After Chennai opened their season with a win over Mumbai, they were in for a rude awakening on Tuesday evening as Rajasthan, despite missing the services of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, put on a clinic to outshine their opponents by 16 runs.
A large part of their success was down to an outstanding effort with the bat from Sanju Samson, who pounded out a 32-ball 74, and Steve Smith's 69 off 47. An unlikely effort from Jofra Archer to bag 27 runs in the 20th over also helped Rajasthan sail through to the win without much trouble.
Chennai, on the other hand, failed to mount a constructive chase after such a shoddy opening innings, especially losing the plot in the middle despite a stellar effort from Faf du Plessis.
Here, we look at some of the key stats from the match:
Rajasthan's stout Powerplay
After being put to bat first and finding themselves at 11/1 in the third over, Rajasthan unideal start belied what was to come, as soon after Yashasvi Jaiswal's dismissal, Sanju Samson was brought into the mix. Samson and opener Steve Smith struck up an incredible 121-run partnership for the second wicket and laid the foundation for their side's eventual 216/7 haul.
| Most runs in Powerplay by Rajasthan in UAE | ||
| Matches | Runs Scored | Wicket |
| Match 7, Rajasthan vs. Punjab, 20 Apr 2014 | 54 | 1 |
| Match 4, Rajasthan vs Chennai, 22 Sep 2020 | 54 | 1 |
| Match 19, Kolkata vs. Rajasthan, 29 Apr 2014 | 45 | 1 |
| Match 10, Rajasthan vs. Chennai, 23 Apr 2014 | 38 | 2 |
| Match 14, Rajasthan vs. Bangalore, 26 Apr 2014 | 36 | 2 |
| Match 4, Hyderabad vs. Rajasthan, 18 Apr 2014 | 30 | 2 |
Their Powerplay score of 54 runs equalled Rajasthan's previous best UAE record set back in April 20, 2014, against Punjab.
Lungi Ngidi's expensive final over
Chennai put Lungisani Ngidi to bowl in the final over hoping to capitalise on his reputation as a death bowler of note, but given how it went for the South African, he might as well have sounded the death knell for his own side with his efforts.
Facing off against Jofra Archer and Tom Curran, Lungi's doomed innings netted Rajasthan four maximums, three extras -- two of them free strikes -- and three singles, resulting in an incredible 30-run haul! Given that Chennai ended up losing by 16 runs, averting that kind of bleeding might have made all the difference.
It ended up being the joint-most expensive 20th over in Indian T20 League history.
| Most expensive 20th over in Indian T20 League | |||||
| Runs | Batsman | Team | Opp | Bowler | Season |
| 30 | Hardik Pandya | Mumbai | Pune | A Dinda | 2017 |
| 30 | Marcus Stoinis / Anrich Nortje | Delhi | Punjab | C Jordan | 2020 |
| 30 | Jofra Archer / Tom Curran | Rajasthan | Chennai | L Ngidi | 2020 |
| 29 | Shreyas Iyer | Delhi | Kolkata | S Mavi | 2018 |
| 29 | Kieon Pollard / Hardikl Pandya | Mumbai | Chennai | D Bravo | 2019 |
| 29 | MS Dhoni / Ravindra Jadeja | Chennai | Rajasthan | J Unadkat | 2019 |
'Maximum' effort
The smaller confines of the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, combined with a flurry of maximums throughout the evening led to tying the record (33) for most sixes in a match, which was previously set on April 25, 2018. Chennai was a factor on that day too, playing against Bangalore.
| Most sixes in a match | |
| Matches | No of 6s |
| Match 24, Bangalore vs. Chennai, 25 Apr 2018 | 33 |
| Match 4, Rajasthan vs Chennai, 22 Sep 2020 | 33 |
| Match 42, Delhi vs. Gujarat, 04 May 2017 | 31 |
| Match 44, Punjab vs. Kolkata, 12 May 2018 | 31 |
| Match 5, Chennai vs. Kolkata, 10 Apr 2018 | 31 |
| Match 32, Chennai vs. Rajasthan, 03 Apr 2010 | 30 |
Of the 33, nine were scored by Man of the Match Sanju Samson alone, while Chennai's Faf du Plessis bagged seven, culminating in a 14th Indian T20 League half-century for the South African. Jofra Archer, Steve Smith and Shane Watson scored joint-third most, with four.
Feature image courtesy: Twitter / Indian T20 League
