Moeen Ali breezed to a 19-ball half-century as the Super Kings raced to 75-1 at the end of the powerplay, but they did not capitalise on their early impetus in Mumbai on Friday.
Spinners Yuzvendra Chahal (2-26) and Obed McCoy (2-20) were the pick of the bowlers to peg back Chennai, with MS Dhoni (26) the only other batter to pass 20 in support of Ali (93) in the Super Kings' 150-6.
Jos Buttler fell for just two to Simarjeet Singh (1-18) in response, before Sanju Samson (15) followed to Mitchell Santner (1-15) and Ali bowled Devdutt Padikkal (3) to leave the Royals 76-3 in the 12th over.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal batted on as his partners fell, making 59 off 44 balls before being dismissed by Prashant Solanki, with Rajasthan requiring a further 47 to win from the last five overs.
Solanki soon added the dangerous Shimron Hetmyer (6) to his list of scalps, but Ashwin – promoted up the order – took charge of the chase to see his side over the line with two balls to spare.
Victory meant Rajasthan will have two chances in the playoffs to make the final on May 29. Lucknow Super Giants must settle for third place.
Ali efforts in vain
All eyes were on Buttler, who leads the run charts with 629 in this year's IPL, but it was England team-mate Ali who delivered a scintillating performance at the Brabourne Stadium.
The 34-year-old fell in the final over just seven short of a century after a tremendous 57-ball innings that included 13 fours and three sixes.
He then superbly posted figures of 1-21 with the ball from his four-over allocation – but his efforts ultimately proved in vain, with Ashwin's 40 from 23 proving decisive.
Chahal equals spin record
Chahal once again edged ahead of Royal Challengers Bangalore's Wanindu Hasaranga in the battle to be the competition's top wicket-taker.
The Royals' leg-spinner picked up two wickets, while going at just 6.5 an over, and equalled Imran Tahir's tally of 26 (in 2019) for the most wickets by a spinner in a single IPL season.
Starc has not played in the IPL since 2015 and the left-arm quick’s return to the fray drew a bidding war that ended in an unprecedented bid of £2.34million (24.75 crore rupees) from Kolkata Knight Riders.
Cummins had earlier been picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad for just under £2million (20.5 crore), with both fees eclipsing the £1.77m Punjab Kings paid for Curran last year. Starc and Cummins had both signed up with a base price of less than £200,000.
Cummins is making his comeback to the tournament after a one-year absence to focus on his international commitments, during which he has captained Australia to glory in the World Test Championship and 50-over World Cup on Indian soil.
While those successes placed a premium on the available Australian talent, England’s terrible World Cup campaign saw their stock fall on the trading floor in Dubai.
Veteran Chris Woakes landed a deal worth a fraction under £400,000 as he joined team-mates Curran and Liam Livingstone at Punjab Kings, while Harry Brook was snapped up for around £380,000 by Delhi Capitals.
Brook had been released after one season of a £1.3m deal with Sunrisers and the Yorkshireman settled for a healthy but much-reduced payday.
He hit one superb century in his first IPL campaign but was otherwise badly short of runs with just 190 in 11 matches.
Sunrisers also splurged on another Australian, Travis Head, who capped a stellar year with a match-winning 137 in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad. He cost around £645,000 (6.8 crore) as he returned to the tournament for the first time since 2017.
West Indies T20 captain Rovman Powell was the first player to go under the hammer at the event in Dubai and fetched a surprisingly lavish £700,000 bid from Rajasthan Royals, while New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell scooped the biggest cheque of his career when he went to Chennai Super Kings for £1.3million.
CSK also signed Mitchell’s fellow Kiwi Rachin Ravindra, the breakout star of the World Cup, for a modest £170,000.
The England Test captain was signed by CSK for a bumper £1.6million but has appeared in just two of their 12 fixtures.
He arrived managing a longstanding condition in his left knee following a flare-up during February’s tour of New Zealand and also picked up a toe complaint which has kept him out of action since April 3.
