Rajasthan Royals bowler Wanindu Hasaranga celebrates a wicket during the IPL 2025 match against Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati on March 30, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Wanindu Hasaranga and Jofra Archer powered Rajasthan Royals to its first victory of IPL 2025 against Chennai Super Kings at the ACA-Barasapara Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday (March 30, 2025).
Chasing a tricky 183, CSK was shaken early when Archer bowled the first maiden of the season and dismissed the in-form opener Rachin Ravindra.
CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad responded with a couple of elegant boundaries, bringing some stability to the chase.
With the game in the balance, Hasaranga provided the breakthrough by dismissing Rahul Tripathi, the power-hitter. The Lankan leg-spinner also sent back Impact Player Shivam Dube, thanks to a stunning catch by stand-in skipper Riyan Parag. Hasaranga followed it up by castling Vijay Shankar and removing Ruturaj after a well-crafted half-century, giving Royals a firm grip on the match.
With the pressure mounting and the required rate creeping up, M.S. Dhoni, and Ravindra Jadeja failed in pursuit of 39 runs from the last two overs, as RR got its first victory of the season while CSK slumped to a second successive loss.
Earlier, Nitish Rana launched a counter-attack for Royals, smashing two boundaries on either side of the wicket and executing a deft uppercut for a maximum. Not to be outdone, Sanju Samson joined the charge as both batters unleashed a flurry of aggressive shots. Together, they tore into Jamie Overton, plundering 16 runs in the fourth over.
With Super Kings desperately searching for a breakthrough, even R. Ashwin couldn’t stem the flow. Ashwin went for 19 runs off his first over, with Rana hitting a couple of towering sixes and a boundary.
Noor Ahmad’s introduction broke the 82-run second-wicket partnership as the young Afghan spinner accounted for Samson.
Ashwin had the last laugh, sending the dangerous Nitish Rana back to the dressing room. The southpaw charged down the track and attempted to blast the off-spiner out of the park, only to see Dhoni effect a stumping off a wide. His 36-ball 81 was laced with 10 fours and five sixes.
Jadeja followed up by dismissing Hasaranga, and Noor quickly sent back Dhruv Jurel as CSK slowly but surely clawed its way back into the game with three quick wickets.
The dangerous Shimron Hetmyer was handed a lifeline when Overton fluffed a simple skier off Pathirana. However, the pacer yorked Parag and then dismissed Hetmyer, denying the home side a late flourish.
Scoreboard
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal c Ashwin b Ahmed 4 Sanju Samson c Ravindra b Noor Ahmad 20 Nitish Rana st Dhoni b Ashwin 81 Riyan Parag b Pathirana 37 Dhruv Jurel c Pathirana b Noor Ahmad 3 Wanindu Hasaranga c Shankar b Jadeja 4 Shimron Hetmyer c Ashwin b Pathirana 19 Jofra Archer c Gaikwad b Ahmed 0 Kumar Kartikeya run out (Ahmed) 1 Maheesh Theekshana not out 2 Tushar Deshpande not out 1 Extras: (B-2, W-8) 10
Total: (For 9 Wickets In 20 Overs) 182
Fall of Wickets: 1-4, 2-86, 3-124, 4-134, 5-140, 6-166, 7-174, 8-175, 9-176.
Chennai Super Kings bowling: Khaleel Ahmed 4-0-38-2, Jamie Overton 2-0-30-0, Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-46-1, Noor Ahmad 4-0-28-2, Matheesha Pathirana 4-0-28-2, Ravindra Jadeja 2-0-10-1.
Chennai Super Kings: Rachin Ravindra c Jurel b Archer 0 Rahul Tripathi c Hetmyer b Hasaranga 23 Ruturaj Gaikwad c Jaiswal b Hasaranga 63 Shivam Dube c Parag b Hasaranga 18 Vijay Shankar b Hasaranga 9 Ravindra Jadeja not out 32 MS Dhoni c Hetmyer b Sandeep Sharma 16 Jamie Overton not out 11 Extras: (B-1, W-3) 4
Total: (For 6 Wickets In 20 Overs) 176
Fall of Wickets: 1-0, 2-46, 3-72, 4-92, 5-129, 6-164.
Rajasthan Royals bowling: Jofra Archer 3-1-13-1, Tushar Deshpande 4-0-45-0, Sandeep Sharma 4-0-42-1, Maheesh Theekshana 4-0-30-0, Wanindu Hasaranga 4-0-35-4, Kumar Kartikeya 1-0-10-0.
Published – March 30, 2025 09:46 pm IST