Kishan's Seven Sixes Put SRH Through — Rajasthan's Season Hangs on Tonight
Ishan Kishan's 70 off 47 sealed SRH's playoff spot at Chepauk; RR host already-eliminated LSG in a must-win Jaipur night.
How last night went · Match 63 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
180/7 (20) — Dewald Brevis 44(27) · Kartik Sharma 32(19) · Sanju Samson 27
Bowling: Cummins 3/28 (SRH) · Mukesh Choudhary 2/36 (CSK) · Noor Ahmad 1/- (CSK)
Toss: CSK won, opted to bat · Player of the Match: Ishan Kishan
The one to remember
Ishan Kishan came in at 56/2, still needing 125 more, on a Chepauk pitch that was gripping and slowing with every over. He started calm — worked the ball into the outfield, found the shorter straight boundary twice — then shifted gears completely. The partnership with Klaasen went from tentative to brutal: 75 runs in 41 balls, Kishan doing the heavier lifting with seven sixes, three of them sailing over long-on in a cluster between the 13th and 15th overs. When Noor Ahmad found Klaasen's edge in the 16th over and Sanju Samson whipped off the bails in a flash, SRH still needed 50 from 4 overs. Kishan didn't blink — he took them home with four balls to spare, walked off on 70 off 47 balls, and received his Player of the Match award saying he 'was just feeling blessed from upstairs.'
The moments that decided it
- Hit Kishan-Klaasen blitz. 75 runs off 41 balls for the 3rd-wicket stand, from 56/2 to 131/3. Kishan hit 7 sixes, Klaasen struck 47 off 26 — the partnership completed its 50th run in the 13th over and flipped the momentum entirely.
- Hit Cummins with the new ball. 3/28 from his 4 overs — dismissed Sanju Samson early in the powerplay and came back at the death to strangle CSK's scoring, keeping them to a chaseable 180 on a flat surface.
- Miss Gaikwad's crawl at the top. 15 off 21 balls with no boundaries — the captain's ultra-cautious start cost CSK runs in the powerplay and left the middle order to do too much too late.
- Miss No plan for Kishan's arc. CSK's bowlers had no counter when Kishan went inside-out over long-on. He hit three sixes in that zone in four overs, each one off a bowler operating within their comfort zone.
- Turning point 16th over: Noor Ahmad's googly drew Klaasen into an expansive inside-out drive, Sanju Samson whipped off the bails in a flash — SRH suddenly 131/3 needing 50 from 4 overs — but Kishan was still there and the door closed as quickly as it had opened.
Tonight on the field · Match 64
Stakes: RR need a win to stay alive — they are at 12 points from 12 games with two remaining, and a loss tonight effectively ends their playoff campaign. LSG are already eliminated, playing free of pressure after a seven-wicket win over CSK last week.
Matchup to watch: Jofra Archer vs Rishabh Pant: Archer's extra bounce at Jaipur against Pant's instinct to take on pace early — if Pant gets going in the powerplay LSG build a platform, if Archer lands one on a length and nips it away, RR swing the game in the first 6 overs.
Pitch: Three IPL 2026 matches at Sawai Mansingh have all produced 1st-innings scores above 220. Black-soil surface with uneven bounce and longer square boundaries — straight hitting pays dividends, pace off the ball works better than full-length deliveries.
Where things stand
| # | Team | M | W | L | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RCB | 13 | 9 | 4 | 18 | +1.065 |
| 2 | GT | 13 | 8 | 5 | 16 | +0.724 |
| 3 | SRH | 13 | 8 | 5 | 16 | +0.523 |
| 4 | PBKS | 13 | 6 | 6 | 13 | +0.227 |
| 5 | RR | 12 | 6 | 6 | 12 | -0.018 |
| 6 | CSK | 13 | 6 | 7 | 12 | -0.067 |
| 7 | DC | 13 | 6 | 7 | 12 | -0.211 |
| 8 | KKR | 12 | 5 | 6 | 11 | -0.038 |
| 9 | MI | 12 | 4 | 8 | 8 | -0.545 |
| 10 | LSG | 12 | 4 | 8 | 8 | -0.889 |
Where every fan stands tonight
- RCB — Already in the playoffs, watching the chaos below unfold with satisfaction. The question now is whether they finish top two.
- GT — Qualified without playing a ball last night — SRH's win at Chepauk did the maths for them. Two games left to polish the seeding.
- SRH — Electric. Ishan Kishan's seven sixes and a playoff ticket in Chennai — this is what the season was building to. Now the real work starts.
- PBKS — Sitting fourth with 13 points and one game left against LSG on May 23. Win it and they're almost certainly through. Lose and it gets very complicated.