The all-rounder’s fitness is being closely monitored by the England and Wales Cricket Board ahead of this summer’s Ashes and it is understood he is now cleared to play. CSK tweeted a video of him batting in the nets on Tuesday, showing the 31-year-old striking powerfully down the ground and captioned ‘freeing up those big arms’.
Yet despite his price tag, status and player-of-the-match showing in last year’s T20 World Cup final, he was left out of the squad to face Delhi Capitals.
CSK went into the game in second place and opted to stick with an overseas unit comprising Stokes’ fellow Englishman Moeen Ali, New Zealander Devon Conway and Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana.
Conditions at the Chepauk Stadium have been conducive to slow bowlers, which may have stacked the deck in favour of Moeen and Theekshana, as well as Kiwi left-armer Mitchell Santner, who was named among the impact substitutes.
Speaking ahead of the match head coach Mike Hussey said: “Stokes has been training really well. I am pretty sure that he is available for selection. It just comes down to the balance of the squad.
“Obviously, we have been playing in sort of spinning conditions, so they have decided to go for the extra spin-bowling option rather than Stokes, an all-rounder who can bowl seam.”
Stokes, who plans to leave the tournament ahead of the knockout phase to captain England’s summer curtain-raiser against Ireland from June 1-4, has made 15 runs in two innings and bowled a single over since arriving in India.
England fans may be more than happy to see that unexpectedly light workload continue, given the irreplaceable role he plays as batter, bowler and leader. He has overseen 10 wins from 12 games since taking the Test captaincy from Joe Root last year, reinvigorating the side in tandem with head coach Brendon McCullum.
The specialist death bowler sustained the latest setback, a groin injury, in action against the Delhi Capitals on Saturday. Bravo was as a result unable to bowl the final over for the team, which in the end saw CSK lose by 5 wickets with one ball to spare. As of now, it is unknown how long the player will be out of action.
"He seems to have a right groin injury, I think, and it was obviously serious enough to keep him off the field," CSK head coach Stephen Fleming explained at the post-match press conference.
"He's obviously desperately disappointed that he couldn't bowl the last over - that's what he's pretty much in the team for. He will have to be reassessed going forward, but at this stage, you'd imagine it's going to take a few days or a couple of weeks, but we will assess that tomorrow."
Bravo had arrived for IPL duty in the UAE with an entirely different injury, a knee problem sustained during this season’s CPL. He missed the Super Kings' first three games, as the team had decided to take extra caution.
Since his re-introduction, however, the player has made an impact, impressing with his yorkers and slower variations in the Super Kings' return fixture against the Sunrisers and the Kolkata Knight Riders and providing more depth to both the bowling attack
"I'm looking forward to this new journey because it's something I see myself doing after my playing days is fully over," Bravo, 39, said in a franchise statement on Friday.
"I enjoy working with bowlers, and it's a role I'm excited about. From player to coach, I don't think I have to adjust much, because while I'm playing, I always work with bowlers and try to come up with plans and ideas on how to have that one step ahead of the batsmen.
"The only difference is I will no longer be standing at mid-on or mid-off! I never thought I would be the leading wicket taker in the history of IPL. But I'm just happy to be a part of IPL history!"
Bravo has played the IPL every year since it started in 2008 except in 2017, when an injury prevented him from turning out for Gujarat Lions. He had first been signed up by Mumbai Indians in 2008, and was with the team for three seasons before being bought by Super Kings at the 2011 auction. When Super Kings were suspended for two seasons - 2016 and 2017 - Bravo was picked by Lions, before being retained by Super Kings in 2018.
He finished with 183 wickets, the highest wicket-taker after 15 seasons of IPL, 13 more than the second-placed Lasith Malinga, and 17 more than the next active bowler with the most success: Yuzvendra Chahal. Bravo's wickets came at an economy rate of 8.38 over 158 innings in 161 games, with a best of 4 for 22. He also scored 1560 runs at a strike rate of 129.57.
