RR off the bottom for the moment
We leave you with a teaser from our final report. See y'all tomorrow.
Despite losing eight matches chasing out of nine, Rajasthan Royals decided to chase one last time and came out victors with 17 balls to spare. Unlike earlier games, though, their bowlers did well against fellow laggards Chennai Super Kings, leaving them just 188 to chase on a good batting pitch. Akash Madhwal reversed the ball to restrict CSK in the end with just 17 off the last three overs, and Vaibhav Suryavanshi then aced the chase with a measured 57 off 33.
R Ashwin took two wickets in the 14th over to remind observers of RR’s poor chasing record, but it proved to be nothing more than a stutter. Dhruv Jurel made sure it never got close with a sparkling 31 off 12. The unbeaten batters at the wicket were Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer, who have been in the middle in some of the past fluffed chases. RR were momentarily off the bottom of the table, but their season was done. CSK were left needing a big win in their last match to avoid finishing at the bottom for the first time in their history.
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Sealed with a six
Dhruv Jurel ends the season with a lovely little cameo of 31 off 12 to take RR home with 17 balls to spare. In three of their close defeats, RR had to face the reversing ball. Today they reversed the ball. The difference is there to see.
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Ashwin 4-0-41-2: 6 needed off 18
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One R Ashwin over brought CSk back, the next ended the game as you can see. A stunning step-hit over deep midwicket from Dhruv Jurel is followed by a nice glance for four and a six by Shimron Hetmyer.
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Noor gets Parag: 30 needed off 26
Noor Ahmad has done Riyan Parag both in length and off the pitch. He has him defending away from the body and playing for a wrong'un. The ball turns back in, takes the inside edge and castles him. CSK still hopeful here.
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Ashwin gets Suryavanshi as well: 50 needed off 36
Has R Ashwin turned the game around with this massive over. Off the last ball of the over, Vaibhav Suryavanshi tries a big hoick into the leg side, gets a big edge, and is caught at backward point for 57 off 33. Are RR doubting themselves now because of their earlier failed chases?
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Ashwin gets Samson finally: 53 needed off 40
After being hit for two sixes by his last IPL captain, R Ashwin finally gets the better of Sanju Samson. The two sixes came in his first and second overs, one a mis-hit and one nailed over square leg. This time he has drawn a big enough mis-hit. All three carrom balls by the way. Samson will feel he has done well by hitting two sixes off the only spinner that has kept Suryavanshi quiet.
Suryavanshi gets to fifty: 67 needed off 49
This has seemed like a slow innings by the standards of Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Rajasthan Royals, but hey he is 53 off 27. He has taken down the spin of Noor Ahmad and Ravindra Jadeja quite brutally after a measured start in the powerplay. Put together, he has scored 38 off 14 balls from Noor and Jadeja.
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Suryavanshi, SXamson get into the chase: 82 for 1 in 8
The ask is not crazy, and Yashasvi Jaiswal has given them a flyer, so Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Sanju Samson have given themselves a sighter or two. No breathtaking hitting, but RR are 82 for 1 in eight overs. Suryavanshi has gone from 12 off 10 to 27 off 14, hitting Noor Ahmad for three boundaries. Samson is 19 off 15.
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Kamboj gets Jaiswal: 37 for 1 in 3.4
The first time a CSK bowler hits the hard length, the first time Yashasvi Jaiswal has to go across the line, and he misses and loses his off stump. Anshul Kamboj has hit the top of off here.
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Jaiswal takes down Khaleel: 31 for 0 in 3
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That's Khaleel Ahmed's second over after he drew six false shots in the first. The difference? the ball has stopped swinging, and Yashasvi Jaiswal is in deadly form.
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Jaiswal starts with a four
13 Number of times Yashasvi Jaiswal has hit a boundary on the first ball legitimate ball of an IPL innings, the most by any batter. However, this came off the glove, and Khaleel Ahmed has moved the ball around to concede just five off the first over
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RR reverse keeps CSK down to 187
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Rajasthan Royals have been at the receiving end of reverse swing in three of their failed chases this year, but today they have got the ball going Irish. Look at the results. These are the last three overs, bowled by Akash Madhwal and Tushar Deshpande.
Madhwal has bowled all his four overs in the back half and has used reverse well to get the wickets of Dewald Brevis and Shivam Dube. He has nailed at least eight yorkers in his four overs. Add low full tosses and swinging full balls to it. No ramps until the penultimate ball, but MS Dhoni hit it straight to short fine leg. Madhwal ends with figures of 4-0-29-3.
Just 17 came off the last three overs, leaving RR 188 to chase, the exact score that resulted in a tie when they last played in Delhi.
