This year's edition of the IPL had been due to begin in India in late March but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, and it will now take place between September and November in the United Arab Emirates.
The first fixture, which takes place in Abu Dhabi on September 19, will see Rohit Sharma's Mumbai face MS Dhoni's Chennai, the team they defeated by one run in the 2019 final.
There will be 10 days of double-headers, with matches split across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders will be the last two teams to play their first fixtures, which is thought to be because of the England and Australia players in their squads.
Those two countries are currently playing white-ball cricket in England, with the final match on September 16.
The Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field first, a decision which was proven right early as the Super Kings lost openers Ruturaj Gaikwad (0) and Devon Conway (3) in quick succession.
Despite a fighting 50 not out from former captain MS Dhoni, Chennai could only muster up 131-5 off their 20 overs.
Umesh Yadav bowled a fiery spell to finish with 2-20 from his four overs.
Narine went wicketless in his four overs while only conceding 15 runs and Russell took 1-38 from his four overs.
KKR then got through their chase with little resistance thanks to a top score of 44 from Ajinkya Rahane and solid contributions from Sam Billings (25) and Nitish Rana (21).
Captain Shreyas Iyer (20) and Sheldon Jackson (3) were at the crease when KKR got to 133-4 with nine balls to spare.
Despite the loss, Dwayne Bravo was excellent with the ball taking 3-20 from his four overs and, in the process, joining Sri Lankan great Lasith Malinga at the top of the all-time IPL leading wicket-takers list with 170.
Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans will make their IPL debuts when they lock horns at the Wankhede Stadium.
The iconic stadium in Mumbai will also stage the opening match, which will see defending champions Chennai Super Kings do battle with Kolkata Knight Riders in a repeat of last year's final.
CSK won the title for a fourth time last October, lifting the trophy in Dubai after the tournament had to be completed in the United Arab Emirates and Oman due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Dhoni stepped down as skipper just two days before the opening game and Ravindra Jadeja has been charged with the task of replacing him.
Crowds will be allowed back in the four stadiums in Mumbai and Pune, with 70 league matches and four play-off showdowns to come over a 65-day period.
NEW FORMAT A VIRTUAL REALITY
There will be two virtual groups based on the number of IPL titles won, followed by how many finals teams have contested.
Each side will take on their group rivals twice and also face two matches against one team from the other group. They will come up against the other teams from a different group just once.
KKR will take on five-time champions Mumbai Indians twice, as they are both in Group A, while Sunrisers Hyderabad are in Group B along with CSK.
SUPER GIANTS AND TITANS READY FOR THE BIG TIME
Lucknow and Gujarat will start life in the IPL with high hopes of making a big impact.
KL Rahul will lead the Super Giants side that has Andy Flower as coach. Big things will be expected of Quinton de Kock, Jason Holder and Marcus Stoinis but Mark Wood has been ruled out, so Andrew Tye was brought in as a replacement.
Hardik Pandya was appointed as Titans captain and Ashish Nehra coach. Star spinner Rashid Khan and Mohammed Shami were standout signings for Gujarat. Aaron Finch must bring fireworks at the top of the order after he was a late replacement for Jason Roy.
JADEJA WITH 'BIG BOOTS TO FILL'
Dhoni had led CSK since the inaugural IPL in 2008, so it was the end of an era when he stepped down on Thursday.
The 40-year-old will continue to play for the Super Kings and it is India all-rounder Jadeja who will step up to skipper the defending champions.
Jadeja said: "I'm feeling good. At the same time, I also need to fill in big boots, [Dhoni] has already set the big legacy so I need to carry [that] forward. I don't need to worry too much because he is here so whenever I have a question to ask, I'll definitely go to him.
"He'll be my go-to person. He was and still he is today, so I'm not worried too much."
FIT FOR THE KINGS?
Punjab Kings went into the auction with the biggest purse and their new recruits will be expected to deliver.
Powerful all-rounder Liam Livingstone was picked up for a whopping Rs 11.5 crore and his England team-mate Jonny Bairstow was another acquisition.
New skipper Mayank Agarwal will look to South Africa paceman Kagiso Rabada to fire a new dawn for the franchise.
