Nitish Rana smashes R Ashwin for three consecutive boundaries through sweep shots in RR vs CSK IPL 2025 match [Watch]

Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Nitish Rana was at his absolute best in the powerplay against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2025 Indian Premier League clash at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday, March 30. The left-handed batter belted veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for three consecutive boundaries to get his side off to a brilliant start.

Rana came into bat at No. 3 instead of Riyan Parag, and the change worked wonders almost instantaneously. After Yashasvi Jaiswal's dismissal in the first over, Rana took charge with a flurry of boundaries. CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad brought on R Ashwin into the attack in the fifth over after Jamie Overton conceded 30 runs off his first two overs.

Rana executed a flawless sweep shot to send the ball over square leg for a six, and he repeated the stroke to yield the same result. Ashwin dished out a full toss next, which was also swept to the boundary in the same manner with disdain. The onslaught forced not only a field change, but also for the spinner to change his angle and bowl defensively to close out the over. Have a look at the string of boundaries right here:

This was Nitish Rana's first fifty since the 2023 season, which had also interestingly come against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Nitish Rana races to a 21-ball fifty inside the powerplay against CSK in IPL 2025

The left-handed Rana, after a couple of poor scores to begin his stint with RR, made the most of his brisk start. After taking down Ashwin in the penultimate over of the powerplay, he proceeded to hit three more boundaries off Khaleel Ahmed the following over to bring up his half-century.

Rana was adjudged out by the on-field umpire after being hit on the pads while attempting another sweep shot off Ashwin in the ninth over. However, ball tracking showed that the ball would have missed the stumps, giving the batter a major reprieve. At the time of writing, Rana was unbeaten on 65 runs off 31 balls and RR cruising at 92-2 after nine overs.