One of the great death bowlers in the T20 game, Bravo bowled 1115 balls [36% of all his deliveries] between overs 17 and 20 and took 102 wickets in the phase. No-one else has bowled as many deliveries in the last four overs (Jasprit Bumrah is next with 1026) or taken as many wickets (Lasith Malinga is second on 90).
A part of West Indies' golden generation of T20 superstars, which won the T20 World Cup in 2012 and 2016, Bravo joins his long-time international team-mate into IPL retirement, while getting into coaching roles with their teams. Pollard announced his retirement as a player on November 15, and has joined Mumbai Indians, the team he was with throughout his career in the IPL, as a batting coach.
Like Pollard, Bravo hasn't quit as a player altogether. He is currently playing in the Abu Dhabi T10 with Delhi Bulls and has also been signed up by MI Emirates for the inaugural ILT20 in the UAE next year, where Pollard will be his captain. He was one of eight players Super Kings released by the retention deadline last month. At the time, though, it seemed like they might buy him back at the next auction, scheduled for December 23, as they had in 2021.
With Super Kings, the team he became an integral part of - synonymous almost - over the years, Bravo played 144 matches, picking up 168 wickets and scoring 1556 runs. He was involved in three of their four IPL triumphs - in 2011, 2018 and 2021; the only one he missed was in 2010, when he was still with Mumbai. While with Super Kings, he won the Purple Cap for the most wickets in 2013 (32 wickets) and 2015 (26 wickets). He remains one of two players - Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the other - to win the Purple Cap on two occasions.
"He has been a crucial member of the Super Kings family for more than a decade, and we are excited to continue the association," Kasi Viswanathan, the Super Kings chief executive, said. "Bravo's vast experience will be of immense value to our players and support staff. We are confident that our bowling group will thrive under his guidance."
RCB slumped to a nine-wicket loss at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders after they were bowled out for only 92 on Monday in their first game since the tournament resumed.
They looked set to post an imposing total at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday after Devdutt Padikkal (70 off 50 balls) and captain Virat Kohli (53 from 41) put on 111 for the first wicket, but could only finish with 156-6.
Bravo (3-24) and Shardul Thakur (2-29) put the brakes on as Kohli's third-placed side lost their way after the start had been delayed due to a sandstorm.
An opening stand of 71 from 8.2 overs between the in-form Gaikwad (38 off 26) and Faf du Plessis (31 from 26) set CSK on their way to a seventh win in nine matches.
Ambati Rayudu (32) and Moeen Ali (23) also chipped in before vastly experienced duo Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni got the Super Kings home with 11 balls to spare, moving them above Delhi Capitals on net run-rate.
OPENERS LAY RCB FOUNDATIONS
The dangerous Padikkal and Kohli got RCB off to a great start after they were put in by MS Dhoni, taking 55 off the powerplay.
Padikkal was the first to raise his bat, bringing up his sixth IPL half-century by dispatching Deepak Chahar for four, and Kohli struck Ravindra Jadeja to the boundary to reach his fifty soon after.
RCB lost their way after Kohli was removed by Bravo in the 14th over, with Padikkal - who struck three sixes - falling straight after Shardul Thakur got rid of AB de Villiers in the South Africa legend's 150th match for just 12.
GAIKWAD IN GREAT NICK
Gaikwad made a brilliant unbeaten 88 in CSK's victory over defending champions Mumbai Indians and the opener maintained his form five days later.
The 24-year-old and Du Plessis got the Super Kings ahead of the rate in a great start to the run chase, the South Africa batsman clearing the ropes twice and Gaikwad hitting one six.
Both batsman fell in consecutive overs, but CSK kept wickets in hand and stayed ahead of the rate, with Raina and Dhoni finished off the job.
CSK won the toss and elected to bat and must have been regretting that decision after they got off to a disastrous start slumping to 24-4 by the end of the Powerplay as Trent Boult and Adam Milne wreaked havoc on their top order.
In dire straits, Chennai owed their recovery to 156-6 to Man-of-the-Match Putara Gaikwad, who scored an unbeaten 88 from 58 balls. Gaikwad hit nine fours and four sixes as he successfully balanced prudence with aggression while stitching together a critical fifth-wicket partnership of 81 with Ravindra Jadeja.