The Kings posted a imposing 187-4 after Ravindra Jadeja won the toss and put them in on Monday.
Ambati Rayudu made a blistering 78 off 39 balls, but was dismissed in the 17th over as the struggling reigning champions were condemned to their sixth defeat in eight matches, leaving their play-off hopes in tatters.
The Kings were unable to get off to a flyer and lost captain Mayank Agarwal for 18, Shivam Dube taking the catch off the bowling of Maheesh Theekshana.
Dhawan, however, became the third-highest scorer in the 2022 IPL with a terrific knock, supported in excellent fashion by Bhanuka Rajapaska (42) until he also fell victim to a catch from Dube for Dwayne Bravo.
Liam Livingstone made a rapid 19 from seven balls as Punjab produced a late flurry of runs.
Robin Uthappa (1), Mitchell Santner (9), and Dube (8) fell cheaply to leave CSK in trouble on 40-3 from seven overs, before Rayudu's talismanic efforts threatened to be the catalyst for a stunning win.
Agarwal caught Ruturaj Gaikwad for 30, before Rayudu was cleaned up by the impressive Kagiso Rabada, who claimed excellent figures of 2-23.
Chennai's hopes of chasing down their target looked slim after Rayudu was sent packing, with Jadeja (21 not out) and MS Dhoni (12) unable to get them home.
Dhawan sets the tone
Dhawan's classy knock went a long way to ending the Kings' two-match losing run and Punjab are in sixth spot with four wins and as many defeats.
The India opener struck two sixes and nine fours, shifting through the gears after a watchful start.
Rayudu goes close for out-of-form Super Kings
Chennai's miserable IPL title defence continued after their top order was decimated early on, but Rayudu was unfortunate to taste defeat after single-handedly dragging his side into contention.
Cummins sat out the 2023 tournament to focus on international cricket but became even hotter property after leading his side to the World Test Championship and last month’s 50-over World Cup on Indian soil.
Four teams vied for the fast bowler’s signature and Sunrisers Hyderabad ended up paying 20.5 crore rupees, eclipsing the previous high of 18.5 crore (£1.77m) Punjab Kings paid for English all-rounder Sam Curran last year.
Cummins, 30, had entered with a base price of just under £200,000 and saw the bidding war up his fee by a factor of 10.
Sunrisers had plenty of budget to play with having released Brook after one season of a £1.3m deal, with the Yorkshireman picking up a healthy but much-reduced payday with the Capitals.
He hit one superb century in his first IPL campaign but was otherwise badly short of runs with just 190 in 11 matches.
Woakes was later drafted for just under £400,000 by Punjab, joining his England team-mates Curran and Liam Livingstone.
Sunrisers also splurged on Cummins’ fellow 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.
All-rounder Pollard claimed 2-12 but Chennai posted 218-4 in their innings, with Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu all hitting half-centuries.
Rayudu top scored with a brutal 72 from just 27 deliveries after Moeen (58) and Du Plessis (50) had put on 108 for the second wicket.
However, the defending champions handed the Super Kings just a second loss of the 2021 season, reaching their target from the final delivery with four wickets to spare as Pollard accepted the responsibility of seeing his team over the line in astonishing fashion.
The West Indies international smashed eight sixes as he finished up unbeaten on 87 from just 34 balls. He hit the penultimate delivery of the contest for six off Lungi Ngidi, then managed to sneak through for the two runs required from the last.
Pollard was dropped by Du Plessis in the 18th over and that proved to be costly for leaders CSK in a dramatic contest at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Quinton de Kock (38) and Rohit Sharma (35) had put on 71 for the first wicket in 7.4 overs, but the openers were dismissed by Moeen and Shardul Thakur respectively before the halfway point of the run chase.
Pollard stepped forward to pull off Mumbai's highest chase, though, with the Indians taking 48 runs off the last three overs to move just two points behind CSK in fourth place.
Bumrah toils as Super Kings prosper
Chennai endured a mid-innings wobble – slipping from 112-1 to 116-4 after losing two wickets in as many balls in a Pollard over - but Rayudu's onslaught carried them well beyond the 200 barrier.
