IPL 2018: Ajinkya Rahane Thanks Rajasthan Royals for Their Overwhelming Support

The Indian Premier League’s (IPL) season eleven came to a conclusion on Sunday (May 27) as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the grand finale of the tournament – to clinch the IPL title for the third time.

It was sensational innings from Shane Watson which ensured Chennai to chase down the victory target of 180 with utmost ease. He remained unbeaten on 117 off just 57 deliveries which included 11 fours and eight monstrous sixes.

However, it took Chennai around seven years to lift their third major trophy. Meanwhile, it wasn’t really a great season for the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Though they managed to qualify for the playoffs narrowly, they were not at their best. Two of their star players Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat failed to prove their worth and were quite ordinary for the majority of the tournament.

Stokes was totally ineffective and Rajasthan will surely think whether to retain him or not for the next edition.

Rajasthan as a unit was staring down the barrel after nine matches. They had lost six and won only three when they registered a brilliant comeback.

Jaipur-based outfit played some quality cricket and ended up winning four of their last five games — to progress through to the next round. They won their final group game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) which was a must-win encounter for both the teams.

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In the absence of retained skipper Steven Smith, Ajinkya Rahane was handed over the mantle ahead of the tournament. At the end of the tournament, he will be pretty happy with what transpired. It was a very close competition.

Till the last day of the group stage, it wasn’t quite sure that who would go through to the playoffs stage.

Following their campaign, Rajasthan’s leader Ajinkya Rahane took to his Twitter handle to thank the Royals family. He promised to come back stronger next season. 

“I take this opportunity to thank all the @rajasthanroyals fans who stood by us this IPL. We assure you that we will push harder in the next season. A special thanks to the Management, support staff and my teammates for supporting me on this journey,” Rahane said.

I take this opportunity to thank all the @rajasthanroyals fans who stood by us this IPL .We assure you that we will push harder in the next season. A special thanks to the Management, support staff and my teammates for supporting me in this journey. pic.twitter.com/TZKZF3GJzM

— Ajinkya Rahane (@ajinkyarahane88) May 31, 2018

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