Chennai Super Kings maintained their unbeaten run against Sunrisers Hyderabad by defeating them for the third time this season, in Qualifier 1. Kolkata Knight Riders have also done the same by maintaining a three-match winning streak against Rajasthan Royals.

The Rahane-led men have been thrown out of the competition as KKR thrashed them by 25 runs in the Eliminator. On May 25, the Kolkata-based franchise will face Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 to decide the second finalist after CSK.

Opting to bowl first, the Royals didn’t give their opponents even a sniff as Krishnappa Gowtham and Jofra Archer teamed up to remove Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, and Nitish Rana for a single-digit score during the powerplay. Chris Lynn tried to launch a fightback but couldn’t manage to score more than 18 runs before returning to the pavilion.

Together, Dinesh Karthik and Shubhman Gill then formed a crucial partnership to keep the team alive in the contest. Shubhman’s departure for 28 brought a close to the 55-run stand but then Andre Russell launched a breathtaking assault plundering three boundaries and five sixes.

Meanwhile, Ben Laughlin sent the KKR skipper back to hut, but Kathik had done his job by then and had 52 runs to his name. Russell’s efforts weren’t disturbed by Javon Searles’ dismissal at the hands of Laughlin and the Caribbean remained unbeaten by smashing 49 off 25.

KKR had a score of 169/7 on the board and that wasn’t looking enough to stop the first-ever IPL champions after they showcased a start far better than that of KKR.

After RR opener Rahul Tripathy’s exit for 20 runs, Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson offered more stability to Rajasthan by stitching a 62-run partnership. But it took the pair 54 balls to post those runs and that certainly did make things a bit tricky.

Rahane scored 46 from 41 deliveries and RR now had 39 ball to score the runs required (61) with Samson still on the crease. But the 23-year-old left just after clubbing his half-century and a duck from Stuart Binny in such crunch time got the hapless team in more trouble.

Then Heinrich Klaasen’s a-run-a-ball innings of 18 runs along with Gowtham’s 9-run knock couldn’t prevent a 25-run defeat coming their way.

Piyush Chawla was the pick of KKR’s bowlers and returned figures of 4-0-24-2, which included the important wicket of Samson. Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav scalped a wicket each and Narine remained wicket-less after giving away 39 runs in 4 overs.

Russell was awarded the Man of the Match for his late heroics during KKR’s innings, which gave the hosts enough runs to put up a good fight. He was also good with the ball and allowed 22 runs in 3 overs but couldn't manage to pick up any wickets.