Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Nitish Rana was at his brutal best against the Chennai Super Kings as he registered his first fifty of the season, slamming 81 off just 36 balls with the help of ten boundaries and five sixes to help his team reach the target of 182.
Much like the trend of the season, Khaleel Ahmed struck in his first over, removing Yashasvi Jaiswal. Rana walked in at numbers 3 for the first time this season, replacing captain Riyan Parag. With the left-handed Jaiswal dismissed, the left-handed Rana was sent in to maintain the right-left combination.
Classy knock by Nitish
Despite the early loss of a wicket, Rana and Samson took the attack to the bowlers. The former was the aggressor in their 82-run partnership. Jamie Overton was the first to be targeted by Rana, followed by Khaleel, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Noor Ahmad.
As an off-spinner, Ashwin has a great record against left-handed batters, but the way Rana attacked him from the onset was the highlight of his innings. The veteran was never allowed to settle into a particular line or length. Nitish employed the sweep shot beautifully and scored freely off Ashwin. Against pacers, anything short and wide or directed into the body was quickly punished by Rana.
Despite RR’s scoring slowing down after Samson’s dismissal, Rana kept finding the occasional boundary. In the 12th over, he took on Ashwin again, smashing a four and a six before getting out. Chasing a wide delivery, he was stumped. This marked his third fifty against CSK and made him the first player to notch a half-century inside the Powerplay this season.