Rajasthan Royals' bowler Sandeep Sharma denied Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja a win in the 17th match of IPL 2023. The RR bowler was handed the tough task of bowling the final over of the game with Dhoni and Jadeja at the crease and 21 runs to defend.
Even though he bowled a couple of wides and was hit for two sixes, Sharma came back stronger to land perfect yorkers and help RR hold on to the nail-biter. After the win, the pace bowler credited RR's bowling coach Lasith Malinga for his perfect yorkers. In a video posted by IPL, Sandeep can be heard saying, "I have been working with him (Malinga) on Yorkers and it is coming out nice."
The pacer added, "The ball which Mahi bhai hit, was a tough ball. If someone else was facing the ball, he would have failed to hit it. I think I executed nicely and it is always nice to end up on the right side."
Despite Jadeja and MS Dhoni's efforts to chase down RR's 176-run target, CSK fell short by 3 runs. Rajasthan Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings in a high-voltage match of IPL 2023 on Wednesday. In the match played at CSK's home ground, MA Chidambaram stadium, RR beat the MS Dhoni-led team by 3 runs. The match was an absolute nail-biter as it went down the wire. Coming to bat first after losing the toss, Sanju Samson-led team registered 175/8 in 20 overs. In response, Team CSK managed to chase 172 runs at a loss of 6 wickets.
RR's win dethroned Lucknow Super Giants from the top of the standings and handed them the first spot. Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings are out of the top 4 in the tally. Before the match, Both RR and CSK had 2 wins in 3 matches. There was the top spot possibly up for grabs for the winner. RR were on the second spot, while CSK occupied the fifth. However, a loss to CSK has kept them on fifth but has sent RR to the pole position.
