Published: March 30, 2026 at 11:02 pm
For a side looking to turn a corner, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Monday evening seem to have walked straight into another dead end. CSK, who had ended up at the bottom of the table last season, did not do any better in their opening IPL 2026 game against Rajasthan Royals as they crashed to a humiliating eight-wicket loss at the Barasapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
CSK are literally a walking wounded team as they have been plagued by a series of injuries to their players. Talismanic MS Dhoni has been ruled out for at least two weeks with a calf injury and Dewald Brevis could miss a couple of matches. Nathan Ellis was ruled out for the entire season, and his replacement Spencer Johnson is recovering from a back injury.
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Hence, even before the first ball was bowled in Guwahati, CSK were at the receiving end. However, it turned out to be a night to remember for Rajasthan Royals’ bowlers. The night also gave a glimpse of the Super Kings sans Dhoni. The five-times IPL champions looked completely out of sorts and clueless.
Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a patient unbeaten 38 to steer Rajasthan Royals to a thumping eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in their opening game in Guwahati on Monday night
“Felt the conditions at the start were tough, especially against Jofra. It was tough against medium pacers, spinners were getting assistance as well. Maybe we could’ve batted deeper but you never know a good score these days so had to keep going. You just put it behind and move on. Next game in three days. Lots of youngsters in the group, nervy start but good to get a game behind. I’m not a firm believer of going all out all the way, but you don’t know the par score with the impact player, 150-170 is chased down easily,” CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad said.
CSK batters make a mess
It was not the start which CSK were hoping for with new recruit Sanju Samson (6) expected to bolster the top order. But Nandre Burger had other ideas as he uprooted Sanju’s stumps to set the cat among the pigeons. To make things worse, Joffra Archer bowled skipper Gaikwad (6) and then Burger dismissed Ayush Mhatre first ball for a duck and CSK never really recovered from the early blows.
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Sandeep Sharma accounted for Matthew Short (2) and the wily old Ravindra Jadeja exacted revenge against his old team by getting rid of Sarfaraz Khan (17) and Shivam Dube (6) to leave CSK tottering at 57 for six. Kartik Sharma (18) looked promising but gave into the pressure.
Rajasthan Royals pacer Nandre Burger celebrates the wicket of Ayush Mhatre in Guwahati on Monday night. Pics: BCCI/IPL
It was left to No.8 Jamie Overton to salvage something out of the chaos. Overton made a 36-ball 43 with two fours and two sixes before he was the last man to fall. He was run out by Shimron Hetmyer. Overton shared a 33-run stand with Anshul Kamboj (7) for the last wicket.
“Pink looks good on me. I know Dube for a long period, was bowling to him the nets, knew what he’ll do. I bowled outside off, knew he’ll play big shots. Wicket was sticky, odd ball was turning. Job was to put the ball in the right areas, wicket was doing its thing. You can’t take anything for granted in cricket. Have to play good shots regardless of the target,” said Ravindra Jadeja, who had till last season donned the yellow colour.
Vaibhav shuts out CSK
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi then took over the show and shut CSK out of the game. The duo added 75 for the first wicket off 38 balls with Vaibhav doing the bulk of the scoring. He struck a 17-ball 52 after he was let off on zero. Vaibhav had scored a 15-ball 50 to scorch the field.
After Vaibhav fell to Kamboj, Yashasvi took charge of the proceedings and ensured a big win for his side. Yashasvi remained unbeaten on 38 as Royals made 128 for two in 12.1 overs.
“Cake cutting was to happen, but I slept early as they smear cake all over the face. Plan was to go big in the powerplay. Wicket was sticky early on but then it eased up. I think of defending but the plan was to decide the game in the powerplay as we’d restricted them to a low score. The coaches have told me that they back me and they’re behind me. Prep went well, we were here early, they told me to read the decision and back my game. After every ball, Jaiswal doesn’t tell me to take a single. He tells me that the ball’s going off the bat nicely and to keep going,” Vaibhav said after the game.
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 127 in 19.4 overs (Jamie Overton 43; Jofra Archer 2/19, Nandre Burger 2/26, Ravindra Jadeja 2/18) lost to Rajasthan Royals 128 for two in 12.1 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 38 not out, Vaibhav Suryavanshi 52, Riyan Parag 14 not out; Anshul Kamboj 2/27).