Jasprit Bumrah was one of the bowlers who suffered the most. The India international finished with figures of 1-56 from his four overs, the highest number of runs he has conceded in the format.
Powerhouse Pollard completes record chase
Mumbai were 81-3 in the 10th over when Pollard arrived at the crease to produce an incredible display of clean striking, racing to a 17-ball half-century.
Sam Curran removed Hardik Pandya and Jimmy Neesham in the penultimate over after the England all-rounder had trapped Krunal Pandya leg before. However, it was not enough for Chennai.
Holders CSK had won four of their first six Indian Premier League matches this season, but consecutive losses to LSG in the space of five days have seen them slip to fifth in the standings.
Their latest IPL defeat on Tuesday came after CSK had left out Rachin Ravindra, with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ajinkya Rahane opening the batting, with Mitchell coming in at number three.
While captain Gaikwad scored an impressive unbeaten 108, Rahane managed just one run and Mitchell fell for just 11 off 10 balls.
LSG then chased down their 211 target for victory with three balls left, inspired by a superb innings of 124 not out by Marcus Stoinis.
Mitchell was a major acquisition by CSK at the IPL auction, but so far he has managed just 146 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 123.72.
"There's a lot of pressure obviously," Fleming said when asked about Mitchell's poor form.
"Getting up the order is more comfortable for him. Me putting him down the order in the hitting role wasn't his best position. So, we've looked to rectify that and get him up the order where he has had his best performances internationally.
"That might take a little bit of time, but the top three need to contribute the majority of runs.
"Ruturaj did that, so hopefully he can continue his form and the others can pick that up."
CSK are back in action at home against in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday and Fleming accepts there is work to do, but takes comfort from the fact their defeats have not been comprehensive.
He added: "We are not firing on all cylinders by any means but we are in each game and we are asking teams to play well to beat us.
"We just have to make sure we are good enough to win and we have been. Again [versus LSG] we created a chance, so it is not like we are down and out.
"But we know we could be stronger. We have just got to get a little bit better. It is a mixture of trying to find that [combination at the top of the order] and also form.
"We are a little bit uncomfortable with some areas, so we are trying to find not a quick fix, but the right combination where players are going to contribute for the back end of this tournament.
"We have had injuries, we have been a little bit unsettled, but the main thing is getting guys in key areas and in form."
IPL 2024 continues on Wednesday when Delhi Capitals face Gujarat Titans, with both teams sitting outside the playoff positions as things stand.
Pooran went to the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise for 10.75 crore (USD 1.43 million).
The Sunrisers will be his third IPL franchise after previously representing the Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings.
Jason Holder, formerly of the Sunrisers, will be suiting up for the new Lucknow Super Giants after being snapped up for 8.5 crore (USD 1.16 million).
Dwayne Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer were the only other West Indians sold on day 1 to the Chennai Super Kings for 4.4 crore (USD 583,953.04) and the Rajasthan Royals for 8.5 crore, respectively.
Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard were all retained by their respective franchises before the auction.
Indian left-hander Ishan Kishan had the honour of being the most expensive pick-up of this year’s auction after going to the Mumbai Indians for 15.25 crore (USD 2.03 million).
Day 2 of the auction takes place on Sunday.
Rabada took two wickets for as many runs in a Super Over to set up a victory over Kings XI Punjab in the Capitals' first game of the tournament last Sunday.
The South Africa paceman was outstanding once again at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday, taking 3-26 to restrict Chennai to 131-7 in reply to 175-3.
Shaw earlier smashed 64 off 43 balls, while Shikhar Dhawan (35) and Rishabh Pant (37 not out) also chipped in to get Delhi every chance of making it two wins out of two.
Opener Shaw and Dhawan put on 94 for the first wicket off just 10.4 overs, but Piyush Chawla (2-33) and Sam Curran (1-27) helped to keep the Capitals under the 200 mark they looked set to reach.
The Super Kings never looked like reaching their target, Faf du Plessis top scoring with 43 before he was removed by Rabada, who also got rid of MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja in the final over.