Jadeja faced 33 balls before Jasprit Bumrah had him caught by Kieron Pollard for 26.
Gaikward and Bravo, who was playing his 100th match for CSK, put up an additional 39 for the sixth wicket with the latter scoring 23 off just eight balls. Bravo, who last week led St Kitts and Nevis Patriots to their first Hero CPL title, hit three sixes before he became Bumrah’s second victim going for another big hit over cover.
Bumrah returned figures of 2-33, while Milne and Boult, who did the early damage, ended with figures of 2-21 and 2-35, respectively.
Chasing 157 for victory, Bravo took 3-23 to restrict Mumbai to 136-8, despite an unbeaten even 50 from Saurabh Tiwary.
Two wickets from Deepak Chahar had Mumbai in early trouble at 37-3 inside six overs.
Tiwary tried to keep the innings together but Mumbai lost wickets regularly mainly via Bravo’s intervention. The veteran Trinidadian was also instrumental in running out the dangerous Krunal Pandya for four that had the defending champions in trouble at 94-6.
Bravo then took the wickets of Milne for 15 and Chahar for a duck to seal the victory.
The New Zealand skipper scored just 216 runs from 13 innings at an average of 19.64 in the IPL this year.
Sunrisers on Tuesday announced that Williamson has not been retained by the franchise, who finished eighth last season.
Nicholas Pooran and Sean Abbott are among the other players who have not been kept on by Hyderabad.
It was also the end of an era for Mumbai Indians, with Kieron Pollard calling time on his IPL playing days and taking over as the franchise's batting coach.
Kolkata Knight Riders will have to do without Pat Cummins, Alex Hales and Sam Billings after the overseas trio opted out of the 2023 tournament.
Dwayne Bravo and Chris Jordan were among the players on the Chennai Super Kings' list of released players, while Jason Holder will not feature for Lucknow Super Giants.
Black Caps duo Daryl Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham will not return to Rajasthan Royals, while the same goes for South Africa batter Rassie Van Der Dussen.
After losing five of their opening seven matches, this was realistically a must-win contest for last year's IPL runners-up, and their 167-6 paved the way for a 20-run victory.
When Sunrisers got to 141-6 by the end of the 18th over, this clash in Dubai was in the balance, but Shardul Thakur and Dwayne Bravo applied the brakes to concede only six further runs.
Kane Williamson made 57 from 39 balls for Sunrisers, but they finished on 147-8, with the result meaning they are joined on six points from eight games by Chennai, both sides still in with a shot of finishing in the top four.
Chennai began the game on the front foot, with Sam Curran bumped up the order to open. His pinch-hitting role bore fruit, with the English all-rounder cracking 31 before he was bowled by Sandeep Sharma from the 21st ball he faced.
Shane Watson weighed in with 42 and Ambati Rayudu added 41, with their third-wicket partnership worth 81, and runs continued to flow.
Hyderabad captain David Warner made a nervy start with the bat in the reply and it was no surprise that he fell cheaply, caught and bowled by Curran.
At 93-3 after the 14th over, Sunrisers were off the pace, with Jonny Bairstow (23) having also gone early. Williamson kept them in it, striking seven fours before he holed out to Thakur at long-on off Karn Sharma's bowling.
Sunrisers took 15 runs in a four-ball purple match, Rashid Khan and Shahbaz Nadeem cutting loose. But crucially Thakur gave away just four runs off the bat, plus a wide, in the 19th over.
Rashid perished to the final ball of that over, given out hit-wicket after stepping back onto his off stump when taking a mighty swipe, before Bravo conceded just a single from an outstanding final set of six.
Bravo for Bravo
He gave credit to Thakur after the match, citing the 19th over of the Hyderabad innings as the key to victory, but Bravo (2-25) was nevertheless terrific when thrown the ball for the finale. Having Nadeem caught and bowled off a desperate slog killed the game, nailing a big win for CSK.
