IPL 2025: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Akash Madhwal Star In Rajasthan Royals' Clinical Victory Over Chennai Super Kings; RR Finish Season With A Win

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New Delhi, May 20: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yudhvir Singh Charak, and Akash Madhwal were the heroes for Rajasthan Royals as the champions of the inaugural IPL season defeated Chennai Super Kings by 6 wickets to end a forgettable IPL 2025 season on a winning note.

Chasing a target of 188 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, Royals reached home convincingly to finish their final match of the season with a win on Tuesday (May 20). The Sanju Samson-led side finished the season with 3 wins in 13 games.

Suryavanshi - one of the most talked about players in IPL 2025 - played another crucial knock and scored his second fifty of the season. Batting in front of MS Dhoni - the oldest player in IPL history - Suryavanshi, who happens to be the youngest in the tournament, notched up a fine half-century off just 27 deliveries and laid the foundation for a Royals' win in front of a crowd that was supporting the yellow of CSK.

The Rajasthan Royals' southpaw - who smashed four sixes - got to his half-century with a maximum against Noor Ahmad. The youngster even hammered a couple of maximums off Ravindra Jadeja.

RR openers gave their team a fine start before Yashasvi Jaiswal's knock of 36 off 19 balls was ended by Anshul Kamboj. RR were 37 for one and 36 of those were scored by Jaiswal. But soon after the fall of the first wicket, Suryavanshi started shifting gears along with captain Sanju Samson. The duo shared a stand of 98 runs for the second wicket and kept RR in control in the run chase.

Samson (41) and Suryavanshi (53) were dismissed by Ashwin in the same over, reigniting the hopes of a CSK comeback and later Noor dismissed Riyan Parag (3) with a beaut,y but Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer finished the job for their team and consigned CSK to a six-wicket defeat with 17 balls to spare.

Jurel (31*) finished things off in style for the Royals by dispatching Matheesha Pathirana for a maximum over deep mid-wicket. CSK thus suffered their ninth defeat of the season, with one match to go. RR, on the other hand, finished their campaign in the tournament with a consolation win and a ninth-place finish.

It was another forgettable evening for CSK bowlers as they failed to choke the flow of runs and couldn't break partnerships to claw their way back in the game.

It was yet another sorry tale for CSK with the bat as the Yellow Brigade's top order, barring young Ayush Mhatre, failed to live up to the expectations of the Delhi crowd that turned up in big numbers to cheer the MS Dhoni-led side.

The fixture between RR and CSK in Delhi was not scheduled in the initial plan but CSK fans in the national capital had a wonderful surprise when the BCCI awarded the match to the UT after the suspension of the tournament in the wake of border tensions between India and Pakistan post 'Operation Sindoor' carried out by the Indian Armed Forces.

Yudhvir Charak gave CSK early blows after dismissing Devon Conway (10) and Urvil Patel (0) in his first over. The pacer later got rid of Ravindra Jadeja (1) in his third over to complete a three-for. In his second over, however, the right-arm pacer leaked 24 runs as R Ashwin - who was promoted at No. 4 to make use of the fielding restrictions during the powerplay - and Mhatre attacked him.

Mhatre - who met cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar in Mumbai a couple of days back - played his natural strokes and played a brilliant knock of 43 off 20 balls before getting dismissed by fellow Mumbaikar Tushar Deshpande, while attempting his fourth straight boundary of the over.

The 17-year-old batting talent fell in the final over of the powerplay, while Ashwin joined him in the dugout in the very next over, leaving CSK four down for 70 runs on the board. It was Mhatre's blitz that ensured CSK's run rate remained above 10 per over at the halfway stage of their innings.

There was a brief period of lull for CSK and their seasoned pro Ravindra Jadeja too was dismissed in the eighth over, leaving half the side back in the dugout with 78 runs on the board.

Dewald Brevis, another mid-season entrant in the CSK camp, and Shivam Dube, whose bat has been mostly silent this season, shared a stand of 59 runs for the sixth wicket.

Brevis, who has been one of the best batters for the side in the middle-order for CSK - once again showcased his talent and played a fine knock of 42 off 25 balls before chopping it onto his stumps off Akash Madhwal. The young South African star scored more than fifty per cent of his runs in boundaries (2x4s and 3x6s).

Dube too played a decent hand and scored 39 off 32 balls before getting dismissed by Madhwal on the first ball of the final over. MS Dhoni, who walked into the middle to yet another rapturous cheer from the crowd, failed to live up to the expectations of the fans. The duo shared a stand of 43 runs for the seventh wicket. The CSK skipper - who walked into the middle in the 14th over - became Madhwal's victim on the penultimate delivery of the innings while and scored 16 off 17 balls. Madhwal finished his quota of 4 overs with 3/29 while Charak returned with 3/42 from his four overs.

CSK were 159 for 6 in 16 overs but failed to finish it well in the death overs. Despite Dhoni and Dube's presence at the crease, the Super Kings could only manage 28 runs on the next 24 balls and reached 187 for 8 in 20 overs, thereby falling 25-30 runs short.