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Rajasthan Royals leg-break spinner Wanindu Hasaranga entered an exclusive club after bagging a four-wicket haul against Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
Hasaranga singlehandedly broke the backbone of Chennai's attempt to chase down 183 on Guwahati's surface. He tore CSK's batting order apart by cleaning up Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad. He ended his full bowling quota of four overs with searing figures of 4/35 and became just the third spinner to register a four-wicket haul against Chennai in the cash-rich league. Former ball tweaker Harbhajan Singh was the first to script the feat to his name after dazzling for Mumbai Indians and claiming 5/18 against the five-time champions in 2011. Brad Hogg became the second player to enter the club with his 4/29 for Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens in 2015. The Sri Lankan spinner also became just the second bowler for the Royals to take a 4-plus wicket haul against CSK after former Pakistan speedster Sohail Tanvir's 6/14 in Jaipur in the inaugural edition. While Hasaranga relished his personal and Rajasthan's success, CSK were handed a reality check. Considered to be one of the consistent sides in the tournament's history, Chennai have lost each of the nine games in which they were asked to chase a 175-plus target since IPL 2021. They won the toss in seven of these encounters, including their defeat against Rajasthan in Guwahati on Sunday and still failed to get the job done. After Rajasthan lost the toss, Nitish Rana's rollicking 81 from 36 raised the heat in the stadium and lifted the Royals to a competitive 182/9. In reply, Chennai struggled right from the get-go and struggled to keep the required rate in check. Eventually, it got far away from CSK's reach as they settled for a narrow six-run defeat. (ANI)
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