Rajasthan Royals registered their first win of IPL 2025 with a hard-fought 6-run victory over the Chennai Super Kings at home. This defeat marked CSK’s second loss of the season and continued their struggle to chase targets beyond 180 since 2019. Both teams now have one win from three matches.
Chennai Super Kings opted to bowl first in Guwahati, and Rajasthan Royals faced early trouble. Yashasvi Jaiswal departed for a duck on the third ball, falling to Khaleel Ahmed. Sanju Samson followed soon after, adding to the pressure. Nitish Rana led the fightback, smashing a 21-ball half-century to turn the tide. However, Rajasthan lost momentum as Noor Ahmed and Ravindra Jadeja tightened their grip with economical spells. Dhruv Jurel and Rana fell in quick succession, slowing the scoring rate.
The Royals managed 182/9 in 20 overs, with only 42 runs in the final six overs. Noor Ahmed and Matheesha Pathirana impressed with the ball, both finishing with 2/28.
In the second innings, Jofra Archer set the tone with a wicket maiden first over, dismissing Rachin Ravindra. RR maintained pressure early on, but a big final over in the Powerplay shifted momentum again.
Wanindu Hasaranga dominated the middle overs, taking four wickets across his spell. Archer was not used in the death overs, while Tushar Deshpande leaked runs, including in the 19th over. Sandeep Sharma held his nerve in the final over, proving his reliability in pressure situations.
Chasing 183, CSK fell behind with 39 needed from the last two overs. Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad fought back, with Gaikwad surpassing fifty before falling at a crucial moment. Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni attempted a late rescue, but the target remained out of reach, sealing Rajasthan’s win.
28 in first 5 is not a start you expect when chasing a 180+ score and having lost just 1 wkt in the powerplay. CSK did well to get close but they left it too late. Credit to @rajasthanroyals, Rana and Hasaranga too good, well played 👏🏻 #RRvCSK #IPL2025
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) March 30, 2025
#RR fielding was on another level tonight hats off @rajasthanroyals #RRvCSK
— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) March 30, 2025
10 runs in the first 4 overs was too less definitely the difference between both the sides #RRvCSK
— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) March 30, 2025
Great to see three Srilankans doing so well in @IPL @Wanindu49 @maheesht61 @matheesha_81 👏👏
— Angelo Mathews (@Angelo69Mathews) March 30, 2025
Sandeep sharma 👏
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 30, 2025
