Chennai Super Kings ended the regular phase of their 2018 Indian Premier League campaign in triumph after beating Kings XI Punjab by five wickets on Sunday, ending any hope they had of completing a late dash into the top four.

The Super Kings advanced after coming second and will face first-place finishers Sunrisers Hyderabad in the play-offs opener on Tuesday, the winner of which will proceed into this season's final.

Mumbai Indians lost by 11 runs in their trip to face Delhi Daredevils earlier on Sunday, ending any chance they had of beating the Rajasthan Royals to fourth in the final points table.

Instead, it's the Royals who wrapped up fourth place and will face the third-placed Kolkata Knight Riders in the play-off eliminator.

Read on for a roundup of Sunday's action as the first portion of the 2018 IPL season came to a close ahead of the play-offs' return.

Sunday's Results

Delhi Daredevils (174/4) beat Mumbai Indians (163) by 11 runs

Chennai Super Kings (159/5) beat Kings XI Punjab (153) by five wickets

2018 IPL Final Table (Points, Net Run Rate)

1. (Q) Sunrisers Hyderabad: 18, +0.284

2. (Q) Chennai Super Kings: 18, +0.253

3. (Q) Kolkata Knight Riders: 16, -0.070

4. (Q) Rajasthan Royals: 14, -0.250

5. Mumbai Indians: 12, +0.317

6. Royal Challengers Bangalore: 12, +0.129

7. Kings XI Punjab: 12 -0.502

8. Delhi Daredevils: 10 -0.222

(Q): Team has qualified for the play-offs.

IPL Play-Off Schedule

Tuesday, May 22 (Qualifier 1) 

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Chennai Super Kings, 2:30 p.m. BST/7 p.m. local time

Wednesday, May 23 (Eliminator)

Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Rajasthan Royals, 2:30 p.m. BST/7 p.m. local time

Friday, May 25 (Qualifier 2) 

Loser of Qualifier 1 vs. Winner of Eliminator, 2:30 p.m. BST/7 p.m. local time

Sunday, May 27 (Final)

Winner of Qualifier 1 vs. Winner of Qualifier 2, 2:30 p.m. BST/7 p.m. local time

Chennai may not have managed to usurp the IPL summit despite Hyderabad's recent three-match streak of defeats, but their chase win over Kings XI in Pune on Sunday gave a fine account of their threat preparing for the play-offs.

The Super Kings continued their stellar run of success in making it to the post-season schedule, as pointed out by cricket writer Umang Pabari, who also heaped praise on Suresh Raina, who knocked for a match-high 61:

Umang Pabari @UPStatsman

CSK have finished in the top-4 in the points table in each of the nine seasons that they have been part of IPL - the only team to do so. Suresh Raina has scored 300-plus runs in each of the 11 IPL season - the only player to do so #CSKvKXIP

Rohit Sharma's modest two runs for Kings XI meant he finished his campaign on 286 runs, the first time he's failed to cross the 300 mark, which allowed Raina to accomplish his feat in consistency.

Punjab batted for a total of 153 but could have accumulated far more had it not been for the four wickets taken by South African Chennai starlet, Lungi Ngidi, 22, who was in rare form, per statistician Mohandas Menon:

Mohandas Menon @mohanstatsman

Most economical four wkt hauls for CSK in #IPL 4/10 (4 overs) - Ashish Nehra v RCB at Bangalore 2015 4/10 (4 overs) - Lungi Ngidi v KXIP at Pune 2018 #IPL2018

Ngidi took opening Punjab pair Lokesh Rahul and Chris Gayle out for a combined seven runs, undoubtedly making the Super Kings chase much simpler as Raina staged a showcase and hit 22 off the last six balls he faced to win.

Delhi's season may be over, but that didn't stop star batsman Rishabh Pant from taking over as the new Orange Cap leader after he ran for 64 in the opening innings against Mumbai. ESPNcricinfo lauded a superb season for the 20-year-old following Delhi's victory:

ESPNcricinfo @ESPNcricinfo

What a season for 20-year-old Rishabh Pant! #IPL2018

The Daredevils set a decent total for Mumbai to chase (174), and leg-spinners Amit Mishra and Sandeep Lamichhane ensured their foes had a torrid day on a dry surface that would not let up.

There was also some superstitious fortune for Chennai in finishing second—as long as it was Delhi who placed last, per Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif:

Mohammad Kaif @MohammadKaif

An interesting stat- Whenever Delhi Daredevils finishes at the last position in the points table, the team who finishes at the second position in that season has won the IPL. 2011 - CSK 2013 - MI 2014 - KKR @ChennaiIPL will be happy :) #DDvMI

Rajasthan Royals will thank both Delhi and Chennai for the hand they played in keeping them fourth in the standings, although they may not fancy their chances against Kolkata, having lost to them twice this season already.