Jaiswal lit up the IPL's 1,000th match with a superb innings, but the five-time champions chased down the 213 target with three balls to spare as David whacked three straight sixes to seal the victory.
The Royals won the toss and elected to bat first, getting off to a strong start as Jaiswal and Jos Buttler combined to get Rajasthan to 72 runs before Buttler was caught off Piyush Chawla's bowling.
The wickets began to tumble around Jaiswal, with no other batsman scoring higher than Buttler's 18, yet he powered his way to a century off just 53 balls to help the Royals to a strong total of 212/7.
The run chase started poorly as captain Rohit Sharma could not mark breaking the Indians' all-time IPL appearance record with a suitably memorable innings, dismissed for just three in the second over of his 190th match for Mumbai.
But Suryakumar Yadav gave the Indians a chance of pulling off the win with his 55 off 29 balls, and though he fell in the 16th, David finished the job with an epic final over, nailing three consecutive maximums to clinch a first win in three for Mumbai.
Jaiswal century in vain
Jaiswal's brilliant 124 is the highest score in this season's IPL and is the joint-most ever recorded by a Rajasthan batsman (also Buttler v Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2021).
The 21-year-old smashed eight sixes and 16 fours on his way to the highest IPL score by an uncapped Indian batter, yet he still ended up on the losing side.
Mumbai win despite Rohit's birthday struggles
Danger man Rohit turned 36 the day of the game, also moving above Kieron Pollard on the Indians' IPL appearance list, with only Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni playing more games for a single team.
He had his team-mates to thank for being able to mark his special day with a win, though, as Mumbai overcame their captain's low score with Cameron Green, Suryakumar and David all getting scores of 40+, the latter making 45 off just 14 deliveries to secure the victory.
Rajasthan made 171-4 but were lacking an outstanding contribution with the bat, which is what De Kock gave Mumbai as his unbeaten 70 from 50 balls proved telling, halting a two-game slide.
Chris Morris took two of the three Mumbai wickets to fall, but the Indian Premier League's most expensive player also saw his first delivery swatted for six by De Kock and could not win that contest.
Jasprit Bumrah had earlier played a key role with the ball in restricting the flow of runs late in Rajasthan's innings, and Mumbai reached their target with nine balls to spare, finishing on 172-3.
At Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, Rajasthan's top four all made useful scores, with Jos Buttler having three fours and three sixes in making 41 from 32 deliveries and fellow opener Yashasvi Jaiswal also clearing the ropes twice in a rapid 32 from 20 balls.
Both fell to Rahul Chahar (2-33), with Sanju Samson top-scoring with 42 from 27 balls before being cleaned up by a Trent Boult yorker. Shivam Dube (35) was caught and bowled by Bumrah, who snagged his reward for a dazzling performance, finishing with 1-15 from four overs.
Mumbai began their reply in solid fashion and De Kock welcomed fellow South African Morris into the attack with a brutal pull over the ropes.
Morris conceded four leg byes from the next delivery too, but from the final ball of the over he coaxed Rohit Sharma to chip to Chetan Sakariya at mid-on for the first breakthrough of the innings, with 49 on the board.
De Kock kept the runs flowing but lost second-wicket partner Suryakumar Yadav for just 16, flicking Morris to Buttler at mid-wicket, and almost departed himself when he was dropped on 58 by Jaiswal off Sakariya. It would have been a stunning catch and Jaiswal, dashing backwards in the field, got hands to the ball but could not cling on.
Krunal Pandya cracked two sixes in making 39 from 26 balls, edging a delivery from Mustafizur Rahman into his stumps to perish before the winning line, but De Kock and Kieron Pollard (16no), who also struck a maximum off Morris, soon made sure.
Bumrah gets it right
Bumrah may not have the wickets to show for it yet this season, but few batsmen will have relished facing his pace and skill. Here he delivered 12 dot balls, conceded just one boundary, and picked up a wicket from his penultimate delivery, which was probably one of the worst balls he bowled. Stifling the Royals batsmen late in the innings proved so valuable in the end.
