Chennai Super Kings knocked Kings XI Punjab out of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League with a 5-wicket win at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune.
Suresh Raina played an unbeaten knock of 61 off 48 deliveries, combining his innings with 4 fours and 2 sixes.
The visitors ended their campaign on a disappointing note, finishing their campaign on 7th place. CSK, on the other hand, managed to finish second in the points table.
The Ashwin led side had to win this with more than 53 runs in the bid to qualify for the playoffs. And, with just 153 on the board, Punjab had to wrap CSK before they reached the 99-run mark.
Defending a modest 154, the Punjab pacers sent the top three batsmen packing for just 28 runs in first five overs, providing some hope.
Surprisingly, Dhoni promoted Harbhajan Singh and Deepak Chahar above him in the batting order and fortunately, the gamble paid off with Chahar smashing a quick 20-ball 39 and Harbhajan adding a crucial 19 runs.
For, KXIP, Rajpoot and Ashwin returned with two wickets each while Mohit Sharma clinched one.
Earlier, Ngidi first had dangerous Chris Gayle (0) caught behind and then bowled other opener KL Rahul with a peach of delivery that swung in and sent the stump kart-wheeling.
Deepak Chahar had Aaron Finch (4) caught by Raina as Punjab managed only 29 runs in the Powerplay overs.
In his sensational three-over spell, Ngidi conceded just seven runs and scalped both the openers.
David Miller (24) and Manish Tiwary (35) repaired the innings with a 60-run partnership before left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja broke the stand by dismissing the latter.
Miller too did not last long after departure of Tiwary as he was undone by a well-executed yorker by West Indian Dwayne Bravo. The Miller wicket meant that Punjab were reeling at 80 for five in 12.1 overs.
A small partnership developed between Axar Patel (14) and Nair but Sam Billings pulled off a stunning diving catch to get rid of the left-hander. Still, Punjab got 18 runs from that Shardul Thakur over with Nair finding a six and two fours.
Ngidi returned to the attack and saw the back of rival captain R Ashwin, who could not even open his account, nicking the ball to his counterpart MS Dhoni behind the wickets. Punjab could not even bat for full 20 overs and were bowled out in 19.4 overs.
Had it not been a fighting knock from Nair, they would not have crossed even 150-run mark.