Rajasthan Royals Finish the Season on a High with a Commanding Win Over CSK

Rajasthan Royals came out on top against Chennai Super Kings in the battle of the bottom teams in the IPL. Both teams have had a disappointing season so far, winning just three games each and sitting at the bottom of the table. Rajasthan ends their 2025 IPL campaign with 4 wins in 14 matches, finishing 9th, while CSK have one game remaining and are placed 10th.

Toss and Team News

Sanju Samson won the toss and decided to field first, despite losing eight out of nine times while chasing this season.

RR Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kwena Mphaka, Yudhvir Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal
Impact Subs: Lhuandre Pretorius, Shubham Dubey, Kumar Kartikeya, Ashok Sharma, Kunal Rathore

CSK Playing XI: Ayush Mhatre, Devon Conway, Urvil Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni, R. Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed
Impact Subs: Matheesha Pathirana, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh

Brevis Continues to Impress After Early Wickets

CSK’s struggles at the top have been a major reason for their poor season. The same story repeated against RR, as all their top-order batters failed to stay on the pitch—except for the young opener Ayush Mhatre. Along with Brevis, he has been one of the few shining stars for CSK in the second half of the season. Mhatre scored a quickfire 43 off just 20 balls, including eight fours and one six.

Dewald Brevis, who was brought in as a replacement, has gone on to become a regular starter and a potential core player for next season. Unlike his debut season with the Mumbai Indians, the South African has matured in his role as an attacking middle-order batsman and has earned the nickname “Baby AB.”

Brevis scored 42 runs and formed an important partnership of 59 with Shivam Dube. Their stand was vital in taking CSK’s total to 187. Dhoni was slow and couldn’t get going, scoring just 17 off 18 deliveries.

RR’s bowling effort in the second half of the innings helped restrict CSK to under 200. Tushar Deshpande (1 for 33) and Akash Madhwal (3 for 29) were the pick of the bowlers for RR.

Jaiswal’s Flying Start; Suryavanshi, Samson Assure the Chase

In reply, Jaiswal got off to a lightning start to ensure RR’s middle order wouldn’t be burdened by the run rate. As he has done often, he smashed the first ball of the innings for four, setting the tone with attacking intent. The left-handed opener raced to 36 off 19 balls, while his opening partner was a mere spectator with just one run.

After Jaiswal’s dismissal, Suryavanshi and Samson took control. Suryavanshi hit a six off Ashwin and followed it with a couple more in the next over bowled by Jadeja. They looked to be cruising towards victory before Ashwin dismissed both batters in the same over, offering a brief glimmer of hope for CSK.

However, Jurel—who has had a pretty disappointing season with the bat—finally showed up, scoring 31 off just 12 deliveries to take RR to victory with 17 balls to spare.

With this loss, CSK are almost certain to finish last in the 2025 season. This would be their first time finishing 10th, after ending second-last on two previous occasions.

Man of the Match

Akash Madhwal was brilliant with the ball, taking three wickets and conceding just 29 runs. For his excellent bowling performance, he was awarded the Man of the Match.