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Hasaranga 4-0-27-1: CSK 170 for 6
Wanindu Hasaranga has put in a good performance to end a middling year at the IPL. Only Shivam Dube, with two sixes, has got the better of him. As expected, he tied down MS Dhoni. The season ends with 11 wickets at 33.72 per wicket and 9.04 per over. He surely expects better from himself.
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Madhwal gets Brevis: 137 for 6 in 13.4
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That's the string of deliveries leading up to Dewald Brevis. This includes a full over from Wanindu Hasaranga. Eventually Akash Madhwal has him playing in, bringing MS Dhoni out with 38 balls to go. The Delhi crowd is going wild.
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Yudhvir 4-0-47-3: 114 for 5 in 11
There is a match-up game going on here. RR are withholding Wanindu Hasaranga for MS Dhoni and also to deny spin to Shivam Dube. However, Dewald Brevis has raced away to 34 off 15 with some breathtaking stroke-play. More fascinating overs to follow.
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Jadeja falls too: 78 for 5 in 7.4
CSK can't do anything right on the night. Ravindra Jadeja has outdone the others in a weird innings of 1 off 5. He has not looked to hit any ball in anger, and then flicks one to short midwicket. Yudhvir Singh has three wickets. The Delhi crowd lets out a loud cheer as MS Dhoni gets ready and comes out to the dugout.
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Ashwin follows Mhatre: 70 for 4 in 6.3
R Ashwin tries to hit out against spin, but finds deep midwicket. Wanindu Hasaranga gets the wicket. In comes the exciting Dewald Brevis. Nothing has worked for CSK outside that 56-run stand between Mhatre and Ashwin.
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Mhatre falls for 43 off 20: 68 for 3 in 5.5
Ayush Mhatre has been a runaway train in the powerplay, hitting one six and eight fours in his 20-ball innings, but holes out to long-on as he looks to make the most of the powerplay. He is gone for 43 off 20, but we now have R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the middle.
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Mhatre, Ashwin hit out: 46 for 2 in 4
Ayush Mhatre, one of the finds of the season, has got stuck into both the right-arm medium-pacers, and even R Ashwin has hit a big six off Yudhvir Singh. Mhatre is 21 off 11, and Ashwin 11 off 4.
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And now a special catch from Maphaka: 12 for 2 in 2 overs
This one from Urvil Patel is nowhere near as straightforward. Kwena Maphaka has to back-pedal from mid-on and time his jump perfectly to stand any chance of taking this. He does both. And CSK have promoted R Ashwin to No. 4.
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Nonchalant take by Riyan Parag: 12 for 1 in 1.4
If you are watching absentmindedly, you might even think Riyan Parag has dropped Devon Conway in the second over of the innings. Conway charges at Yudhvir Singh, who shortens the length, and Conway ends up chipping this straight to mid-off. Parag doesn't hold onto the ball for as long as some might like, but he has full control on its release.
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RR chase in wooden-spoon derby
Despite losing eight out of nine games chasing, Rajasthan Royals continued to stay with what has been the right thing to do: chase. It shows they don't see the batting as a problem but are seeking to chase fewer runs. They made one change to their side, leaving Fazalhaq Farooqi out for Yudhvir Singh. That left only three overseas players in their bowl-first XI, leaving the door open for an IPL debut for Lhuan-dre Pretorius when it is time to chase.
Chennai Super Kings didn't make any change to the side that played the last game. MS Dhoni said he was happy with the way the batting was shaping up for the next season.
Both the sides were on six points, but CSK had a game in hand. That means a win here will avoid what could be CSK's first-ever bottom-placed finish in an IPL. This is RR's last game so even a win won't guarantee them the dubious distinction.
RR's coach Rahul Dravid said the season could have looked different if they had not lost all of their close finishes. They have ended up on the wrong side of five close games, including one tie, at the same venue when it appeared they had the chase wrapped up.
Chennai Super Kings 1 Ayush Mhatre, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Urvil Patel, 4 Ravindra Jadeja, 5 Dewald Brevis, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 Anshul Kamboj, 11 Khaleel Ahmed
Impact Player options Matheesha Pathirana, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh
Rajasthan Royals 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 3 Sanju Samson (capt. & wk), 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Dhruv Jurel, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7, Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Kwena Mphaka, 9 Yudhvir Singh, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Akash Madhwal
Impact Player options Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Shubham Dubey, Kumar Kartikeya, Ashok Sharma, Kunal Rathore
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Conditions report
The centre pitch to be used for this. All boundaries equal on either side. Graeme Swann says the pitch feels dry and powdery, but he also says it is similar to the one on which GT chased 200 easily. So expect more runs. More chasing.
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Oldest vs youngest
MS Dhoni is the oldest in the IPL. Vaibhav Suryavanshi is the youngest. They come up against each other as RR and CSK seek to avoid the wooden spoon. Welcome to the Live Report for CSk vs RR.
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