Dhoni goes the distance
Chennai skipper MS Dhoni added 21 handy runs at the end of his team's innings, and one shot will live long in the memory. T Natarajan sent down a delivery that was close to being a yorker but left Dhoni with just enough room to shuffle his feet and club the ball over long-on and into the top tier of the stand, a shot that was said to have travelled 102 metres. He was out next ball, mind.
The Royals had lost six of their last seven matches heading into a meeting with a CSK side that also started the day on six points from nine games.
CSK won the toss and their decision to bat first ultimately proved ill-advised, though Rajasthan initially laboured in pursuit of 126.
Buttler came to the crease with the Royals teetering on 28-3 in the fifth over and had to exercise patience alongside Steve Smith (26 not out) before being able to cut loose.
When he was able to get into his rhythm, Buttler produced his brilliant best, hitting seven fours and a pair of sixes in a 48-ball knock that helped Rajasthan move within two points of the top four
CSK earlier recovered from 56-4 to reach 125-5 thanks to a fifth-wicket stand between MS Dhoni (28) and Ravindra Jadeja (35 not out), however, a run out of the former by Jofra Archer and Sanju Samson proved key in keeping them under 130.
ARCHER EXCELS AGAIN
Archer has been outstanding for Rajasthan, adding to his reputation as one of the world's most fearsome fast bowlers in all formats.
He was excellent again on Monday, removing Faf du Plessis with the final ball of the third over and sending down 11 dot balls in his 1-20.
The England paceman ran out CSK skipper Dhoni to end an ominous partnership with Jadeja, though the Royals initially made heavy weather of a manageable chase.
BUTTLER LEADS ROYALS RESURGENCE
Though he and Smith had to deal with some concerted pressure early in their decisive stand of 98, Buttler eventually got his reward for frustrating the CSK attack.
His was an innings typically defined by precision and timing and a 15th over that saw Buttler hit England colleague Sam Curran for three successive fours effectively took the game away from CSK.
Rajasthan were left needing just 18 off the final five overs and there was to be no dramatic collapse, Jadeja falling over the boundary rope at long-on for Buttler's final six in the 17th over before Smith then hit the winning run.
Both sides were already assured of a play-off spot before they met at the Dubai International Stadium and it was the Capitals who moved to the brink of sealing a top-two finish with their 100th victory in the IPL's 50th match of 2021.
Kagiso Rabada steered Dwayne Bravo for four to take Delhi beyond their target of 137 to win, moving above their opponents with one game of the regular season to play.
Ambati Rayudu top scored with an unbeaten 55 from 43 balls in CSK's total of 136-5 after they were put in by birthday boy Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel the pick of the bowlers with 2-18 from his four overs.
Shikhar Dhawan struck 39 off 35 deliveries in his 300th T20 game, but Delhi collapsed to 99-6 after the opener and Ravichandran Ashwin fell in an excellent 15th over from Shardul Thakur (2-13)
Ravindra Jadeja (2-28) had earlier removed Pant and Ripal Patel, into the side at the expense of Steve Smith, but a dropped catch from Krishnappa Gowtham and some wayward Dwayne Bravo bowling cost CSK.
Substitute fielder Gowtham dropped a simple chance offered by Shimron Hetmyer in the 18th over and the West Indies batsman finished unbeaten on 28, with Rabada settling a tight contest.
Axar peaking at the right time
Spinner Axar was named man of the match after taking 3-21 in a four-wicket win over defending champions Mumbai Indians on Saturday.
The tweaker made a big impact once again two days later, getting dangerous duo Faf du Plessis and Moeen Ali caught at deep midwicket.
Axar has taken 14 wickets in IPL games, with his economy rate of 6.05 the sixth-best in the tournament, and he could have a big say in whether Delhi win the title.
Gowtham gaffe punished
The Capitals needed 28 to win off three overs after losing their way in the run chase, but the game swung back in their favour in the 18th over.
