Rajasthan Royals secure Qualifier 1 place as Chennai Super Kings lose again

Royals will face off with Gujarat Titans for a direct place in the IPL final after claiming second place in the table

Mumbai: Chennai Super Kings 150-6, Rajasthan Royals 151-5 - Rajasthan Royals won by five wickets

Scorecard

Rajasthan Royals are within a single win of the Indian Premier League final after victory over Chennai Super Kings secured second place in the table.

The 2008 champions will face newcomers Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 on May 24, with the winner earning direct passage to the showcase in Ahmedabad five days later.

Anything other than victory in their final game against the already eliminated CSK would have seen Lucknow Super Giants, who must now settle for a place in the Eliminator, progress in second.

Moeen Ali's brilliant 93, ahead of his return to England to play for Worcestershire Rapids in the T20 Blast, helped CSK put on 150 for 6 from their 20 overs.

^(BCCI)

But it was a familiar story elsewhere, with Ruturaj Gaikwad (2), Narayan Jagadeesan (1) and Ambati Rayudu (3) all failing.

MS Dhoni's awkward cameo of 26 from 28 balls helped the defending champions towards an unthreatening total.

A 59 from Yashasvi Jaiswal, after the early loss of Jos Buttler in the second over, got the Royals chase off to a good start but once the opener was dismissed Royals navigated their way to 104 for 4 in the 15th over.

Shimron Hetmyer (6) soon followed but an unbeaten 39-run stand between Ravichandran Ashwin (40*) and Riyan Parag (10*) secured victory with two balls to spare.

Fitting of a wretched campaign, CSK's 10th group defeat was confirmed via a wide delivery from Matheesha Pathirana.

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