Mumbai : Moeen Ali struck a 57-ball 93 but Chennai Super Kings lost momentum and struggled to reach 150/6 in 20 overs against Rajasthan Royals in their final IPL 2022 match at the Brabourne Stadium.
The Chennai innings had two distinct parts — a blazing start courtesy of Moeen Ali (93 off 57 balls, 4×13, 6×3) and a crawling finish as they ended with a sub-par score on a wicket on which the ball was coming to a tad slow. It was s strange innings as CSK scored 75 runs in the first six overs and 75 in the next 14.
Trent Boult got Ruturaj Gaikwad (2) off the last ball of the first over but things went haywire for him and Rajasthan Royals after that as Moeen Ali waded into them. In a brilliant display of power-hitting, the England all-rounder hammered his half-century in 19 balls as CSK ended the powerplay with 75/1 on board.
Moeen Ali added 89 runs for the second wicket with Devon Conway (16) and then raised 51 runs for the fifth wicket with skipper M.S Dhoni but CSK failed to recover.
But the wicket of Conway and some superb bowling by Rajasthan Royals spinners Ravi Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, and seamer Obed McCoy put the brakes on their galloping innings. CSK lost a couple of quick wickets and could manage only 42 runs in the middle overs. But the slog overs were even worse as they could score only 33 runs in the last five, thus ending with a sub-par score.
CSK wanted to end their IPL 2022 campaign on a blazing note. The way Moeen Ali started blasting fours and sixes in the powerplay, it looked like the four-time champions would achieve their target and set a 200-plus score. But in the end that was not to be and then left Rajasthan Royals chasing 151.
Obed McCoy was the best of the Rajasthan Royals bowlers, claiming 2/20 in his four overs while Yuzvendra Chahal claimed 2/26. R Ashwin ended with 1/28 in his four overs.
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 150/6 in 20 overs (Moeen Ali 93, M.S Dhoni 26; Obed McCoy 2/20, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/26) v Rajasthan Royals.
–IANS
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