De Kock makes his mark
With three failures from his first four IPL innings this season, De Kock knew the team were due a score from him, and here it was. After going 2, 40, 2, 3 in Mumbai's previous matches, opener De Kock stepped up and made all the difference in this clash. His six off Morris was a highlight and De Kock twice went over the ropes, also cracking six fours while proving both sturdy and ever-dangerous. Mumbai had won just two of their opening five games, but this third win was a dominant one, largely thanks to their powerful left-hander.
An astonishing contest came down to the last ball, and just as it looked as though KKR would reach the improbable target of 211, two wickets from the final two balls from Marcus Stoinis (3-23) sealed a dramatic two-run win for LSG.
De Kock and KL Rahul became only the fourth opening pair to bat first and go through an Indian Premier League innings without dismissal as they put on 210-0 from their 20 overs, the highest unbeaten opening partnership in IPL history.
The South African's score of 140 from 70 balls was the third-highest in IPL history, after Chris Gayle's 175 not out for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors India in 2013, and Brendon McCullum's 158 not out for KKR against RCB in 2008.
However, Rinku Singh's 40 from 14 balls looked to have put KKR on the verge of victory, needing just three from the final two deliveries, only for Rinku and then Umesh Yadav to both fall to Stoinis.
Rahul was steady in his 68 from 51 balls, but the fireworks came from De Kock, particularly near the end of the innings, hitting four sixes in the 19th over off the bowling of Tim Southee (0-57).
The Knight Riders' response could not have got off to a more contrasting start, with Venkatesh Iyer (0) and Abhijeet Tomar (4) both out early on to Mohsin Khan.
Nitish Rana's 44 from 22 balls showed some fight, before Shreyas Iyer (50 from 29) and Sam Billings (36 from 24) put their team in a position where victory actually looked possible, but the former spooned a Stoinis delivery into the air and into the waiting hands of Deepak Hooda just after reaching his half-century.
Rinku and Sunil Narine (21 not out) had one last go at reviving hope for KKR and very nearly managed it, only for Stoinis to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with the last two deliveries to secure a vital win for the Super Giants, sealing their place in the playoffs, while KKR miss out.
De Kock wows the crowd
The fans could not believe what they were seeing as De Kock fired the ball to all sides of the ground with almost every shot imaginable.
The 29-year-old hit 20 boundaries in all (10 sixes and 10 fours) and, having only scored 362 runs from his previous 13 innings in the IPL this season, nudged himself over 500 and into third-place behind Jos Buttler (627) and Rahul (527) on the leaderboard for most runs.
So near yet so far for Rinku
When Rinku arrived at the crease his team still needed 69 runs from 26 balls. When he went back to the pavilion having hit a Stoinis delivery to Evin Lewis for a tremendous catch, his team were only three from victory.
It wasn't to be, but his two fours and four sixes from just 15 balls along with Narine's 21 from seven gave their team hope when there had previously been very little.
Opener De Kock scored 46 from 37 balls as the Super Giants reached 153-8 from their 20 overs on Friday.
That was despite the efforts of Kagiso Rabada, who took 4-38, including the early wicket of Super Giants captain KL Rahul.
Yet after Rahul's dismissal, De Kock – with the assistance of Deepak Hooda (34) – guided the Super Giants from 13-1 to 98-2 before falling to Sandeep Sharma (1-18).
Deepak was run out by Jonny Bairstow in the next over to kick-start a middle-order collapse, but Dushmantha Chameera's 17 from 10 balls and an unbeaten 13 from Mohsin Khan added vital runs.
Mohsin went on to impress with the ball for the Super Giants, taking 3-24 from his four overs, which included a maiden.
Mayank Agarwal (25) and Bairstow (32) tried to get Punjab going, but both fell to Chameera (2-17) before Khan sent dangerman Liam Livingstone packing on 18 to all but end the Kings' hopes – Rishi Dhawan's flurry of 21 proving too little, too late.
De Kock back to form
Rabada gave his best but it was fellow South African De Kock who was the difference in this match.
