Rajasthan Royals (RR) have cemented their place in the top two with a five-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. Ravichandran Ashwin turned out to be Royals’ savior with bat and ball. After an economical bowling effort, he played the finisher’s role with an unbeaten 40 in Royals’ tricky run chase of 151 against MS Dhoni-led CSK.
Sanju Samson-led Royals will now take on Gujarat Titans (GT) in the first qualifier on May 24 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Jaiswal keeps chase on track
Royals lost Jos Buttler early in the run chase. Simarjeet Singh got the major breakthrough in the second over of run chase. Yashasvi Jaiswal attacked from the start. Skipper Samson struggled to score as well whereas Jaiswal helped Royals post 52/1 in the powerplay overs. The runs dried up in the middle overs and Samson became Mitchell Santner's victim in the ninth over. He scored 15 runs from 20 deliveries.
Coming in to bat at no.4, Devdutt Padikkal struggled to rotate the strike. Padikkal's misery was ended by Moeen Ali who hit the stumps. Padikkal scored just three runs from nine deliveries.
Jaiswal hits fifty
Meanwhile, Jaiswal reached his half-century from 39 deliveries in the 14th over. Ashwin joined him in the middle as Royals team management sent him ahead of Shimron Hetmyer. Ashwin released some pressure with big hits.
Solanki’s double blow
The opener looked to attack as well but Prashant Solanki got his wicket in the 15th over. Jaiswal scored 59 runs from 44 deliveries including eight fours and one six. Coming back in the side, Hetmyer failed to make the most of the opportunity and became Solanki's second victim.
Ashwin finishes it off
In the slog overs, Ashwin went ballistic and guided Royals home with some help from Riyan Parag. Dhoni gave the last over to Matheesha Pathirana instead of Simarjeet. The fast bowler with the slingy action could not defend seven runs as Ashwin used his pace to hit a boundary. Royals finished off the run chase with two balls to spare.
Boult strikes early
Trent Boult gave CSK an early jolt with the wicket of Ruturaj Gaikwad in the first over. However, Moeen Ali came out all guns blazing as Devon Conway hardly got any strike. The two shared an 83-run partnership for the second wicket.
Ali smashes Boult
Ali targetted Boult and hit him for 26 runs in the last over of powerplay overs to reach his half-century. The southpaw got to the fifty-run mark from just 19 deliveries. It is the second-fastest fifty for a CSK batter in IPL history.
CSK middle-order disappoints
While Ali was hard to spot, Ashwin got the wicket of Conway in the eighth over. The Kiwi opener was trapped in front of the stumps by the off-spinner. Conway's wicket led to a mini-batting collapse as N Jagadeesan and Ambati Rayudu got out for respective single-digit scores.
Dhoni struggles
At 95/4 in the 11th over, skipper Dhoni walked out to bat. Dhoni struggled to score in the middle overs. The flurry of dot deliveries ruined the platform laid by Ali's fierce hitting. In the penultimate over, Dhoni got out for a 28-ball 26. The wicketkeeper-batter hit a four and six each in his slow knock.
Ali misses century, Chahal’s major feat
Ali missed a chance to hit his maiden IPL century as he got out to McCoy in the final over. The left-handed English batter scored 93 runs from 57 deliveries including 13 fours and three sixes. In the end, CSK could manage 150/6. Chahal and McCoy picked up a couple of wickets each and were economical as well. The leg-spinner also equalled Imran Tahir's record of most wickets (26) in a single IPL season.
