RR will take on GT in Qualifier 1 on May 24 at the Eden Gardens.
After returning with the figures of 1/28, Ashwin stood tall for his side with the bat when it seemed that RR would found difficult to close the game.
Chasing 151 to win, RR were in a spot of bother at 76/3 when Ashwin arrived in the middle. He held the one end while the Royals lost Yashasvi Jaiswal for 59 and Shimron Hetmyer for 6 to find themselves tumbling at 112/5.
Amid the pressure situation, Ashwin produced 40 not out off 23 balls to take RR over the line with two deliveries to spare.
With this victory, RR didn’t only qualify for the playoffs but also moved to the second spot on the points table. They will now face the Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 on May 24 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Ahead of the big game against GT, Ashwin seems to be in a relaxed mood as he indulged in a game of chess with one of his teammates. He was seen playing chess on the flight when the team was travelling to Kolkata from Mumbai.
Taking to Twitter, RR shared a video of the same with the caption: "No off days for @ashwinravi99’s" and added brain, laughter emoji with it.
In the post, Ashwin’s teammate Yuzvendra Chahal commented: “May I come innnnnnnnn ?”
To which, Ashwin replied: “No”, before adding the laughter emoji.
Notably, Chahal was a chess player before he picked up cricket as his long-term job. He reportedly gave up playing chess after struggling to find a sponsor.