The wicketkeeper-batsman had only scored a combined 13 runs across his previous two appearances but was the anchor of the Super Giants' innings here, with his 46 coming at a strike rate of 124.32 and including six boundaries – two of those were sixes.
Mohsin shows his worth
After adding a useful tally to the Super Giants' score, Mohsin – who had only taken one wicket this season before Friday's match – delivered with the ball, taking the key wicket of Livingstone (who has scored 60+ three times already this season) before dismissing Rabada and Rahul Chahar in the 18th over.
The Capitals lost their way after Prithvi Shaw's sizzling knock of 61 off 34 deliveries, posting 149-3.
Quinton de Kock smashed 80 off just 52 balls to help the Super Giants over the line for their third successive victory with two balls to spare.
Shaw got the Capitals off to a strong start with some quick early runs before being caught by De Kock off the bowling of Krishnappa Gowtham.
Rishabh Pant (39 not out) and Sarfaraz Khan (36 not out) kept their side ticking over after Ravi Bishnoi removed David Warner (4) and Rovman Powell (3).
KL Rahul and De Kock got the Super Giants off to a positive start in their response, though the former holed out at mid-off to depart for 24.
After Evin Lewis went for just five, the game was in the balance when De Kock sliced the ball off the outside edge for Sarfaraz, leaving his side on 122/2 with four overs remaining.
However, Deepak Hooda (11) hit a six off the first ball of the 19th over and Ayush Badoni struck for Shardul Thakur for four and then six to seal victory.
Bishnoi's brilliance
Spinner Bishnoi was Lucknow's main threat with the ball as he picked up two wickets for just 22 runs in four overs.
Gowtham also impressed with 1-23 off his four as Delhi lost their way after Shaw's fireworks.
De Kock's quality shines through
After losing Rahul and Lewis in quick succession, the Super Giants were indebted to a typically explosive knock from De Kock.
The South Africa wicketkeeper-batter struck two maximums and nine fours before Krunal Pandya made an unbeaten 19 and Badoni took 10 off only three balls.
The Knight Riders had won three consecutive matches, but they were brought back down to earth at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday.
It was an astonishing knock from De Villiers that made it very much advantage RCB, the maverick South African smashing 73 not out off just 33 balls to get his side up to an imposing 194-2.
De Villiers blasted six sixes and five fours, reaching his half-century in 23 deliveries as the likes of Andre Russell and Pat Cummins were taken to all parts.
Aaron Finch (47), Virat Kohli (33no) and Devdutt Padikkal (32) also contributed, but it was De Villiers who very much took centre stage with his highest score against KKR.
The Knight Riders could only make 112-9 in reply on a slow track, with the impressive Washington Sundar taking 2-20 from his four overs and Chris Morris 2-17.
All six RCB bowlers took at least one wicket and Yuzvendra Chahal finished with outstanding figures of 1-12 from the 24 deliveries he sent down.
Shubman Gill top-scored with 34 as only three Knight Riders batsman made double figures in an emphatic win that moved Kohli's side above their opponents into third.
DE VILLIERS GOES BESERK
RCB were 94-2 when De Villiers joined Kohli at the crease in the 13th over after Finch was cleaned up by a Prasidh Krishna yorker.
The mercurial South African upstaged captain Kohli with a breathtaking knock, twice launching Kamlesh Nagarkoti for six – one disappearing out of the ground – and taking 19 off the 17th over from Cummins.
De Villiers continued to dish out some brutal treatment, Russell going for 34 off his final two overs in a stunning blitz to concede a half-century of runs.
Kohli was content to give De Villiers the strike and the wicketkeeper-batsman finished with a staggering strike rate of 221.21 to leave KKR facing a huge run chase.
MISERLY SUNDAR PUTS KKR IN A SPIN
Sundar has not taken as many wickets as he deserves in the tournament so far, but the spinner has certainly made a significant impact.
He has an economy rate of 4.90 from seven matches, only bettered by team-mate Morris (4.50) – who has played just the two games.
Sundar bowled Nitish Rana and also saw the back of Eoin Morgan in a run chase that never really got going, Tom Banton out for eight on his IPL debut.
