Rajasthan Royals finish IPL 2025 run with commanding victory over Chennai Super Kings

Chasing down 188 with as many as 17 deliveries to spare, courtesy of another match-winning knock from 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi (57 off 33), RR recorded their fourth win of the season.

After three-fers from Akash Madhwal and Yudhvir Singh Charak helped RR pull things back well to restrict CSK, cameos from Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, and Dhruv Jurel supported Suryavanshi's half-century to see through the chase.

After being asked to bat first by RR captain Sanju Samson, CSK were rocked early. Yudhvir Singh Charak struck twice in the space of three deliveries as Devon Conway hit one straight to mid-off, before Kwena Maphaka took a good high catch at mid-on to send back young Urvil Patel, and CSK were 12/2 after two overs.

Seventeen-year-old Ayush Mhatre continued his impressive run of form. Combining with the experienced R. Ashwin, the duo put up 56 runs for the third wicket, the highlight of which was a 24-run fourth over off Yudhvir that saw both players scoring freely.

Just when Mhatre was looking set for another big score with a hat-trick of fours in the sixth over, it took another good catch, this time diving in front and low from Maphaka to dismiss the youngster for 43(20) off Tushar Deshpande.

Wanindu Hasaranga joined the wickets tally, while Yudhvir bagged his third as Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja (1) walked back quickly to leave CSK reeling at 78/5 in the eighth over.

However, another big momentum shift was in store. Dewald Brevis, another CSK player enjoying a rich vein of form, counter-attacked superbly. He scored 42(25) with three sixes and two fours in a 59-run stand with Shivam Dube, before Akash Madhwal knocked him over with the help of an inside-edge.

At 146/6 with five overs to go, CSK would have hoped for a big finish from the power-hitting duo of Dube and skipper MS Dhoni. But RR responded with a brilliant display of slog overs bowling, led by Madhwal (3/29) and Deshpande (1/33) to keep CSK down to 187/8 after 20 overs.

The early part of RR’s chase saw an interesting cat-and-mouse battle between Yashasvi Jaiswal and the CSK pacers. After a couple of close calls early on, Jaiswal struck 19 off the third over from Khaleel Ahmed, and RR were in charge at 31/0 after three overs. Jaiswal chopped one back onto his stumps off Anshul Kamboj in the next over, but not before his 36(19) gave RR another ideal start this season.

RR ended the powerplay with 56 on the board and skipper Samson accompanying 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi. After a relatively slow start given the standards he has set this season, the teenager took on this season's second-highest wicket-taker, Noor Ahmad, with a six and two fours in the eighth over, and RR were in cruise control.

With 93 runs needed off 10 overs, Suryavanshi added more comfort to the equation with a couple of towering sixes off Jadeja, before bringing up his half-century with a six over square leg off Noor.

Amidst the carnage from the youngster, Samson himself raced to 41 off 30. The 98-run partnership ended with Samson holing out in the deep off Ashwin's bowling, before Suryavanshi (57 off 33) was dismissed later in the same over, and RR were 138/3 after 14 overs, needing 50 more runs.

Collapses in similar situations on more than one occasion previously this season cost RR, but that was not the case tonight. Dhruv Jurel (31* off 12) and Shimron Hetmyer (12* off 5) ended the chase in a flurry, and RR got to the target in 17.1 overs.

(With inputs from IPL website)