Bravo had already bowled two wides and been hit for four by Hetmyer before his Windies team-mate was put down by Gowtham coming in from long-on, the ball going through his hands and crossing the ropes to add insult to injury.
Hetmyer launched Josh Hazlewood for a huge six into the leg side in the next over as Gowtham looked to the skies in disbelief.
Making his 50th appearance in the competition, Chahar helped ensure Punjab's innings never got going as they were restricted to 106-8.
He finished with 4-13 from four overs, including one maiden, Punjab never getting to grips with a challenging surface in Mumbai.
Faf du Plessis (36 not out) and Moeen Ali (46) combined for 66 to help CSK ease to their target with 26 balls to spare, winning by six wickets.
Mayank Agarwal went for a two-ball duck to Chahar in the opening over, misjudging a wondrous delivery that pinged the top off-stump.
A direct hit from Ravindra Jadeja saw KL Rahul run out before the West Indian pair of Chris Gayle (10) and Nicholas Pooran (0) each fell to Chahar before the end of the powerplay.
Deepak Hooda tamely chipped to mid-off for Chahar's fourth wicket, leaving Punjab on 26-5 in the seventh over.
Shahrukh Khan's 36-ball 47, which included two sixes, at least made sure Punjab had something to defend, but a lack of support from the lower order meant the target was always one well within CSK's grasp.
Moeen and Du Plessis extinguished any hopes of Punjab claiming an unlikely win, their second-wicket stand allowing the Super Kings to coast to victory despite a 15th-over blitz from Mohammed Shami that saw Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu dismissed.
Chahar makes mark on landmark appearance
Chahar let out a huge roar when he castled Agarwal and he had every right to do so after producing a delivery that nipped away from middle stump to deceive the opener.
The subsequent dismissals owed more to a fine catch from Jadeja to get rid of Gayle and batting errors from Pooran and Hooda, but nothing should be taken away from Chahar after he tilted the game firmly in CSK's favour.
Moeen gets things moving
Moeen and Du Plessis showed Punjab how to bat on the surface with an excellent partnership, the England all-rounder's 46 coming off 31 deliveries, his strike rate of 148.38 the best in the contest.
He recorded seven fours and one maximum, with Du Plessis' sole six coming off a scoop shot in the fourth over. The South African was still in at the end when Sam Curran wrapped things up after a brief wobble.
A stingy innings in the field from the hosts was followed by an excellent knock from Devon Conway, who smashed 77 from 57 balls to give CSK their fourth win of the season.
Harry Brook (18) was the first to fall for Sunrisers after he made room for himself and attempted a big hit, only to slice it behind for Ruturaj Gaikwad to make a superb low catch.
Abhishek Sharma (34) and Rahul Tripathi (21) looked to be building a nice partnership before the both ballooned shots into the air for simple catches off the bowling of the impressive Ravindra Jadeja.
Captain Aiden Markram (12) did not have long at the crease with South Africa team-mate Heinrich Klaasen as he edged Maheesh Theekshana to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, with the wicketkeeper also stumping Mayank Agarwal (2) soon after as Sunrisers fell from 71-1 to 95-5.
While they were able to stem the tide of wickets, Sunrisers struggled to find runs as CSK's bowlers kept their opponents on a leash, ultimately rewarded when Klaasen (17) fell to Matheesha Pathirana as Gaikwad snaffled another catch.
Marco Jansen (17 not out) and Washington Sundar (9) played out the remainder of the innings, with the latter being run out from the final ball as the Sunrisers scored just 37 from their last 36 balls to end on 134-7.
An opening partnership of 87 from the first 11 overs put CSK in control of the chase, before Gaikwad was run out by Umran Malik on 35.
Ajinkya Rahane (9) was dismissed by Mayank Markande, who also bowled Ambati Rayudu (9) with a superb delivery, but Conway and Moeen Ali (6 not out) eased their team home with eight balls to spare.
Conway shows the way
Sunrisers Hyderabad have still not won an IPL game against CSK at MA Chidambaram Stadium, losing all four, and Conway made sure that remained the case.