The wily Morris also had another good day out, picking up a couple of wickets when the writing was already on the wall for KKR.
South African great De Villiers made it three unbeaten half centuries for the tournament, lofting Jofra Archer over deep midwicket for his sixth maximum to make it 55 off 22 deliveries and seal the points with two balls to spare.
Rajasthan set Bangalore 177-6, as Steve Smith returned to form with an excellent 57 from 36 deliveries, but they have now lost four of their past five matches.
The Royal Challengers are third with six wins from nine outings and their other standout performer was Chris Morris, whose 4-24 include the scalps of Smith, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes.
Bangalore lost Aaron Finch for 14 after a couple of sixes early in the run chase as the Australia opener sliced a slog sweep off Shreyas Gopal high into the air.
Skipper Virat Kohli (43) and Devdutt Padikkal combined in an assured stand of 79 for the second wicket but departed in consecutive balls when trying to force the pace, leaving their side 102-3 in the 14th over.
Enter De Villiers, who took the attack back to Rajasthan with able support from Gurkeerat Singh (19 not out). He made his move decisively at the start of the penultimate over, when he bludgeoned Jaydev Unadkat for three consecutive sixes.
Earlier, a reshuffled Rajasthan order paid dividends for their captain Smith, who dropped down to four after a succession of single-figure scores.
Robin Uthappa's breezy 41 accounted for the bulk of a half-century opening stand with Stokes (15) but they were 69-3 when Sanju Samson fell to Yuzvendra Chahal.
Smith rebuilt alongside Buttler (25) and remained until the final over, when Morris added the Australia star and Archer to his haul. It might have been enough, but for the inimitable De Villiers.
De Villiers turns in another masterclass
"I'm very, very nervous and erratic [in a run chase] and I get very stressed like any player," De Villiers said when being presented with the man-of-the-match award. Spare a thought for Unadkat, in that case. The left-armer might feel he was hung out to dry by Smith handing him the 19th over. His first delivery was crashed over midwicket, with a slower ball dispatched beyond wide long-on next ball.
A dismissive swipe over square leg followed before a single from an attempted yorker ended the assault. De Villiers and Gurkeerat still needed 11 from Archer's final over, but the momentum had unquestionably shifted.
Buttler loses out in Rajasthan reshuffle
While a move down the order worked for Smith, the same could not be said for England big-hitter Buttler. Demoted from opening alongside Stokes, he scored an unusually circumspect 24 off 25 deliveries before holing out to Morris.
The sole team yet to taste defeat in this season's competition, RCB surged to 204-4 thanks to an exceptional innings from Maxwell (78) and De Villiers' unbeaten 76.
Their respective displays contributed to three successive partnerships of over 50 runs to help RCB emphatically recover from a shaky start and post an imposing total.
KKR never found the necessary momentum to threaten that target despite a late salvo from Andre Russell (31) as RCB eased to a 38-run win.
Varun Chakravarthy removed both Virat Kohli (5) and Rajat Patidar (1) in the second over to reduce RCB to 9-2.
However, Maxwell and Devdutt Padikkal constructed a stand of 86 for the third wicket, laying the platform for De Villiers to hit the accelerator upon his arrival at the crease.
Maxwell and De Villiers combined for 53 off just 37 deliveries and, after the Australian was bounced out by compatriot Pat Cummins, the South African took command as he contributed 43 runs to a 20-ball, 56-run stand with Kyle Jamieson.
KKR saw a promising start to their reply undone as they slumped from 57-1 to 114-5 when skipper Eoin Morgan sliced Harshal Patel to opposing captain Kohli.
Russell gave them hope of a remarkable turnaround in the 17th over, in which he struck Yuzvendra Chahal for a six and three fours.
He then hit Jamieson for a maximum in the next over but that preceded the exits of Shakib Al Hasan and Cummins at the hands of the New Zealand international.
And the contest was settled by some superb death bowling from Mohammed Siraj in the penultimate over, with Russell then playing Harshal onto his stumps as a seemingly exciting finale gave way to a meek end.
