JAIPUR — Shane Watson and Stuart Binny bludgeoned MS Dhoni & Co. to remain unbeaten here as Rajasthan Royals registered a thumping five-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013 Sunday. This win takes them to the second spot in the points table, with 20 points from 14 matches with only Net Run Rate separating them from the league leaders Chennai Super Kings. Having posted 141 on the board, the Chennai Super Kings had their task cut out. With immense experience of playing in such pressure cooker situation, they responded brilliantly early on. On a wicket that had something for the quicker bowlers, the towering West Indian bowler Jason Holder took Ajinkya Rahane and James Faulkner. Then Mohit Sharma had the young Sanju Samson for no score. In came Watson but Rahul Dravid fell to Chris Morris.
Watson was joined by Binny with the home side needing 93 runs from the last 10 overs to keep their citadel unbreached. And they did it. Watson hit 70 from 34 deliveries, while Binny remained unbeaten on 41 off 23 balls. Earlier, a disciplined performance by the Royals in the field helped them restrict the Chennai to 141-4. Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 141-4 (M. Vijay 55, M. Hussey 40; K. Cooper 2-32) lost to Rajasthan Royals 144-5 in 17.1 overs (S. Watson 70, S. Binny 41 n.o., J. Holder 2-20) by 5 wickets. In the first match of the day, senior South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis played a responsible knock of 41 off 45 balls, following an economical spell of 2-17, as Kolkata Knight Riders handed the Royal Challengers Bangalore yet another away defeat. Doing so, KKR moved up to sixth in the points table, while RCB maintained its fourth position. Brief scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 115-9 (C. Gayle 33, AB de Villiers 28; S. Narine 4-22, J. Kallis 2-17, L. Balaji 2-22) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 116-5 in 19.2 overs (J. Kallis 41, M. Tiwary 24; V. Kumar 2 for 17) by 5 wickets. Top six standings: 1. Chennai (10-4 win-loss) 20 points, 2. Rajasthan Royals (10-4) 20, 3. Mumbai Indians (9-4) 18, 4. Royal Challengers Bangalore (8-6) 16, 5. Sunrisers Hyderabad (8-5) 16, 6. Kolkata Knight Riders (6-8) 12. — Agencies