Rabada's compatriot Anrich Nortje took 2-21 from a brilliant four overs for CSK, who have now lost two out of three, as the Capitals moved to the summit.
UNWANTED RECORD FOR JADEJA, SHAW CUTS LOOSE
Shaw and Dhawan laid the platform for Delhi's comfortable victory with an entertaining opening stand.
It was no fun for Jadeja, who saw Dhawan clatter his first ball for six over midwicket and Shaw sweep him over the ropes in a second over that went for 15.
Jadeja's four overs cost 44 runs and he failed to take a wicket, becoming the first spinner to concede at least 40 runs in three successive IPL matches.
Shaw was named man of the match, having hit nine fours as well as that big six in masterful knock before Dhoni stumped him off Chawla in the 13th over.
LANDMARK FOR DU PLESSIS AS SOUTH AFRICANS TAKE CENTRE STAGE
Du Plessis reached the 2,000 IPL runs landmark but he was never going to be celebrating with a victory.
His fellow South Africans Rabada and Nortje did the bulk of the damage in the run chase, bowling 23 dot balls between them and taking key wickets.
Axar Patel also set the tone, with his four overs costing only 18 runs and he also took the wicket of Shane Watson.
Rahane knocked an impressive 71 from just 29 balls - including five sixes - while Devon Conway and Shivam Dube also brought up 50 as the Kings recorded their third straight victory at Eden Gardens.
After the Knight Riders elected to bowl, Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad ensured a steady start for the Kings, who were 59-0 at the end of the Powerplay.
Suyash Sharma eventually broke the stand when he bowled Gaikwad for 35, but Conway and Rahane kept the Kings on track - the former bringing up the half-century off 34 balls.
Varun Chakaravarthy eventually claimed Conway for 59, but the Rahane-Dube partnership chalked up a combined 85 off 32 balls.
Kulwant Khejroliya eventually bowled Dube and Ravindra Jadeja, but Rahane was unbeaten as the Kings finished at 235-4.
But the Knight Riders' record chase stalled early on as they lost Sunil Narine and Jagadeesan Narayan inside the opening two overs.
Jason Roy boosted their quest with three successive sixes from Moeen Ali on his way to reaching 50 off just 19 balls, before eventually falling to Maheesh Theekshana for 61 (off 26).
Singh embarked on a late rally with an unbeaten 55 from 33 balls, but it proved academic as the Knight Riders fell short at 186/8 and suffered their fourth successive defeat.
Rahane leads the way
Rahane played an instrumental role in moving the Super Kings to the IPL summit. The former India captain top-scored with a quickfire 71 from just 29 balls.
Forming solid partnerships alongside Conway and Dube, he hit 11 boundaries during his impressive stand, including five stunning sixes.
Another 50 for Conway
The form of Conway has been pivotal in his side's impressive streak of form. Indeed, he has now scored a half-century in each of the Super Kings' last four victories.
Taking his tally of runs in this season's IPL to 314, Conway is second to only Faf du Plessis (405), who is also the only player to better his number of half-centuries in the competition (five).
Mumbai were restricted to 157-8 after they were put in at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday, Ravindra Jadeja taking 3-20 with support from Mitchell Santner (2-28) and Tushar Deshpande (2-31).
That was not enough to give them a first win of the tournament, as Rahane struck 61 off only 21 balls and faced just 19 deliveries to reach his half-century on his home ground before CSK reached their target with 11 balls to spare.
The Indians were going along well at 61-1 at the end of the powerplay, but lost their way after Ishan Kishan (32) followed captain Rohit Sharma (21) back to the pavilion.
Santner had Suryakumar Yadav caught behind and Jadeja took a sharp catch off his own bowling to remove Cameron Green as Mumbai lost four wickets for only 12 runs.
Hrithik Shokeen added 18 in quick time after a brisk 33 from Tim David and Jason Behrendorff struck an early blow in the run chase by bowling Devon Conway for a duck.
Rahane then took centre stage, taking the Mumbai attack apart with great timing and placement to put CSK well on course for victory by the time he fell to Piyush Chawla.