Devastating De Villiers
Having been dismissed for one in RCB's last game with Sunrisers Hyderabad, De Villiers was back to his best with a 34-ball 76. His strike rate of 223.52 is the second-highest of any innings this season where the batsman has scored at least 50, behind Deepak Hooda's 28-ball 64 (228.57) for Punjab Kings against Rajasthan Royals.
Siraj stems the tide
Russell's surge was stopped firmly in its tracks by Siraj, who effectively clinched victory for RCB as his final over went for just one run, producing five successive dot balls as a frustrated Russell kept the strike while unable to find the boundary.
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)
Despite missing David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and Anrich Nortje, the Capitals ultimately eased to victory, with Lalit Yadav (47 not out) and Axar Patel (38 not out) rescuing what had looked like a precarious situation.
An impressive 81 from 48 balls from Ishan Kishan helped the hosts on their way to 177-5 from their 20 overs, and they then reduced the Capitals to 104-6 from 13.2 overs, only for a partnership of 75 off the next five overs from Lalit and Axar to see the visitors home.
Kishan put on an opening stand of 67 with Indians captain Rohit Sharma (41) before the latter hit Kuldeep Yadav (3-18) to Rovman Powell.
Delhi appeared to be back in contention when the dangerous Kieron Pollard was caught brilliantly by Tim Seifert, the fielder taking a diving two-handed catch to his left to dismiss the Trinidadian for just three, but Tim David (12) played the support role for Kishan to do the damage, hitting 11 fours and two sixes.
Prithvi Shaw (38) and Seifert (21) made a promising start in reply before New Zealander Seifert was bowled by Murugan Ashwin, with Mandeep Singh following two balls later for a duck.
Capitals coach Ricky Ponting looked concerned on the sidelines when skipper Rishabh Pant hit a Tymal Mills delivery straight to David for just one, but Lalit and Axar eventually put on a show to see their team to victory.
Axar makes amends with the bat
Axar had not had the best of times with the ball in hand, going for 40 from his four overs without taking a wicket.
However, he more than made up for it with the bat as he smacked 38 from just 17 balls, including three sixes and the winning four to see his side to victory.
Sams has day to forget
Someone else who did not enjoy bowling was Daniel Sams, who went for 57 without taking a wicket from his four overs, including conceding nine boundaries (six fours, three sixes).
The game looked like it was drifting heavily towards Delhi's favour anyway, but that was confirmed when the Australian's final over went for 24.
After Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer opted to put Sunrisers into bat, Warner (66) and Saha (87) established a fine opening partnership worth 107.
Manish Pandey (44 not out) and Kane Williamson (11 not out) helped their team reach 219-2, meaning Delhi needed to achieve the second-highest successful chase in IPL history to win.
Suffice to say they came up short, with the Sunrisers' dismissal of Shikhar Dhawan for a first-ball duck an ominous sign for the Capitals. Marcus Stoinis (five) followed him back soon after having also been caught by Warner.
Shimron Hetmyer (16) and Ajinkya Rahane (26) attempted to repair the early damage but both fell to Rashid Khan, who finished with outstanding figures of 3-7 from his four overs.
Rishabh Pant top-scored for the Capitals with 36 but there rarely looked to be any hope of a remarkable turnaround - they were skittled for 131 with an over to spare.
WARNER AND SAHA COMBINE TO DEVASTATING EFFECT
Warner had got the Sunrisers' charge up and running, reaching 50 from just 25 balls, as they were left sitting pretty at 77-0 at the end of the sixth over, during which the left-hander struck five boundaries.
He eventually fell to Ravichandran Ashwin in the 10th over but Saha – opening in place of Jonny Bairstow, who was left out of the XI – kept going, eventually out 13 runs shy of a century as he tired towards the end of his knock.
RASHID EXCELS WHERE RABADA FAILS
It was a rare off-day for Kagiso Rabada, whose streak of successive IPL matches with at least one wicket ended at 25. That impressive run stretched back to 2017, when he also failed to make a breakthrough in a game against the Sunrisers.
