Chennai Super Kings wrapped up the last league match of their IPL 2024 campaign on home turf at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium with a lap of honour on Sunday. The defending champions registered an emphatic victory over the Rajasthan Royals, ending their home matches on a winning note. CSK now have only one league match left which will be played away from home against the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
This was potentially the last match for CSK’s spiritual leader and legendary former captain MS Dhoni at his beloved Chepauk Stadium unless the team reaches the final, which is scheduled to be played at the venue. Dhoni and the rest of the team did a lap of honour around the stadium and as it concluded, the players signed tennis balls and hit them into the yellow army crowd in the stands with racquets. The fans had turned up in huge numbers for the heartwarming gesture by CSK as they also recorded the moment on their phones.
During the lap, MS Dhoni was joined by CSK great Suresh Raina and the Indian legend did something that was nothing short of emotional. Dhoni called Raina upfront as he handed him the tennis racquet to distribute the signed balls in the crowd.
On the other hand, the home favourites registered a comprehensive win over guests RR. The Sanju Samson-led side was restricted to a mere 141-run total by the hosts courtesy of some exceptional bowling by Simarjeet Singh who was also the Player of the Match with impressive figures of 3/26 in four overs. Apart from him, pacer Tushar Deshpande also picked up two wickets for 30 runs in his spell.
While chasing the total, the defending champions were given a tough outing by the RR bowlers as the CSK batsmen struggled to score runs. Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was narrowly ahead the run-a-ball with 42 runs off 41 deliveries but managed to take his team home in the end with 18.2 overs.
With this win, CSK moved to no.3 in the points table with 14 points. The side will now look to win their remaining match against RCB to reach 16 points and cement their place in the top 4.