Mumbai, who were without Jofra Archer, were unable to recover from Rahane's onslaught, with Ruturaj Gaikwad making an unbeaten 40 as the Super Kings made it two wins from three matches.
Rahane destructive on debut
CSK were missing Ben Stokes, reportedly due to a heel injury and the unwell Moeen Ali but Rahane proved he still has so much to offer on the big stage.
Snapped up by Chennai after being released by Kolkata Knight Riders, the 34-year-old looked like a man eager to prove a point as he struck three sixes and a further seven boundaries in a brilliant knock.
Jadeja spins the game in CSK's favour
India all-rounder Jadeja was excellent with ball in hand, turning the game in CSK's favour by seeing the back of Kishan, Green and Tilak Varma.
He bowled nine dot balls and was hit for just one boundary in an excellent display of spin bowling.
The Super Kings on Saturday revealed Raina had left the United Arab Emirates to return to his homeland three weeks before the tournament gets under way.
"Suresh Raina has returned to India for personal reasons and will be unavailable for the 2020 IPL season. Chennai Super Kings offers complete support to Suresh and his family during this time." CSK chief executive KS Viswanathan said in a statement.
The announcement comes a fortnight after the 33-year-old retired from international cricket.
The loss of Raina is another blow for CSK in a week when at least 10 members of their camp reportedly tested positive for coronavirus.
One India player is said to among those who returned positive tests, with the majority being members of the support staff.
In a repeat of the final of the previous edition of the IPL - when Mumbai beat the then-defending champions Chennai by a single run - the Super Kings chased down 163 to win.
They did so despite losing openers Shane Watson and Murali Vijay in the first two overs of their reply as Rayudu smashed 71 off 48 and shared a third-wicket stand of 115 with Du Plessis.
The South African finished unbeaten on 58 to see his side home alongside scoreless Chennai captain MS Dhoni, with the India great - who recently retired from international cricket - playing for the first time since the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
The defending champions made a strong start and were 46 without loss in the fifth over, but no one was able to go on and make a big total as Saurabh Tiwary top-scored with 42.
Mumbai were 46-6 across the final seven overs of their innings as they made 162-9, with Lungi Ngidi taking 3-38.
The partnership between Rayudu and Du Plessis proved pivotal, though the former perished when caught and bowled by Rahul Chahar with the final ball of the 16th over.
England all-rounder Sam Curran, making his debut for the Super Kings, stepped in at six and his 18 from six balls brought Chennai to the verge of victory.
For once, Dhoni was not 'the finisher' as he failed to score off the two balls he faced, with Du Plessis instead striking back-to-back fours to give Chennai victory with four balls to spare - their first win over Mumbai in five attempts.
ANOTHER OPENING LOSS FOR MUMBAI
The Indians have won the IPL a record four times, but this was the eighth year in a row in which they had lost their opening game of the tournament.
DHONI SURVIVES FIRST-BALL DUCK
It had been 437 days since Dhoni last took to the crease - in India's World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand - and he only just survived a first-ball duck. He was initially given out after appearing to feather a Jasprit Bumrah bouncer behind, but the decision was overturned and Dhoni was there at the end, though, for once, he was not the one bringing it home.
Devon Conway's highest IPL score of 92 off 52 balls took CSK up to 200-4 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday, but the in-form batter's brilliant knock was in vain.
Prabhsimran Singh (42 off 24), Liam Livingstone (40 from 24) and Sam Curran (29 off 20) kept Punjab in the hunt to pull off the highest successful run chase against Chennai in their own backyard.
Needing 12 to win off the final over from Matheesha Pathirana, Raza hoisted the final delivery towards the square-leg boundary and scampered through for the three runs that were required for victory.
Conway put on 86 for the first wicket with Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was stumped for 37, giving Raza the charge in the 10th over.
Shivam Dube made a brisk 28 before he was sent on his way by Arshdeep Singh and Moeen Ali fell cheaply, but Punjab were unable to see the back of Conway.
He struck a six and found the rope 16 times in another masterful knock, falling just short of a century and watching on at the other end as MS Dhoni struck Sam Curran for back-to-back sixes to end the innings in style.