- RR — Tonight is all that matters. Win against LSG and keep the door open. Lose and it is done. Jadeja's knee adds an extra layer of worry.
- CSK — On the thinnest of threads. One game remaining against GT, need a win plus KKR, PBKS, and DC to all stumble below 14 points. A lot has to go right.
- KKR — Mathematically alive at 11 points but need their own wins and multiple results to fall their way. Tomorrow's game against MI in Kolkata is must-win.
- DC — Still alive with 12 points, two games left — but relying on others to drop points too. Axar Patel and Starc have been the bright spots.
- MI — Out of the race. Tomorrow's home game against KKR is a chance to play spoiler and deny a rival a precious two points.
- LSG — Gone from the playoff picture, but Rishabh Pant's side beat CSK last week and Mitchell Marsh is in the form of his life. Nothing to lose in Jaipur tonight.
Names worth knowing
Orange Cap
- Sai Sudharsan (GT) — 554 · 13M
- Shubman Gill (GT) — 552 · 13M
- Virat Kohli (RCB) — 542 · 13M
- KL Rahul (DC) — 533 · 13M
- Heinrich Klaasen (SRH) — 508 · 13M
Purple Cap
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar (RCB) — 24 wkts · 13M
- Kagiso Rabada (GT) — 21 wkts · 12M
- Anshul Kamboj (CSK) — 19 wkts · 13M
- Jofra Archer (RR) — 17 wkts · 12M
- Prince Yadav (LSG) — 16 wkts · 12M
Around the boundary
Riyan Parag fined for vaping in the RR dressing room. Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag was handed a fine of 25 per cent of his match fee and one demerit point after he was caught vaping inside the RR dressing room during their fixture against Punjab Kings. The BCCI sanctioned him under Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct, which covers conduct that brings the game into disrepute. RR head coach Kumar Sangakkara confirmed the incident had been dealt with internally, calling it a learning moment for the squad. Parag did not issue a public statement and continues as captain. The controversy, coming on the back of a viral video involving Punjab Kings spinner Yuzvendra Chahal vaping on a team flight, pushed the BCCI into issuing one of the most comprehensive behavioural advisories in the tournament's history — covering vaping, prohibited substances, owner conduct, hotel security, and guidelines against honey-trapping and unauthorised access to team areas.
Chahal's mid-flight vaping video leaves BCCI with a jurisdictional headache. A video circulating on social media appears to show Punjab Kings spinner Yuzvendra Chahal vaping aboard a franchise flight to Hyderabad ahead of a match. Neither Chahal nor Punjab Kings issued any statement. The complication for the BCCI is jurisdictional: the current Code of Conduct has no specific provision covering behaviour outside match venues or official team facilities. Legal advisers reportedly suggested the BCCI seek a formal ruling before levying any sanction. As of May 19, no disciplinary action has been confirmed against Chahal, though the incident added urgency to the sweeping anti-vaping advisory the BCCI subsequently sent to all ten franchises.
SRH's win last night qualified GT without GT playing a ball. When Salil Arora's bat sealed SRH's five-wicket win at Chepauk on Monday, it triggered celebrations in two different cities. SRH had booked their own playoff place — but the mathematics also simultaneously confirmed Gujarat Titans, who were at home watching. GT's accumulated 16 points, built over 13 matches including an 82-run demolition of SRH earlier in the season, were enough that no team below could catch both of them before the league stage ends. The GT camp celebrated without touching a bat. It is the kind of IPL moment that requires a second read: one team secures a finals berth on a night they were not on the field at all.
Kohli's 105 at Raipur made IPL history that nobody had planned for. On May 13 at Raipur, chasing 193 against Kolkata Knight Riders, Virat Kohli walked out and turned what looked like a difficult chase into a formality. He finished unbeaten on 105 off 60 deliveries — 11 fours, 3 sixes — and in doing so became the fastest batter in cricket history to reach 14,000 T20 runs, in 409 innings. The milestone nobody had noticed building: his century meant that all 10 IPL 2026 franchises had now produced at least one century in the same season. It was the first time that had ever happened in eighteen years of the competition. RCB won by six wickets with five balls to spare and moved to the top of the points table.
Tomorrow
KKR vs MI. KKR need both points to stay mathematically alive in the race for the fourth playoff spot; Mumbai, already eliminated, have nothing to lose in Kolkata and every reason to play spoiler.
Sources: espncricinfo.com, business-standard.com, insidesport.in, outlookindia.com, wionews.com, crictracker.com, mykhel.com, newsable.asianetnews.com, news24online.com, wisden.com, dnaindia.com.