Rajasthan Royals opened their account in IPL 2025 with a six run win over five-time champions Chennai Super Kings at the Barsapara cricket stadium in Guwahati on Sunday, March 30, 2025.
Nitish Rana shone with a stroke-filled 36-ball 81, while Riyan Parag chipped in with 37 off 28 balls.
For CSK, Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad waged a lone battle with a fighting knock of 63 off 44 balls.
A look at the best knocks from the CSK versus RR game...
Rana Takes CSK Bowlers To Cleaners
Nitish Rana put on a breathtaking display of power-hitting, smashing a 36-ball 81 to propel the Rajasthan Royals to 182/9 against CSK on Sunday.
Promoted to No. 3, his preferred spot, Rana dominated CSK bowlers, cracking 10 fours and five sixes. He raced to his fifty in just 21 balls, guiding RR to a blistering 79/1 in the Powerplay -- one of their highest starts in IPL history.
Rana's fearless strokeplay saw him dismantle pacers with flicks, pulls, and ramps, while his aggressive slog sweeps off Ravichandran Ashwin sent the ball soaring into the stands.
He forged an 82 run stand with Sanju Samson (20), laying a solid foundation before falling to a sharp stumping by M S Dhoni.
CSK fought back in the death overs, but Rana's explosive knock ensured RR posted a challenging total.
Parag's Steady Knock
RR Skipper Riyan Parag played a steady hand, scoring 37 runs in front of his home crowd.
Though his innings lacked fluency, Parag struck two fours and as many sixes, ensuring stability in the middle overs.
With Nitish Rana going great guns at one end, Parag held his ground but struggled to accelerate, managing only 37 runs in the last five overs.
However, his brief flourish in the 17th over, where he launched Noor Ahmad for a four and a six, added vital runs.
Despite RR's late-innings slump, Parag's leadership and contributions helped the team set a competitive total.
Gaikwad's Lone Battle
CSK Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad came in at No. 3 after Rachin Ravindra'S dismissal. In CSK's three matches so far, he has come into bat in the second over on two occasions and in the first over of the innings once.
Tushar Deshpande hit him on the elbow with A nasty delivery even before he opened his account. However, Rutu quickly found his groove in the Powerplay with a flurry of boundaries through the off-side. He started stroking the ball fluently and stitched decent partnerships with Rahul Tripathi and Shivam Dube. He took calculated risks and kept the required run-rate in check.
He took CSK past the 100-run mark in 13.1 overs. At the end of 15 overs, CSK were 122/4, needing 61 runs off 30 balls. He hit one six and seven boundaries in his 44-ball 63-run knock but ran out of partners.
Although his fighting half-century went in vain, Rutu once again proved his worth in the CSK line-up.
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