Sandeep, a Punjab seamer who played a couple of games for India eight years ago, appeared to lose his nerve as he bowled a couple of wides before Dhoni whipped him over square leg and mid-wicket for a couple of sixes.
With six runs needed off the last two deliveries, the medium pacer delivered a wide yorker to Jadeja and then a perfect block-hole ball to Dhoni, resulting in a couple of singles.
Devon Conway, on the other hand, had a scratchy approach on a tacky pitch, as his 50 off 38 balls failed to provide momentum against Ravichandran Ashwin (2/25 in 4 overs) and YUzvendra Chahal (2/27 in 4 overs).
Earlier, Jos Buttler was not particularly destructive in his approach, but he still managed the 18th half-century of his IPL career as Rajasthan Royals posted a respectable 175 for 8 after being put into bat first.
While the Royals were 135 for 4 after 15 overs, the final five overs were not as productive as expected, with only 40 runs added and four wickets lost. Ravindra Jadeja (2/21 in 4 overs) was menacing as usual on a surface that aided spinners, even as Buttler hit three massive sixes in his 36-ball-52.
He shared a 77-run second-wicket stand with Devdutt Padikkal (38 off 26 balls), who was back in his element after struggling against Punjab Kings. Shimron Hetmyer (30 off 18 balls) was a standout finisher near the end, while Tushar Deshpande (2/37) allowed only eight runs in the 20th over.
After a quick start, the CSK bowlers, particularly Jadeja, were able to keep the Royals batters at bay, with the 50 coming in the sixth over. Between overs 8 and 13, the Royals struggled, losing two wickets in three balls, with Padikkal and skipper Sanju Samson (0) both falling to Jadeja.
The delivery that got Samson was bowled with high arm speed and enough turn and bounce to force the batter to play the wrong line. After the Royals’ batters failed to score any boundaries for nearly six overs, Ashwin (30, 22 balls, 1×4, 2×6) smashed two consecutive sixes off debutant left-arm pacer Akash Singh.
He crashed just as he was about to pick up the pace, skying one off Akash in the deep. Deshpande struck an early blow for the home team after captain MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bowl, dismissing the dangerous Yashasvi Jaiswal (10, 8 balls, 2×4) and having him caught by Shivam Dube.
Buttler and Padikkal (38, 26 balls, 5×4) add 77 runs in 41 deliveries before the latter is caught in the deep by Devon Conway off Ravindra Jadeja. After Jaiswal was dismissed early, the partnership laid the groundwork for the Royals.
Prior to the match, former BCCI president N Srinivasan honoured Dhoni for captaining CSK for the 200th time in IPL, in the presence of his wife Chitra Srinivasan and former TNCA president Rupa Gurunath.
