The Rajasthan Royals, in comprehensive fashion, beat the Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets in Match 3 of the 2026 Indian Premier League at the Barasapara Stadium in Guwahati.
Bowling first on a Guwahati wicket which had been under the covers for the past few days, the Rajasthan seamers found purchase early, as they blew away the Chennai top order. Nandre Burger dismissed Sanju Samson and Ayush Mhatre in successive deliveries in different overs, while Jofra Archer dismissed captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. A flurry of boundaries from Sarfaraz Khan then saw the team consolidate, but they finished the powerplay at 41-4 after Sandeep Sharma dismissed Matthew Short.
Ravindra Jadeja then, on his return to the Royals dressing room, trapped Sarfaraz in front with his second ball of the match, and finished his first over with Shivam Dube holing out to long off after hitting the veteran spinner for a six. At this stage, Chennai were in a dubious position, at 57/6. A late 43 from Jamie Overton took the Super Kings to 127, despite being bowled out. Archer, Burger, and Jadeja finished with two wickets each.
Rajasthan started the chase in fantastic fashion, with Vaibhav Suryavanshi taking the Chennai bowlers all around the park. He took down experienced Chennai bowlers, striking at over 300, as he got to 50 in just 15 balls, the third fastest in the IPL. He was dismissed in the seventh over, for 52, with Rajasthan’s score reading 75/1. The platform was set for the Royals with the 15-year-old’s blitz. Despite losing the wicket of Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, unbeaten on 38, and captain Riyan Parag, unbeaten on 14, led the Royals home with 41 balls to spare. Nandre Burger was awarded the Player of the Match award.
Here are some key stats from RR vs CSK, Match 3, IPL 2026
- Third-fastest half-century in IPL history: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi – 15 balls
- Longest gap between appearances for one team: Ravindra Jadeja – 6,158 days
- Highest 10th-wicket partnership for the Chennai Super Kings: Jamie Overton & Anshul Kamboj – 33 (26)
- Third-lowest first-innings total for Chennai Super Kings against the Rajasthan Royals – 127
- First time since 2020 that Sanju Samson has been dismissed without a half-century in the first game of the season.Â