There was no such misery for leg-spinner Rashid, who was in devastating form. His three-wicket haul takes him to 17 for the tournament this year, though that is still six behind Rabada's tally.
So far, the big West Indian has been left viewing from the bench in this season’s Indian Premier League (IPL). In the meantime, Kings IX have struggled to one win and three losses.
The reasons for Gayle’s but breaking into the line-up is not as easy as it seems. Despite his absence, KXIP has managed to put 200+ totals on the board in two of the four matches they have played. With the likes of Rahul and Mayank Agarwal at the top, Punjab has both the centurions of this IPL at their disposal, and hence the need to have Gayle in the team hasn’t really been felt.
The only player Gayle can come in the team for, at the moment, is his countryman Nicholas Pooran who has been batting at the No. 3 spot. Pooran’s fielding exploits, however, make it hard for the KXIP management to remove him from the team. Rahul, however, remains convinced the West Indies will make an impact.
"It's been a lot of fun playing with Chris. Not just (that) I have played two seasons with him at KXIP, I have played with him at RCB as well. I have known him for a good 6-7 years. As a youngster, I did speak with him a lot and I was looking at him as an opening batsman. How destructive, powerful, and how intimidating he is,” Rahul told TimesofIndia.
“I try to learn a lot from him (Gayle). We share a good friendship and that’s what came out in the middle in the last two seasons. He is somebody who is such an impact player, such a match-winner for whatever team he has played. Like I said he is very intimidating and takes down the opposition on a given day. He can destroy any bowling attack.”
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).
Dhawan became the first player in the history of the tournament to register back-to-back tons, carrying his bat for an accomplished 106 not out that accounted for the bulk of 164 for five.
The lack of support for the India opener cost Delhi dear, however, with 14 their next highest individual score, and contributions throughout won the day for the Kings XI.
In at number three after a breezy 15 from captain KL Rahul, Chris Gayle tucked into the beleaguered Tushar Deshpande, hitting three fours and two sixes in a riotous fifth over.
After Gayle was bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin for 29 and Mayank Agarwal was run out in the sixth over, another West Indian in Nicholas Pooran thrillingly picked up the baton.
Pooran compiled a blistering half-century as he added 69 for the fourth wicket alongside Glenn Maxwell. He departed the ball after reaching his milestone, edging the impressive Kagiso Rabada (2-27) behind for a 28-ball 53.
Maxwell departed for 32 when Rishabh Pant pouched a swirling chance off Rabada but Deepak Hooda and Jimmy Neesham - 15 and 10 not out respectively - finished the job authoritatively, the New Zealander planting Daniel Sams over midwicket to finish matters with an over to spare.
Dhawan plays stunning lone hand
Dhawan is in simply irresistible form. His knock on Tuesday made it two centuries and two fifties in his past four innings. During that time he has scored 333 runs and been dismissed only once. However, it would be nice for some of his team-mates to join him. Pant matched skipper Shreyas Iyer's 14 but did so glacially off 20 deliveries.
Deshpande dominated
The right-arm medium pacer found himself in the eye of the storm against Gayle and things got no better when a rampant Pooran tucked into him. A ploy of slow, short deliveries missed the mark horribly and Deshpande's two overs cost 41, featuring five fours and three sixes.
Half-centuries from KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal helped Punjab post 195-4 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai after being put into bat by Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant.
However, Delhi – who came into the contest having alternated between defeat and victory across their previous seven IPL games – bounced back from a three-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals last time out in stunning fashion.
Dhawan dominated the Kings attack in a well-paced chase, following up his 85 in his side's opener against Chennai Super Kings with a marvellous knock that included 13 fours and two sixes.
Opening partner Prithvi Shaw contributed 32 at the top of the Capitals' order while Marcus Stoinis finished the job in a hurry, the all-rounder making 27 not out from just 13 balls.
Punjab's total had been built on the solid foundation provided by openers Rahul and Agarwal as they shared a 122-run stand, the latter the more aggressive of the pair as his score of 69 came from 36 deliveries.
