Rajasthan Royals (RR) defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by five wickets in a thrilling encounter at the Brabourne stadium in the ongoing season of Indian Premier League (IPL). With this win, the Royals have sealed a top two finish.
Chasing 151 runs, RR didn’t get a good start. They lost Orange Cap holder Jos Buttler early. Mitchell Santner took an amazing catch to Sanju Samson on a score of 15 runs before Devdutt Padikkal also walked back cheaply.
However, Yashasvi Jaiswal played an amazing knock of 59 runs in 44 balls. Just when it looked like Rajasthan Royals would walk away with the game, they lost the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shimron Hetmyer in quick time.
Rajasthan needed 39 runs in 3.4 overs with Ravichandran Ashwin and Riyan Parag in the middle. But Ashwin played with great maturity and took calculated risks to chase down the total. He played an impactful knock of 40* runs in 23 balls which helped Rajasthan win the match in last over.
Meanwhile, fans went gaga over impressive display with the bat from Ravichandran Ashwin. Many even backed him to be on the plane for the T20 World Cup scheduled to take place later this year.
Here are some of the reactions:
Take a bow, Ravi Ashwin. One of best all-round performance under pressure in this season – 40*(23) and 1/28(4). Ashwin is a legend. pic.twitter.com/PvwEFEyuWr
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 20, 2022
What a player! @ashwinravi99. Just gets cricket. Whether test cricket where he is a great or T20 where he is now a champion.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 20, 2022
GG's that was for our Royal fans💜@ashwinravi99 what a boss🙌🏻 #CSKvRR #IPL2022
— Riyan Paragg (@ParagRiyan) May 20, 2022
Another day, another game where Ashwin has showcased why his game sense is one of the finest across the world.
Has to be among the MVP contenders for this tournament without a doubt.
— Gurkirat Singh Gill (@gurkiratsgill) May 20, 2022
Congratulations @rajasthanroyals for making into the play-offs after 4 years, did a fantastic job by investing two best spinners from India, Hetmyer in the middle order – two areas they struggled in the last few years and covered some issues with these three players.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 20, 2022
Top 2 ✅
So happy with how this team has performed and huge congrats to @ashwinravi99 for finishing it off!
Enjoy tonight #RoyalsFamily and see you on the 24th#HallaBol
— Jake Lush McCrum (@JakeLushMcCrum) May 20, 2022
Ravichandran Ashwin's batting returns in this IPL season show how much he has worked on it of late. 183 runs at 30.50 Avg and 146.40 SR. Justifying the Royals' faith in his batting abilities completely. This man just keeps reinventing himself! Aging like fine wine!#RRvCSK
— Prasenjit Dey (@CricPrasen) May 20, 2022
Ravichandran Ashwin, the finisher showing his class with MS Dhoni behind the stumps. 👏👏 @rajasthanroyals #HallaBol #CSKvsRR #RRvCSK
— Manoj Dimri (@manoj_dimri) May 20, 2022
If Ashwin keeps batting like this, someone else would retire out for him soon enough. On a serious note, acing the floater's role like Ashwin has done is incredibly difficult. No one gave him a chance as a spinner let alone as a floater, been a massive IPL for him.
— Cricket With Ash (@CricketWithAsh) May 20, 2022
Ashwin Anna pic.twitter.com/wpmFlpJX6o
— Rajasthani Memer 4.0 (@Memes_Raj) May 20, 2022
“An important 2nd place finish for @rajasthanroyals . Riding on @ashwinravi99 experience and #Jaiswal’s talent. Could they ascend the throne again after 14 years? #CricketTwitter #IPL2022 #RRvCSK
— Charu Sharma (@Charuonsports) May 20, 2022
https://twitter.com/Shu66523268/status/1527704080973320193?s=20&t=hbU90EXDp1S_kUHgFrQ4gg
Ravichandran Ashwin performing in white ball cricket with both the bat and the ball when people have declared him done in the format is just poetic. With that being said, he and Chahal should be on that plane to Australia.
— Rayhaan (@Cricket_Savant) May 20, 2022
#CSKvsRR #HallaBol
Ravichandran Ashwin new all rounder in the game 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XrbmWefiG1— ْ (@trippymaymay_) May 20, 2022
“Feels like a million dollars” – Ravichandran Ashwin after match-winning knock
Meanwhile, the veteran all-rounder was seemingly happy with his match-winning knock against Chennai Super Kings. Besides, he was also extremely handy with the bowl, helping Rajasthan crawl back in the game in the second half of the innings.
“Feels like a million dollars. It was important that we won the game tonight. That’s quite a good finish to the group stage games. The communication was pretty clear before the tournament. I had to work on a lot of stuff. The team management was clear with my position. I know what my role is. I have to make the batsmen take risks,” Ravichandran Ashwin said at the end of the match.
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