Prabhsimran and Shikhar Dhawan got the run chase off to a flying start, putting on 50 before the captain became the first of Tushar Deshpande's (3-49) victims.
Ravindra Jadeja (2-32) made it advantage CSK by removing Prabhsimran and Atharva Taid, but England duo Livingstone and Curran kept the game in the balance.
They put on 57 before Livingstone was caught in the deep off the bowling of Deshpande and Pathirana struck another blow by cleaning Curran up.
Jitesh Sharma fell for 21 in the penultimate over, but Raza ensured Punjab moved just behind CSK in fifth place with their fifth win of the season.
Conway shows the way for CSK
New Zealand opener Conway has been a revelation for CSK at the top of the order, this being his fifth half-century in six knocks.
The left-hander needed just 31 balls to reach his latest fifty, taking his tally of runs for the tournament to 414.
Only Faf du Plessis (422) has more runs in the 2023 IPL than Conway, who averages 59.14 at a strike rate of 144.25.
Livingstone looking ominous
Punjab had to start the tournament without Livingstone as he recovered from injury, but he certainly appears to have his eye in again.
The all-rounder gave a demonstration of his power and timing, clearing the rope four times in a crucial knock to keep the target within reach.
The Super Kings entered Saturday’s game in fourth place on 14 points while RCB were fifth on 12 needing to win by at least 18 runs to overtake their opponents and seal the final playoff spot.
CSK won the toss and decided to put RCB in to bat and that decision looked like the wrong one after openers Virat Kohli and Captain Faf Du Plessis put on a quick 31 off three overs before a quick drop of rain brought a halt to proceedings.
Play eventually started back and the pair brought the score up to 78 in the 10th over before Kohli fell for 47.
The wicket didn’t bring much help to CSK as Du Plessis and Rajat Patidar brought the fire to the Super Kings bowlers to bring the score up to 113 in the 13th before the skipper fell for a top score of 54.
Patidar and new batsman Cameron Green then put on 71 for the forth wicket to further put the Super Kings bowlers to the sword.
In the end, RCB reached 218-5 from their 20 overs. Patidar was eventually dismissed for 41 off 23 balls including two fours and four sixes while Green finished 38* off 17 balls including three fours and three sixes.
CSK, needing at least 200 to advance to the playoffs, fell agonizingly short at 191-7 from their 20 overs.
Rachin Ravindra led the way with 61 while Ravindra Jadeja made 42* against 2-42 from Yash Dayal.
CSK entered the final over, bowled by Dayal, needing 17 to qualify to the playoffs. Captain MS Dhoni smashed the first ball out the ground before he was dismissed off the second ball.
Dayal then held his nerve to concede only one run off the next four balls and seal RCB’s spot in the last four.
Full scores:
Royal Challengers Bangalore 218-5 off 20 overs (Faf Du Plessis 54, Virat Kohli 47, Rajat Patidar 41, Cameron Green 38*, Shardul Thakur 2-61)
Chennai Super Kings 191-7 off 20 overs (Rachin Ravindra 61, Ravindra Jadeja 42*, Ajinkya Rahane 33, Ms Dhoni 25, Yash Dayal 2-42)
Kings XI enjoyed a reasonably strong start, but ultimately their total of 178-4 was nowhere near enough to put off Du Plessis and Watson, who set a new franchise record for the highest ever partnership, as they finished on 181-0.
Chennai had suffered three successive defeats heading into the match and their opponents – led by KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal – gave every indication that it could be another tough outing.
However, they failed to build on the early promise and a late burst never arrived, as captain Rahul edged behind for 63 straight after Nicholas Pooran – whose 33 off 17 indicated a little more urgency – was dismissed in the same Shardul Thakur over.
While a little slow to get going, Du Plessis (87 not out) found his groove and toyed with Chris Jordan, hitting him for four fours in the space of five balls.
Watson, who finished up unbeaten on 83, was clearly in the mood too, reaching his half-century in 31 balls – two quicker than his partner – as the Kings XI attack had no answer.
Their 181-run alliance makes it the second-highest target chased down without losing a wicket in IPL history, with the Kings XI replacing them at the foot of the table.