West Indian duo Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran made just 11 and nine respectively as the innings briefly stuttered, but late cameos from Deepak Hooda – who hit two sixes to make 22 not out from 13 deliveries – and Shahrukh Khan (15 off five balls) lifted the Kings.
Delhi had lost five of the past seven meetings between the franchises but Dhawan made sure they prevailed this time, in the process becoming the competition's leading run-scorer in 2021.
Kings run into a spot of trouble
Rahul hit seven fours and two sixes while at the crease, but his 61 runs came from 51 deliveries at a strike-rate of 119.60.
Punjab Kings would have had designs on making in excess of 200 following the start they were given by their openers, but an inability to get after Ravichandran Ashwin – his four overs of spin went for just 28 runs – saw them come up just short.
Capitals gain from in-form opener
Dhawan received the orange cap after the game as he moved above Glenn Maxwell of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the run-scoring table. The left-hander is scoring at 163.15 runs per 100 deliveries in the 2021 edition of the Twenty20 tournament, despite having only hit four sixes.
Bowled within sight of a century as he attempted to sweep Australian seamer Jhye Richardson, Dhawan then watched on as Stoinis rushed his team home with 10 balls to spare.
Playing their first game since Ravindra Jadeja stepped down as skipper and returned the captaincy to MS Dhoni, the Super Kings delivered a performance that belied their form this season.
Indeed, this 13-run triumph was only Chennai's third of the season, and it came as a result of glorious batting from their opening pair.
Gaikwad (99) and Conway (85 not out) put on 182 for the first wicket as the Super Kings posted 202-2, that target proving beyond Sunrisers, who missed the chance to move level on 12 points with third-placed Rajasthan Royals.
Each of the Chennai openers either found or cleared the rope 12 times, Gaikwad hitting six fours and as many sixes while Conway struck eight fours and four maximums.
The latter's most fortuitous six came in the 15th over when he went for a pull and top-edged over fine leg to bring up his maiden IPL half-century, Conway then hammered another over mid-off to take Chennai to 150.
Gaikwad missed out on a stunning century when he was undone by a slower length ball from Thangarasu Natarajan. Dhoni fell to the same bowler in the final over for just eight but successive fours from Conway took Chennai to 200.
Sunrisers had already lost two wickets by the end of the powerplay and their chase lost momentum when captain Kane Williamson went for 47. Nicholas Pooran (64 not out) hit three sixes and a four in a final over in which Hyderabad needed 38.
Mukesh Choudhary took 4-46 as CSK moved four points clear of bottom side Mumbai Indians.
Openers send records tumbling
The stand between Gaikwad and Conway was also the highest in the IPL against Sunrisers and the biggest opening IPL stand at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
Gaikwad misses out
Two players, Jos Buttler (3) and KL Rahul (2) have combined for the IPL's five centuries this season. Gaikwad missed out on joining that select club but can take solace in victory and a remarkable partnership.
Long-serving CSK skipper Dhoni stepped aside on the eve of the 2022 IPL season for Jadeja to take charge.
But after a miserable start to the tournament, losing six of their first eight matches, CSK reinstated Dhoni this weekend.
That move paid off in a 13-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Dhoni has now explained why Jadeja was not cut out for the captaincy – even if he suggested the appointment was not a surprise to the all-rounder.
"I think Jadeja knew last season that he would be captaining this year," Dhoni told Star Sports.
"For the first two games, I simply oversaw his work and let him be later. After that, I insisted that he take his own decisions and bear responsibility for them.
"Once you become captain, it means a lot of demands come in. But it affected his mind as the tasks grew. I think captaincy burdened his prep and performances.
"So it was a gradual transition. Spoon-feeding doesn't really help the captain; on the field you have to take those crucial decisions and you have to take responsibility for those decisions.
"Once you become the captain, we have to take care of many things and that also includes your own game."
With CSK chasing 13 from the last six balls to snatch victory, the skipper hit three successive boundaries to book his side's place in the showpiece for a ninth time.
