RR in playoffs as Jaiswal, Ashwin pack a punch to defeat CSK

A blistering half-century by youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal and a quickfire 40 by R Ashwin guided Rajasthan Royals to a 5-wicket win against Chennai Super Kings in their IPL 2022 match at the Brabourne Stadium here on Friday.

With this victory, Rajasthan Royals pushed Lucknow Super Giants to the third spot in the playoffs. The Rajasthan team has 18 points like LSG but has a better run rate.

Jaiswal smashed 59 runs off 44 balls while Ashwin made 40* of 23 balls. For CSK, Prashant Solanki scalped two wickets while Mitchell Santner settled for one.

Chasing 151 runs, Rajasthan Royals did not get the best start losing the star batter Jos Buttler for 2 as Simarjeet Singh dismissed him in the second over of the innings.

RR skipper Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal joined hands as RR made their way to the 50-run mark in the sixth over. Both the batters carried on as Rajasthan looked on course for chasing the target.

Sanju Samson was dismissed by Mitchell Santner for 15 in the eighth over with RR score at 67/2. Samson's wicket brought Devdutt Padikkal to the crease to join Jaiswal. Rajasthan Royal's score read 73/2 at the end of 10 overs. They now needed 78 runs in 60 balls to chase the modest target.

Moeen Ali struck in the 11th over for Chennai dismissing Padikkal for 3 as Rajasthan were left struggling at 78/3. Ravichandran Ashwin then came out to bat and started thrashing the CSK bowlers. He gathered 10 runs in the 13th over. Jaiswal brought up his half-century in 39 balls.

However, he got out in the next over to Prashant Solanki with RR now four wickets down at 104 in the 14.5 over.

In the next over, Solanki struck again as he dismissed Shimron Hetmyer for 6 runs.

Ashwin and Riyan Parag then smoked 13 runs in the 18th over and the equation came down to 19 runs from 12 balls.

Ashwin stuck a much-needed six in the 19th over. In the end, one run was needed from two balls. Matheesha Pathirana delivered a wide ball bringing the match to an end.

It was a crucial game for RRs in terms of their playoff prospects.

Earlier, two-wicket hauls by Yuzvendra Chahal and Obed McCoy helped Rajasthan Royals in restricting Chennai Super Kings at 150/6 in the first innings. For CSK, Moeen Ali scored 97 runs off 57 balls and provided his team with a decent total, despite initial setbacks.

Opting to bat first, CSK made a terrible start as their opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad was caught by Sanju Samson on Trent Boult's delivery in the first over, with only 2 runs on the board. Moeen Ali joined Devon Conway at the crease and the duo then anchored the innings for their side.

Moeen smashed 26 runs in the 6th over, which was bowled by Boult and brought up his half-century in just 19 balls. He along with Conway stitched an 80-run partnership in 7 overs.

RR then got a sigh of relief when Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Conway (16) in the 8th over, leaving CSK's total at 87/2. It was followed by N Jagadeesan's dismissal by Obed McCoy, who departed after scoring 1 run, in the 9th over.

Ambati Rayudu came to the crease but could not do much for his team as he became prey to Yuzvendra Chahal's spell and was caught by Devdutt Padikkal in the 11th over. CSK skipper MS Dhoni joined hands with Moeen and kept the scoreboard moving for his team.

The duo anchored the innings and provided CSK with the lost momentum. It was then Chahal, who struck again and dismissed Dhoni in the 19th over and left CSK's total at 146/5. Later, McCoy also gave RR another breakthrough and sent Moeen back to the pavilion after he scored 93 runs off 57 balls.

Mitchell Santner and Simarjeet Singh came to the crease and ended CSK's innings at 150/6 in 20 overs. RR now need a total of 151 runs in 120 balls, to secure their position in the top 2.

Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 150/6 (Moeen Ali 93, MS Dhoni 26; Obed McCoy 2/20) vs Rajasthan Royals 151/5 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 59, Ravichandran Ashwin 40*; Prashant Solanki 2-20).