Rajasthan Royals may have endured a forgettable IPL 2025 campaign, but they gave their fans something to cheer about with a commanding six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in their final league match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
For skipper Sanju Samson, the highlight wasn’t just the result but the temperament and clarity shown by his young team.
Chasing 188 — something they had failed to do in eight of their last nine matches — RR were powered by a clinical bowling display from Akash Madhwal (3/29) and Yudhvir Singh Charak (3/47), who pulled CSK back after a blazing start.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi then starred with the bat, smashing a composed 57 to steer the Royals home with 17 balls to spare.
“It feels good,” Samson said at the presentation. “To be honest, we were thinking should we bat first and set a score. But I decided no hiding in this game. Decided to chase and face it.”
Samson reserved special praise for the inexperienced bowling unit that stepped up in the absence of Jofra Archer and Sandeep Sharma.
“They are very young and promising. The kind of temperament and planning they showed was heartening. Shane Bond, Rahul Dravid and the coaching staff have worked hard with them,” he said, particularly acknowledging Madhwal’s late-season impact.
The captain, who missed several games due to a side strain, admitted mistakes were made throughout the season and promised a thorough review.
“The margin between wins and losses is very small. It’s not about luck, we made some errors and we need to come back with a better mindset.”
Samson was also effusive in his praise for 14-year-old Suryavanshi. “I don’t have words for Vaibhav. He’s a special talent — that hundred earlier and today’s knock show his game awareness at such a young age.”
Yashasvi Jaiswal echoed those sentiments, applauding the team’s fight and the clarity shown by both Suryavanshi and the bowlers. “It was a good win to take confidence from,” he said.
