It was a case of third time lucky for Rajasthan Royals as they got up and running in the Indian Premier League with a six-run victory over Chennai Super Kings.

Following comprehensive defeats to Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders, the Royals approached Sunday's match bottom of the table and as one of just two winless teams, along with Mumbai Indians.

But Nitish Rana's speedy 81 took them to 182-9 despite seven of their batters finishing in single figures, then Wanindu Hasaranga took four wickets as CSK fell short in the chase.

Khaleel Ahmed (2-38), Noor Ahmad and Matheesha Pathirana (both 2-28) took two wickets apiece for Chennai, with the former dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal (four) off just the fourth ball.

But Rana ensured Rajasthan were not unduly knocked by that loss, with their 79 runs by the end of the powerplay being their third-best previous figure in any IPL match.

The Royals had reached 124-2 by the time Rana was stumped by MS Dhoni in the 12th over, but their run-scoring slowed after he walked, with captain Riyan Parag (37) and Shimron Hetmyer (19) making the only meaningful contributions from then on.

Having been facing the prospect of a 200-plus target, Chennai will have been delighted to limit their hosts to 182, but the chase got off to a dismal start when their leading run scorer Rachin Ravindra fell to the re-energised Jofra Archer for a four-ball duck.

Missed this sight  pic.twitter.com/vpQUzdRyWM

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) March 30, 2025

Though it took seven overs for the Royals to take another wicket, Chennai's slow scoring rate was a concern as Archer (1-13) bowled frugally. 

But it was Hasaranga that left the Super Kings' chase in real jeopardy with a spell of four straight wickets between overs eight and 16, having big fish Ruturaj Gaikwad caught for 63 for the last of those.

Ravindra Jadeja's unbeaten 32 ensured it would be a tense finish, and when Jamie Overton (11) slammed a six off the third ball from the finish, Chennai had a chance, needing two more maximums to complete an escape act.

But Overton was unable to clear the boundary again as Chennai slumped to a second straight defeat, having also lost by 50 runs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday.

Fell once. Fell twice. Gave it out all to come back tonight  pic.twitter.com/epacwzenVu

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) March 30, 2025

Data debrief: Chennai found wanting

The Super Kings made a winning start to their IPL campaign with a hard-fought victory over Mumbai, but were well short against RCB.

And though the margin of defeat was narrower this time out, they failed to score at the required pace after taking up the bat. Chennai have not successfully chased a target of more than 180 runs since 2019, falling short in their last nine chases of 180-plus.

Their lack of firepower remains a major concern. While the Royals put up 79 runs in the powerplay, Chennai only managed five through their first three overs and 28 by the end of the fifth.

When they attempted to pick things up midway through the innings, Hasaranga (4-35) made them pay, recording just his second four-for in the IPL and his first since 2022.