CSK campaign kept alive by Simarjeet and Gaikwad

Chennai Super Kings ended their home league campaign with a win, giving them a decent chance of returning to Chennai for the final two play-off matches. Despite losing their 11th toss out of 13 and being asked to field in the afternoon heat 40 hours after finishing their last match in Ahmedabad, CSK's bowlers used a slow pitch skilfully to restrict Rajasthan Royals to 141, which they chased down with relative ease.

The slow pitch suited the home bowlers and they kept Royals at bay in a wicketless powerplay, with Simarjeet Singh picking up wickets every time Royals tried to fight back. Royals never really managed to mount an attack, which CSK's New Zealand openers Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell successfully did to get their chase on track, with Shivam Dube putting them on top.

The win took CSK to 14 points from 13 games, level with Sunrisers Hyderabad who have a game in hand, and two points clear of their nearest challengers outside the top four. It was a third successive defeat for the Royals, who will be worried about their play-off chances, especially with Jos Buttler expected to be unavailable for the final week.