MS Dhoni's 200th game as Chennai captain ends in tense defeat to Rajasthan

MS Dhoni marked his 200th match as Chennai Super Kings captain with a brisk 32 not out off 17 balls but it was not quite enough to avoid defeat as the Rajasthan Royals sealed a tense three-run victory in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.

Chasing 176 for victory, Chennai were 113-6 when Dhoni (32) joined Ravindra Jadeja (25) and the pair put on an unbeaten stand of 59 but fell short of Rajasthan's 175-8 on the last ball.

Dhoni, 41, rolled back the years to smash Sandeep Sharma for two sixes in the final over with Chennai needing 21 to win from the last six balls. But the medium-pace bowler, who started with two wides, kept his nerve to bowl two yorkers to deny Dhoni and Chennai a miracle as the hosts ended on 172-6.

Chennai coach Stephen Fleming revealed after the game that Dhoni has been struggling with a knee injury at the start of the season.

"He is nursing a knee injury, which you can see in some of his movement, which is hindering him somewhat but still what you saw today is a great player for us," Fleming told reporters.

"His fitness has always been very professional. He comes a month before the tournament starts, so he doesn't get the opportunity to do a lot."

England white-ball skipper Jos Buttler stood out with his 52, guiding last year's runners-up Rajasthan to a total which was just enough for the team's third win in four matches and sent them top of the 10-team table.

Buttler was helped along by Devdutt Padikkal (38) and Ravichandran Ashwin, who started slowly but smashed two sixes in his 30-run cameo.

Jos Buttler starred with a half-century for Rajasthan Royals. AFP

Rajasthan's spinners and Sandeep then combined to restrict Chennai, with Ashwin taking an impressive 2-25 including the key wicket of