eight-wicket margin at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad. Set to chase a modest 157, RR cruised to victory on the back of a record partnership between skipper Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane; the hosts got past the finish line with ten deliveries to spare. The pair survived a few anxious moments early on – mistiming a couple of deliveries which just about eluded the CSK fielders - and took time to get used to the pace of the pitch. But once they got used to the pace, they made the necessary adjustments to their bat swing, and started to find the gaps in the field. Both batsmen matched each other run-for-run, even if the means in which they scored were different. While Rahane picked up boundaries along the ground and hit the occasional six, Watson preferred to take the aerial route. Both batsmen got to their respective half-centuries off 35 balls. While the RR skipper brought up his half-century in style smashing Dwayne Bravo over the extra cover boundary, Rahane worked Ashish Nehra for a brace through square-leg. The pair needed 6.4 overs to get to 50, and added the next 50 runs in 4.5 overs. The pair was separated in the 17th over when Ravindra Jadeja’s yorker sneaked under the bat of Watson; the RR captain made 73 from 47 balls and hit six fours and four sixes. Rahane, who reclaimed the Orange Cap, finished unbeaten on 76; he consumed 55 balls and hit six fours and two sixes. In the evening, after opting to bat first on a very warm afternoon – with temperatures soaring to a high of 43 degrees celsius, the Chennai Super Kings started off with a bang, with Brendon McCullum hitting Ankit Sharma for two boundaries in the first over. After a quiet second over – bowled by Chris Morris – the Kiwi batsman hit the first ball of the third over straight back past the bowler Pravin Tambe. But the experienced leg-spinner had the last laugh as he deceived the batsman with a quickish delivery and had him holing out to mid on. The other opener - Dwayne Smith - hit three boundaries and two sixes before he dragged a James Faulkner delivery back onto his stumps. His 40 runs – all of which were scored on the leg-side - was the highest score among CSK’s top four. Reduced to 65 for 4 after 9.1 overs, CSK needed a move on, and they had just the right men at the crease in Dwayne Bravo and MS Dhoni. Though Dhoni struggled for timing and wasn’t his usual self, Bravo chose the right day to score his first IPL half-century for the men in yellow. The Trinidadian used his feet against the RR spinners and was severe particularly against Tambe against who he scored 24 runs from 11 deliveries. He also ran hard between the wickets, cut and pulled, and finished unbeaten on 62; his 36-ball knock was studded with eight boundaries and a six. Bravo’s 5th wicket association with his captain lasted 10.5 overs and was worth 91 runs. Dhoni remained unbeaten on 31 from 37 balls. CSK finished their twenty overs at 156 for 4 – 43 of which came in the last four overs. The Rajasthan Royals used some very unusual tactics on the field – most of which came good on the day. Apart from opening the bowling with left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma, they also used five different bowlers to bowl the first five overs and bowled seven different bowlers in the innings. Four bowlers – Sharma, Chris Morris, Tambe and Faulkner – returned with a wicket apiece. Morris was the best of the RR bowlers; the South African bowled good speeds, bowled plenty of dot deliveries, kept asking questions off every ball and finished with figures of one for 19 from his four overs. Brief Scores Chennai Super Kings 156-4 in 20.0 Overs (Dwayne Bravo 62*, Chris Morris 1-19) lost to Rajasthan Royals 157-2 in 18.2 Overs (Ajinkya Rahane 76*, Shane Watson 73)

Man of the Match: Anjikiya Rahane for his unbeaten 76.