It was a carnage by the hosts Rajasthan Royals in their opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 against five-time champions Chennai Super Kings at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on March 30.
The toss was delayed due to untimely rain, but it did not matter much in this contest as the game went on without much interruption. After winning the toss, Riyag Parag invited CSK to bat first on a green wicket. What followed was a total disaster for the visitors, as they were bundled out for just 127 runs in their 19.4 overs, as they also lost eight wickets.
Chasing a modest target, RR started off with a bang. The openers, Yashaswi Jaiswal, and Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored 75 runs in just 6.2 overs. The hosts eventually chased down the target in just 12.1 overs.
RR vs CSK: Talking points
1. Ravindra Jadeja makes a fairytale return to RR
From RR, the bowlers dominated the innings, and it was a total collective effort. Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger took two wickets each, whereas Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, and Brijesh Sharma took a wicket each as well. But, it was all about the man who made a sensational comeback into the RR colours, Ravindra Jadeja. The legendary all-rounder had a perfect outing as he picked up two wickets against his former side.
Jadeja marks return to RR with double whammy versus CSK
2. Vaibhav Suryavanshi puts on a batting masterclass
The teenage sensation put on a clinic as he smashed a 15-ball fifty to celebrate his fifteenth birthday. He got out after scoring 52 off just 17 balls. This was the second-fastest fifty for the 2008 IPL champions. He also has a 17-ball fifty to his name already. He continues to stun everyone with his batting epics.
Flair on display 🔥
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the house 😎
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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 30, 2026
3. The great CSK collapse
It was a batting disaster from the visitors in this encounter. They lost both of their experienced openers, Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad for just 19 runs, and they could not recover from the collapse. They were further reduced to 57 for 6 at one stage.
They were bundled out for just 127 runs in their 19.4 overs, as they also lost eight wickets. Jamie Overton was the top scorer with the bat for them, scoring 43 runs in 36 balls. Batters like Sarfaraz Khan (17 off 12 balls) and Kartik Sharma (18 off 15 balls) got the starts but could not capitalise on it.
4. Are CSK missing MS Dhoni and Dewald Brevis?
The absence of MS Dhoni and Dewald Brevis was clearly felt for the Chennai-based franchise. Brevis is known for his ultra-aggressive batting against spin bowling, and that is exactly what was missing from CSK’s batting tonight. MS Dhoni is known for his batting, especially during a batting collapse. MSD would have been an ideal batter in these kinds of conditions.
RR vs CSK: Who Said What?
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Chennai Super Kings captain
“Frustrated?) Not much, to be honest. I felt the conditions at the start were really tough, especially when facing Jofra and Burger. They bowled brilliant lengths and even after that, to a medium-pacer it was slightly tough. You could see even the spinners were getting some assistance as well. Yes, we would have been better in batting, we would have taken the game deep, showed some batsmanship, maybe take the game till 150-160. I think it just one of those days where the wicket was slightly on the tougher side. So not frustrated at all. (Do you reassess as a group?) You just put it behind and move on. We’ve got a game in another three days. Make sure that everyone is in a good headspace. One good thing is, a lot of youngsters in the group. So, probably a nervy start for everyone, but good to get a game behind and good to start with lot of mistakes. Hopefully it will be just improvement after here.”
Riyan Parag, Rajasthan Royals captain
“I got lucky with the toss. We knew that the moisture was going to play a part. Everyone executed their plans. A lot of prep has gone into it. The goal this year to win the trophy. We want to be a team that wants to play smart cricket. Brijesh, what he did was insane. What I tell him (Vaibhav) is he’s going to play 14 games. He goes and does something like that. Really happy to have him in my team. Dhruv Jurel comes in at three, Hettie at five. Hopefully we win with this batting line-up.”
Nandre Burger, Player of the Match
“Firstly, all glory to God – it feels great to contribute to a win for the team and get us off to a good start (on his performance). Watching the previous games with big scores, you naturally prepare for chasing something big, so winning the toss and getting the ball first was massive for us and helped us get off to a strong start (on conditions and match situation). The plan is always to get every batter out – I can’t really say I meant to bowl that exact delivery to Sanju Samson, it just happened, you can call it natural variation – but overall the idea was to bowl tight lines and make batters hit into the areas we wanted, so I’m glad it worked in my favour today. The dressing room feels pretty similar to before – there are a few new faces and changes like the coach and captain, but the energy is good, everyone is smiling, and hopefully this is a positive start so we can keep that momentum going.”
