RR vs CSK | Nitish goes gangbusters and Archer’s scintillating new-ball spell hands CSK thorough thrashing

Opting to bowl first, Chennai Super Kings got off to a horrid start when Yashasvi Jaiswal smacked Khaleel Ahmed for a four first-up but the left-arm pacer had the decisive say when he sent the young opener packing two deliveries later. An early wicket meant Nitish Rana was promoted up the order over Riyan Parag, a decision that would define the outcome of the game. An anchor batter all his career, Rana threw caution to the wind as he swung hard immediately and earned a four off his second ball in the process. 12 more runs followed in Jamie Overton ‘s opening over before two more boundaries off the Englishman in the fourth saw Sanju Samson get into the attack with a six to take 16 off the over. Yet, it was just the beginning for Nitish, as he struck Ravichandran Ashwin for 19 more in the penultimate over of the powerplay and smashed Khaleel for 15 more to take the score to 79/1 at the end of six overs. Ruturaj Gaikwad responded by bringing Noor Ahmed into the attack alongside Ashwin and the duo seized back control with just 20 runs off the next four overs, the former even scalping Sanju in the process. Rana finally felt the need to break shackles again thereafter and smashed Ashwin for a four and six more but the veteran had the final laugh by outwitting the top-order batter to have him stumped. Matheesha Pathirana added Dhruv Jurel to the list of departed bowlers and Ravindra Jadeja sent Wanindy Hasaranga back to the dugout as RR suddenly found themselves 140/5 with five overs still to go. However, as soon as the death overs arrived, Parag switched gears to smack 10 runs off the first two balls of Noor’s final over but once Pathirana took care of him with an unplayable swinging yorker, the batting team lacked impetus given Shimron Hetmyer’s dire struggled and finished on 182/9.

In response, Jofra Archer displayed an exhibition of outswing to Rachin Ravindra to take home a maiden over wicket and then conceded a solitary run in his second effort to leave CSK reeling at 5/1. Rahul Tripathi finally got things moving with two boundaries in the fourth over and then added 11 more off Archer soom after. Skipper Ruturaj took the signal to get in on the act himself as he struck Sandeep Sharma for three boundaries to round off the powerplay at 42/1, still a long way off their counterparts. The next twist in the tale came through Hasaranga when he dispatched Tripathi with his first ball in the game in the seventh over and even though Sivam Dube put him under pressure with a four and a six to begin Hasaranga’s second, a diving one-handed screamer from Parag cut the power-hitter’s knock short. At the halfway stage, the required rate had already climbed to 10.90, and went past 11 when Hasaranga added a third to his tally in the form of Vijay Shankar two overs later. Through all this chaos, Ruturaj kept knocking the ball around to bring up a 36-ball fifty. However, with Jadeja also struggling for boundaries, Ruturaj tried to take charge in the 16th over as he sent one flying over the fence for six in Hasaranga’s last over, only for the leggie to account for the opener the very next ball. The stage was set for another grand MS Dhoni finish with 54 required off 24 balls, but tight overs from Sandeep Sharma and Maheesh Theekshana made the climb steeper with 39 needed off the last two. Dhoni reignited hope with a four off the first ball, added a six three balls later, before Jadeja finished the penultimate over onslaught with another maximum to leave 20 to get off Sandeep in the final over. The pacer started with a wayward bumper that looped over Dhoni’s head but made up for the error by taking care of Dhoni the next ball to bring Overton to the crease, and then executed his yorkers under pressure to take Rajasthan over the line.

Ruturaj Gaikwad is finally out but one got to admit that this guy is carrying CSK since 2021 & even the 2 IPL 🏆 they won in 2021 & 2023 Rutu was their highest run getter with good knocks in Finals.
He is far ahead of Gill, Abhi & Jaiswal in consistency.pic.twitter.com/sIOlnpmeZZ

— Rajiv (@Rajiv1841) March 30, 2025