AN EMPHATIC RESPONSE FROM WATSON
Watson and Du Plessis were deadly here, swatting away all the Kings XI bowlers could throw at them, and they secured the handsome victory with 14 balls to spare.
It was a particularly applaudable performance from Watson, whose four previous innings (1, 14, 33 and 4) had attracted criticism – there will be none of that here.
"I felt like something that been slightly off, technically," he said in the post-match presentation ceremony. "So, it was nice for it to come off. It was just a combination of technique and intent. I was able to get the weight through the ball a lot better."
ANOTHER DIFFICULT DAY
It has been a poor start for Kings XI, who are left bottom of the IPL having lost four of five matches, and it is arguable that they paid the price for failing to push on in the second half of their innings.
Rahul was 46 off 44 in the 15th over, and while the partnership of Watson and Du Plessis would have made it a tall order to get the better of the Super Kings anyway, a more aggressive mentality might have made the difference.
Gaikwad replaced KL Rahul as the leading run-scorer in the 2021 tournament, hitting a six off the final ball of CSK's innings to finish unbeaten on 101 off 60 balls.
The opener struck five sixes in a sensational knock, with Ravindra Jadeja scoring a rapid 32 not out in the Super Kings' 189-4 at Zayed Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Rahul Tewatia took 3-39 but it was a tough day for the Royals bowlers, Mustafizur Rahman going for 51 off his wicket-less four overs.
A big run chase was no problem for the Royals, though, as they cruised to a what could be a vital win with 15 balls to spare in an Abu Dhabi run-fest.
Shivam Dube (64no from 42) struck a brilliant maiden IPL half-century after Yashasvi Jaiswal made 50 from just 21 balls, with Josh Hazlewood (0-54) and Sam Curran (0-55) given the treatment.
Victory for the Royals leaves them in sixth place with two games of the regular season to play, behind Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings on net run-rate.
CSK are already assured of a play-off place but are not guaranteed a top-two finish after their four-game winning run came to an end in MS Dhoni's 200th match as an IPL captain.
Gaikwad takes Royals to all parts
The Rajasthan bowlers were taken to all parts by an inspired Gaikwad, who set the tone by hitting the first ball of the match from Akash Singh for four.
He brought up a seventh IPL half-century off 43 balls and then cut loose, taking 71 off 30 deliveries and reaching three figures by launching Mustafizur for a huge six.
Gaikwad has 19 runs more than Rahul in the battle for the orange cap, having found the rope nine times to go with his five sixes in a breathtaking innings.
Dube and Jaiswal stun CSK
It was the turn of the CSK bowlers to suffer as Jaiswal and Evin Lewis (27 off 12) made a blistering start to the run chase, putting on 77 in 5.2 overs.
Teenager Jaiswal had his half-century off only 19 balls, striking Hazlewood for two sixes in a fifth over that cost 22 runs before falling to KM Asif to leave the Super Kings on 81-2.
Dube then came to the fore in a stand of 89 with captain Sanju Samson (28), bringing up a maiden fifty from 31 deliveries in a knock that included four sixes, and debutant Glenn Phillips hit the winning run to end the Royals' run of three consecutive defeats.
Jaiswal plundered 77 from 43 deliveries to propel the Royals to 202-5 from their 20 overs on Thursday.
The Royals opener finally succumbed to Tushar Deshpande in the 14th over, though the damage had been done, with Rajasthan having reached 132 at that stage.
Jos Buttler scored 27 as he helped mount an opening-wicket partnership of 86 with Jaiswal, who also saw Sanju Samson come and go.
Dhruv Jurel added 34 from 15 balls and Devdutt Padikkal tallied up an unbeaten 27 from 13 to nudge the Royals over the 200 mark.
Despite Ruturaj Gaikwad's 47, the Super Kings lacked the pace needed in the chase, and his stand was ended by the brilliant Zampa in the 10th over, who took 3-22.
Shivam Dube's 52 handed Chennai hope, yet with Zampa sending Moeen Ali packing, the Super Kings were battling against the odds.
In the end they just did not have enough, Dube's dismissal in the final over capping off a fine win for the Royals.
