Rajasthan Royals hammered Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in the battle of the two bottom teams in the Indian Premier League. (Highlights | Scorecard)
Victory saw the Royals move two points clear of the Super Kings, who must now beat table-toppers Gujarat Titans convincingly in their last match to avoid the ignominy of finishing rock bottom of the table.
Ayush Mhatre’s 43 off 20 deliveries and Dewald Brevis’ 42 off 25 helped Chennai scramble to 187-8, despite their innings never picking up momentum.
The Royals were in command of the chase, 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi starring again with 57 off 33 as they got over the line with 17 balls to spare.
Tuesday's result made little difference to either side’s fortunes in this season’s IPL but the Royals looked the superior force from early on.
Seamer Yuhvir Singh (3-47) dismissed Devon Conway and Urvil Patel in the second over and later dismissed Ravi Jadeja to complete a decisive three-fer.
Akash Madhwal (3-29) also took three late wickets as contributions from Mhatre, Brevis and Shivam Dube (39) helped Chennai post a reasonable total.
The opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Suryavanshi have shone despite the Royals’ overall struggles this season, and they impressed again.
Jaiswal smashed 36 of his team’s first 37 runs before being dismissed and then his partner took over, putting on 98 with Sanju Samson to break the back of the match.
Dhruv Jurel’s 31 off 12 deliveries, including two fours and three sixes, sealed the deal as Rajasthan closed out their IPL campaign with just their fourth victory.
Data Debrief: Samson flexes his muscles
Samson’s 41 off 31 deliveries was a key element of his side’s comfortable victory.
The Indian international has now scored 4,027 runs for the Royals, making him the seventh player in the tournament’s history to score 4,000+ runs for a single team.
He has scored his runs at an average of 31.70 and at a strike rate of 141.24, hitting two centuries and 23 fifties.
