IPL 2025: Rana’s 81 and Hasaranga’s Magic Hand Rajasthan Royals First Win

Nitish Rana’s explosive knock and Wanindu Hasaranga’s crafty wrist spin powered Rajasthan Royals (RR) to their first victory of IPL 2025, while Chennai Super Kings (CSK) suffered their second consecutive defeat.

Rana blazed his way to 81 off just 36 balls, joining RR’s list of fastest half-centurions, as they set a target of 183. In response, Ruturaj Gaikwad anchored CSK’s chase with a well-compiled fifty. However, Hasaranga’s deceptive variations, particularly his wrong’un, exposed CSK’s vulnerabilities and made the target insurmountable.

Despite a late surge from Ravindra Jadeja, who remained unbeaten on 32 off 22 balls, RR maintained control throughout. The final over saw Sandeep Sharma, preferred over Jofra Archer to defend 19 runs, dismiss MS Dhoni for 16 off 11 balls with his first legal delivery, sealing a six-run win for RR.

Rana Dominates Ashwin Before Finally Falling to Him

Riyan Parag had occupied the No. 3 spot for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their first two matches of the season, with head coach Rahul Dravid backing him to continue in that role. However, for this game, RR opted to push Nitish Rana up the order instead, aiming to exploit his favorable match-up against R Ashwin.

Heading into the contest, Rana had an impressive record against Ashwin in the IPL, scoring 108 runs off 58 balls without being dismissed. By the time Ashwin came into the attack, Rana had already raced to 27 off 13 balls. He welcomed the off-spinner with a brutal sequence of 6, 6, 4 and kept up the onslaught. While Ashwin finally managed to dismiss him for the first time in the IPL—stumping him with a well-executed pause-and-deliver variation—Rana had taken his tally to 171 runs off 71 balls against the veteran spinner.

Rana’s blistering knock set the tone for RR, as he contributed 58 of their 81 runs in the powerplay, compensating for low returns from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson.

CSK Fight Back to Restrict RR

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) clawed their way back into the game with a disciplined bowling effort after Rajasthan Royals (RR) threatened to post a massive total.

Left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad made an immediate impact, dismissing Sanju Samson for 20 off 16 balls and later removing Dhruv Jurel for 3 off 7. With these strikes, he surged to the top of the Purple Cap leaderboard. Ravindra Jadeja, despite bowling just two overs, kept things tight by not conceding a single boundary.

Matheesha Pathirana and Khaleel Ahmed, who had earlier dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal in the powerplay, further choked RR in the death overs. Shimron Hetmyer, batting at No. 7 behind Wanindu Hasaranga, had an early reprieve when IPL debutant Jamie Overton dropped him on 3. However, Overton endured a forgettable night, conceding 30 runs in his first two overs before being taken out of the attack.

Hetmyer managed to reach 19 off 16 before Pathirana induced a mis-hit, with R Ashwin safely pouching the catch. Pathirana and Khaleel combined to give away just 17 runs in the last three overs, ensuring RR fell short of 190 despite Rana’s blistering knock earlier.

CSK Struggle for Momentum in the Powerplay

Jofra Archer and former CSK pacer Tushar Deshpande put Rajasthan Royals (RR) in control early, stifling Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the powerplay.

Archer set the tone with a wicket-maiden, dismissing Rachin Ravindra for a duck with a sharp 145kph delivery that kicked off the surface. At the other end, Deshpande unsettled Ruturaj Gaikwad with a blow to his unprotected elbow, further denting CSK’s start.

Rahul Tripathi struggled to find his rhythm, missing wildly before finally connecting on a slower leg-cutter from Archer, dispatching it for a six over short fine leg. Gaikwad provided some late momentum, taking Sandeep Sharma for three boundaries in the final over of the powerplay. Despite being 5 for 1 after three overs, CSK managed to recover slightly, reaching 42 for 1 at the end of the fielding restrictions.

Hasaranga Rattles CSK’s Middle Order

Wanindu Hasaranga made an instant impact, dismissing Rahul Tripathi for 23 off 19 with his very first delivery. Bowling in tandem with Maheesh Theekshana, he forced CSK to deploy their Impact Player, Shivam Dube, in an attempt to counter the spinners. While Dube managed two towering sixes off Hasaranga, he soon fell victim to a well-disguised wrong’un, chipping a catch to cover where Riyan Parag pulled off a stunning one-handed grab. Dube’s cameo ended at 18 off 10 balls.

Vijay Shankar, brought in for Deepak Hooda, struggled against Hasaranga’s guile. He nearly played on to his first ball, another wrong’un, and was eventually undone by a loopier variation, bowled for 9 off 6 balls.

Meanwhile, Ruturaj Gaikwad anchored CSK’s innings with a composed 37-ball half-century—his second in three matches—but with wickets falling around him, the pressure mounted. Trying to force the pace, he mistimed a wide leg-break from Hasaranga straight to long-on, leaving CSK with 54 to get off 25 balls.

Theekshana tightened the screws with a boundary-less 18th over, pushing the equation to 39 off 12. MS Dhoni gave CSK a glimmer of hope, smashing Tushar Deshpande for 19 runs in the penultimate over, including a ramped four and a powerful six straight down the ground.

However, it was too little, too late. Jofra Archer, who had been brilliant in the powerplay, was surprisingly not called upon at the death. Instead, Sandeep Sharma delivered the knockout blow, getting Dhoni to hole out for 16 off 11 with a low full-toss, sealing RR’s victory.

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