Led by Ashwin, Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings by five wickets to finish at the second place on the points table.
RR now have a lifeline and will face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier one. Chennai Super Kings won the toss and opted to bat first. Batting first, Moeen Ali put on an absolute exhibition as he pounded his way to the second-fastest fifty of the season in just 19 balls. Moeen was striking them good, but all hell broke loose when he smashed 30 runs off Trent Boult's over.
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CSK finished with 75/1 after the Powerplay. But Rajasthan crawled their way back into the match after six overs as they struck with three quick wickets of Devon Conway, Jagadeesan, and Rayudu.
Dhoni and Ali stabilised the ship, but RR choked them out with strict bowling. After a monstrous start, CSK finished with just 150 runs on board.
Chasing 151, RR lost Jos Buttler to yet another failure. Samson then laboured his way to 15 off 20 deliveries before getting out to Santner.
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Yashasvi Jaiswal was the pick among RR batters as he scored a brilliant fifty and eventually finished with 59 off 44 deliveries. Padikkal's woes continued for this season as he could only manage three off nine deliveries.
Ravichandran Ashwin proved his worth and clarified why he was promoted up the order with some eye-catching hits. He was there till the end and was instrumental in RR's chase of 151.
Even with the ball in hand, Ashwin took a wicket and gave away just 28 runs. Rightfully so, he was adjudged as the player of the match.