The New Zealand international hit 12 fours as he set about extinguishing any hopes the visitors had of ending that run, and recorded his third consecutive half-century, making him just the third CSK player to do so after Gaikwad and Faf Du Plessis.
Jadeja shines with the ball
Jadeja really did some damage with the ball, taking three wickets and conceding just one boundary from his four overs.
His figures of 3-22 were the fourth three-wicket haul from him in an IPL game on this ground, tied for the second-most by any bowler at the venue (behind Albie Morkel with 5).
Conway blasted top scored with 83 off 45 balls as CSK posted 226-6 in the southern derby at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, where Shivam Dube (52 from 27) also made a half-century.
A brutal onslaught from Glenn Maxwell (76 off 36) and Faf du Plessis (62 from 33) had RCB scenting an incredible victory, but they came up just short on 218-8 as CSK secured a third win.
Conway and Ajinkya Rahane (37) laid the platform for CSK by putting on 74 for the second wicket in quick time before the latter was bowled by Wanindu Hasaranga.
The in-form Conway faced only 31 balls to make it back-to-back half-centuries but missed out on three figures when he was cleaned up by Harshal Patel.
Dube and Moeen Ali ensured the runs continued to flow, before Virat Kohli fell in the first over of the run chase.
RCB were 15-2 when Maxwell joined Du Plessis in the middle and they produced an incredible exhibition of clean striking to put the game in the balance.
Their 126-run partnership was a franchise record for the third wicket and came in just over 10 overs, Maxwell blasting eight sixes and his skipper striking four.
Maheesh Theekshana was guilty of two of CSK's four dropped catches, but he removed Maxwell and Ali dismissed Du Plessis.
Dinesh Karthik (28) and Suyash Prabhudessai kept RCB in the hunt, but Tushar Deshpande took 3-45 as the Super Kings took the derby honours.
Conway leads the way
New Zealand opener Conway took the RCB attack to all parts, following his 50 against Rajasthan Royals with another explosive knock.
The left-hander struck six sixes and as many fours, laying the platform for a big CSK total.
As many as 72 per cent of Conway's runs came from boundaries in what was his fifth IPL half-century.
Du Plessis and Maxwell go berserk
They were certainly not queueing up to bowl when Du Plessis and Maxwell were cutting loose.
Du Plessis took over from Venkatesh Iyer as the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 259 at an average of 64.75, while Maxwell's explosive half-century was his second of the IPL season.
The 23-year-old hero for 2021 Caribbean Premier League champions, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots will reunite with his CPL captain Dwayne Bravo ahead of their last league match against the Punjab Kings on Thursday, October 7.
Drakes took 16 wickets in 11 matches for the SKN Patriots during the CPL season and won the tournament with his bat when he scored an unbeaten 48 from 24 balls in the final against St Lucia Kings and was named the Player of the Match.
In 19 T20s so far, he has picked 20 wickets and has scored 153 runs at a strike rate of 159.37.
KKR will be out for revenge at the Wankhede Stadium on March 26 after the Super Kings won the 2021 final by 27 runs in Dubai last October.
There will be a first double-header in the 15th edition of the tournament the following day, when Delhi Capital take on Mumbai Indians at Brabourne before Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore do battle at the DY Patil Stadium.
New franchises Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants meet in their first IPL match at Wankhede Stadium on March 28.
Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals contest the first game at the MCA Stadium in Pune on March 29.
There will be 70 matches in the regular season following by four play-off showdowns in a tournament that will be staged over 65 days, with the final taking place on May 29.
Jadeja was named skipper just before the tournament started last month after the long-serving Dhoni opted to relinquish the captaincy.
Defending champions CSK are second-bottom of the table with only two wins from eight games.
Jadeja has taken only five wickets – three of those coming in one match against Royal Challengers Bangalore - and scored just 112 runs at an average of 22.40.
The Super Kings on Saturday announced that the India all-rounder has decided to hand over captaincy duties in order to try and rediscover his form.