The three-time IPL winners arrived in Qualifier 1 at the Dubai International Stadium having lost each of their previous four meetings with the Capitals.
Table-toppers during the league stage, Prithvi Shaw (60) and skipper Rishabh Pant (51) led the way as the Capitals set a target of 172-5.
CSK surrendered top spot in the table after losing each of their final three matches of the regular season.
But despite losing Faf du Plessis for just one run, Ruturaj Gaikwad hit an impressive 70 from 50 balls – surpassing 600 for the season – while Robin Uthappa made further strides with a knock of 63.
It came down to the final over, which began with Moeen Ali caught out by Kagiso Rabada as Tom Curran claimed his third wicket from five deliveries.
But with Dhoni on strike, CSK did not look back; the veteran hitting three consecutive fours to send his side through to Friday's final.
The Capitals' hopes of reaching the showpiece are not over just yet as they return in Qualifier 2 on Wednesday to face the winner of Monday's eliminator between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders.
Dhoni delivers
Following Gaikwad's dismissal, Dhoni entered the action in the 19th over with his side requiring 24 from their final 11 balls.
And the 40-year-old shone on the big stage once again. On strike after Moeen was caught out, he delivered a captain's performance with three successive boundaries sealing victory with two balls remaining.
600 up for Gaikwad
Gaikwad became only the second player to surpass 600 runs in this season’s IPL after KL Rahul of Punjab Kings.
The 24-year-old’s knock of 70 also makes him just the third CSK player to achieve the feat during a single campaign.
Ravindra Jadeja was named Chennai skipper just before this year's tournament after the long-serving Dhoni opted to step down.
However, Dhoni was reinstated to lead the side after the Super Kings won just two of their opening eight games, in an attempt to offer Jadeja the chance to rediscover his form.
Speculation persisted whether Dhoni would retire following Chennai's final game of the season against Rajasthan Royals on Friday, but the India great has quashed those claims.
Asked whether he will play next year, Dhoni told Star Sports: "Definitely. It's a simple reason: it will be unfair to not play in Chennai and say thank you.
"Mumbai is one place, where as a team and as an individual, I have got a lot of love and affection. But it wouldn't be nice to the CSK fans.
"And also, hopefully, next year there will be an opportunity where the teams will be travelling so it will be a like thank you to all the different places where we will be playing games at different venues.
"Whether it will be my last year or not that's a big question, because you know we can't really predict something two years down the line, but definitely I'll be working hard to come back strong next year."
The foundation for an 18-run win was laid as Du Plessis came four runs short of a century, his blistering 96 ensuring RCB reached 181-6 despite losing captain Virat Kohli for a duck.
Lucknow got a series of starts, including from skipper KL Rahul (30) and Krunal Pandya (42), but they could not put a match-winning partnership together.
A contributing factor to that failure was the brilliance of Hazlewood, whom RCB bought at this year's auction.
After his excellent performance against Delhi Capitals, Hazlewood provided further vindication of that decision by taking 4-25.
His last scalp, that of Australian compatriot Marcus Stoinis (24), effectively ended any hope Lucknow had of victory, with Jason Holder unable to recover the situation for the Super Giants in the final 10 balls.
RCB are level on 10 points with Gujarat Titans at the top of the table. Gujarat have the edge because of their superior net run rate.
No Faffing about
Having seen the top order crumble around him, with Dusmantha Chameera claiming the wickets of Anuj Rawat and Kohli in successive deliveries in the opening over and Glenn Maxwell departing for 23, Du Plessis took it upon himself to hold the RCB innings together.
He did so by hammering 11 fours and two sixes to record his joint-highest IPL score and his second half-century of the season.
Hazlewood's hot streak
The Super Giants must have known their luck was out when an initially ambitious looking review revealed Rahul had edged a leg-side delivery from Harshal Patel behind to the keeper.
Krunal gave them hope thereafter but eventually fell to Maxwell before Hazlewood removed Ayush Badoni and Stoinis to round off a superb display from the former Chennai Super Kings quick, who now has eight wickets in three games after taking 3-28 against Delhi.