IPL first for the Royals
No team had surpassed the 200 milestone in an IPL match played in Jaipur until now, with the Royals holding that unique record.
They are onto 10 points and sit top of the pile.
Jaiswal the star of the show
While Zampa impressed with the ball, it was Jaiswal's knock that really put the Royals in command.
The opener struck 12 boundaries, including four sixes, with his 77 coming at a strike rate of 179.06.
Dhoni took over as CSK captain once again after Ravindra Jadeja – who is sidelined with a rib injury – stepped down following just over a month in the role.
India great Dhoni led by example with an unbeaten 36 on Thursday, but the defending champions were skittled out for only 97 from 16 overs, with no other batter making more than 12.
Daniel Sams spearheaded the Indians' bowling attack with 3-16 from his four overs - two of those wickets coming in the first over.
Ishan Kishan fell cheaply as Mumbai's chase started poorly, with Mukesh Choudhary (3-23) drawing an edge and Dhoni taking the catch.
Dhoni caught his counterpart Rohit Sharma (18) from a Simarjeet Singh delivery in the fourth over, before Sams fell to Choudhary, who then sent Tristan Stubbs packing for a duck.
Yet Hrithik Shokeen and Tilak Varma steadied the ship, and although the former was bowled out by Moeen Ali, Varma's 34 not out set Mumbai well on their way, with two sixes from Tim David (16 not out) ensured the Indians got home with 31 balls to spare.
Super Kings unable to make a case for the defence
CSK had four wins from their last seven matches in the IPL prior to Thursday's meeting. However, this is the first season in which CSK have failed to register consecutive wins so far and that run rolled on as they were convincingly beaten.
With only two games to play, the defending champions have no chance of finishing in the top four.
Indians bring up 20 against CSK
Mumbai have now won 20 of their 34 IPL meetings with CSK. Indeed, the Super Kings have lost more times against the Indians than they have any other team in the competition. This was only a third win of the tournament for Mumbai.
CSK kicked off the IPL's 13th season with a five-wicket win over Mumbai Indians, however, they were comfortably second best on Tuesday in Sharjah.
Samson and captain Smith laid the foundation for Rajasthan with a second-wicket partnership of 121 as they set CSK a target of 217.
Had CSK triumphed it would have marked the highest successful chase in IPL history.
However, they never came close to doing so despite an opening partnership of 56 between Shane Watson and Murali Vijay and a powerful 37-ball 72 from Faf du Plessis.
Three sixes in the final over from MS Dhoni saw the record for most maximums in an IPL match tied as the teams combined for 33.
A comfortable Rajasthan success did not appear on the cards when opener Yashasvi Jaiswal fell for six in the third over.
But Samson (74) and Smith (69) tipped the balance of the contest firmly in favour of Rajasthan.
Samson was in destructive form as he bludgeoned the CSK attack, a four and nine sixes marking a devastating 32-ball stay at the crease.
Lungi Ngidi dismissed Samson when a wide delivery outside off was hit to deep cover and David Miller was run out for a duck two balls later.
Smith held the innings together until he fell with 10 balls remaining, with Jofra Archer then adding the finishing touches as he struck Ngidi for four successive sixes - including two off no-balls - in a final over that went for 30.
Rahul Tewatia dealt with the dangerous Watson, whose 33 comprised of four sixes, sending a delivery crashing into his leg stump.
Shreyas Gopal removed Murali (21) five balls later before Tewatia had Sam Curran and Ruturaj Gaikwad stumped in successive deliveries.
Kedar Jadhav's (22) exit left an unlikely fightback on the shoulders of the experienced duo of Du Plessis and Dhoni.
Du Plessis did the heavy lifting in spectacular fashion, with three sixes in the 17th over giving CSK faint hope that was snuffed out when an Archer bouncer did him for pace.
Smith shows his class
Smith returned from a head injury suffered during Australia's recent limited-overs tour of England and did so in fine fashion, scoring his first half-century in any format since February.
Archer adds crucial runs
Archer's incredible final-over contribution made sure a mammoth total was out of reach for CSK and he then produced a brilliant bouncer to remove the in-form Du Plessis and put the contest to bed.