A statement released by the franchise said: "Ravindra Jadeja has decided to relinquish captaincy to focus and concentrate more on his game and has requested MS Dhoni to lead CSK.
"MS Dhoni has accepted to lead CSK in the larger interest and to allow Jadeja to focus on his game."
Former India captain Dhoni led CSK from the start of the IPL in 2008 before bringing his reign to an end, guiding the franchise to four titles and losing five finals.
The 40-year-old wicketkeeper-batter lifted the trophy in Dubai last year after his side beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs in the final.
The injury is not only a concern for CSK but for CWI, whose selectors picked the 36-year-old Trinidadian in their T20 squad to travel to New Zealand next month. As such, the regional board is keen to be in the know about his rehabilitation.
“We are in contact with him and the CSK medical team, so we are being kept updated with his treatment and recovery,” CWI CEO Johnny Grave told Sportsmax.TV on Sunday.
Meanwhile, CSK have said they do not have a timeline for the recovery of the veteran player.
"He seems to have a right groin injury, I think, and it was obviously serious enough to keep him off the field," CSK head coach Stephen Fleming explained at the post-match press conference on Saturday.
"He will have to be reassessed going forward, but at this stage, you'd imagine it's going to take a few days or a couple of weeks.”
Bravo had arrived for IPL duty in the UAE with an entirely different injury, a knee problem sustained during this season’s CPL. He missed the Super Kings' first three games, as the team had decided to take extra caution.
RCB first posted 173-6 from their 20 overs after winning the toss.
Wicket-keeper/batsman Anuj Rawat top scored with a 25-ball 48 while Dinesh Karthik and captain Faf Du Plessis provided good support with 38 and 35, respectively.
Mustafizur Rahman was excellent with the ball for the Super Kings with 4-29 from his four overs.
CSK then used contributions from all their batsmen to easily reach 176-4 with eight balls to spare.
Debutant Rachin Ravindra led the way with 37 while Shivam Dube (34*), Ajinkya Rahane (27) and Ravindra Jadeja (25*) also played well.
Cameron Green took 2-27 from his three overs for RCB.
Full Scores: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 173-6 off 20 overs (Anuj Rawat 48, Dinesh Karthik 38*, Mustafizur Rahman 4-29)
Chennai Super Kings 176-4 off 18.4 overs (Rachin Ravindra 37, Shivam Dube 34*, Ajinkya Rahane 27, Ravindra Jadeja 25*, Cameron Green 2-27)
Chennai were asked to bat when Rishabh Pant won the toss and recovered well from the early losses of Faf du Plessis for nought and Ruturaj Gaikwad to post 188-7, Suresh Raina top scoring with 54.
But Dhawan (85) and Shaw (72) scythed into what looked like a daunting chase with a stunning stand of 139 for the first wicket and skipper Pant (15 not out) was there to see the Capitals home with eight deliveries to spare.
Chris Woakes (2-18) and Avesh Khan (2-23) set the tone for Delhi as Chennai slumped to 7-2 and the seamers also returned to fine effect – Avesh persuading veteran captain MS Dhoni to drag on for a duck and Woakes bowling fellow England all-rounder Sam Curran with the final ball of the innings.
Curran plundered 34 from 15 deliveries, including two sixes off brother Tom (1-40), in a breezy effort alongside Ravindra Jadeja (26 not out), their 51-run partnership capitalising upon a rebuilding job impressively helmed by Raina.
The India batsman ploughed Marcus Stoinis over for his fourth maximum to reach 50 off 32 balls and he received useful support from Moeen Ali (36) and Ambati Rayudu (23).
A dire mix-up, during which Jadeja collided with Avesh, saw Raina run out amid a slump of three wickets for 14 runs – a blip that proved costly as Dhawan and Shaw took the Super Kings attack apart.
They motored at around 10-an-over for the majority of their partnership. Shaw had faced only 38 balls, hitting nine fours and three sixes, by the time he skewed Dwayne Bravo (1-38) to Moeen and there was little remaining doubt about the outcome when Dhawan was trapped lbw by Shardul Thakur (2-53).
