At the toss, Sanju Samson urged his players to be brave in their approach, and his teammates responded as Rajasthan Royals (RR) chased down 188 to register their fourth win of the season, beating Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by six wickets and ending the tournament on a high. A splendid 57 by Vaibhav Suryavanshi and his 98-run partnership with Sanju (41) set up the game for Dhruv Jurel, who finished it off with an unbeaten 31 from just 12 balls.
In the 14th over, Ravichandran Ashwin struck twice to bring CSK back in the contest. With 50 runs needed from six overs, and considering RR’s struggles during chasing targets this season, CSK remained in the game. However, this time Jurel ensured he saw his team through after several missed opportunities in the season.
Yashasvi Jaiswal provided another brisk start. Although he was dismissed early, Vaibhav and Samson continued to take on the bowlers. There were no demons in the pitch, and the CSK bowlers frequently erred in line, allowing RR batters to capitalise on the scoring opportunities. MS Dhoni had a rare bad day behind the stumps and was very sloppy.
In the first innings, CSK found themselves in deep trouble early, losing half their side by the eighth over. Three wickets fell during the Powerplay, including those of Devon Conway and Urvil Patel for cheap scores. Yet, CSK managed 68 in the first six overs, largely thanks to Ayush Mhatre, who top-scored with 43 before falling to a stunning catch by Kwena Maphaka off the penultimate ball of the sixth over.
A surprise move saw Ashwin promoted to No. 4 ahead of Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube, but it didn’t pay off. He made just 13. Jadeja fell soon after. Yudhvir Singh shone with the new ball for Rajasthan Royals, picking up three wickets.
As in the previous match, Dewald Brevis and Dube steadied the innings with a 59-run stand, with Brevis taking the aggressive route. Unfazed by the top-order collapse, Brevis kept the scoreboard ticking, maintaining a healthy run rate in the middle overs. At one stage, a 200-plus total looked on the cards, but Akash Madhwal bowled Brevis in the 14th over. That halted the momentum.
The stage was set for CSK’s power-hitters, Dube and Dhoni, to deliver a strong finish, but the final flourish never came. They managed only 17 runs in the last three overs, largely due to top-class death bowling from Madhwal and Tushar Deshpande. Madhwal was outstanding, nailing yorkers with precision and generating reverse swing to keep the batters in check.