Rajasthan Royals (RR) delivered a spectacular performance against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their IPL 2026 opener at Guwahati on Sunday, restricting their opponents to just 127 before comfortably reaching the target in a mere 12.1 overs. Captain Riyan Parag’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss proved brilliant, as fast bowlers Nandre Burger and Jofra Archer provided an excellent start by claiming four wickets during the powerplay. Former CSK star Ravindra Jadeja made a memorable impact against his previous team, claiming two wickets in one over, while Sanju Samson struggled in his maiden CSK appearance. In pursuit of 128, RR’s remarkable 15-year-old talent Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed an explosive 15-ball fifty, setting up a dominant win. Rajasthan Royals Pushed For A Strong Win Against CSK .
TOSS
Rajasthan Royals won the toss and chose to field first.
PLAYING XI
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI):
Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Ayush Mhatre, Matthew Short, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Matt Henry, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI):
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Riyan Parag(c), Dhruv Jurel(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
CSK’s challenging start was evident when Sarfaraz Khan entered as the Impact Player in just the fourth over. Star signing Sanju Samson’s innings ended disappointingly in the second over, falling to Nandre Burger while attempting to play across the line. Jofra Archer clean bowled captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, while Ayush Mhatre was caught behind attempting a pull shot off Burger, leaving CSK struggling at 19 for 3. Despite Sarfaraz’s promising strokes, Matt Short’s departure in the sixth over to Sandeep Sharma pushed CSK deeper into trouble at 38 for 4.
Former CSK favorite Ravindra Jadeja entered the attack in the eighth over just as the team hoped to stabilize. He quickly disrupted any recovery plans by trapping Sarfaraz lbw. Power-hitter Shivam Dube managed a six in the same over, but Jadeja responded cleverly, enticing him into another aggressive shot that found long-off.
Jamie Overton emerged as CSK’s bright spot. Arriving at number 8 with his team struggling at 57 for 6 after eight overs, he immediately took charge of a rescue mission. While wickets fell around him, Overton displayed remarkable patience, batting through most of the remaining overs to push CSK beyond 120. A run-out in the final over ended both his valuable contribution and CSK’s difficult innings.
RAJASTHAN ROYALS
The spotlight belonged entirely to Sooryavanshi’s fearless approach. Whether launching Henry over deep midwicket for six, cutting the same bowler for another maximum, or confidently handling Anshul Kamboj’s bowling, Sooryavanshi demonstrated once more why he deserves this platform despite celebrating his 15th birthday just three days earlier. Second seasons often challenge young players, but Sooryavanshi appeared unaffected by such expectations in these early stages. His scoring pattern resembled an hourglass – from midwicket to long-on on one side, and fine leg to point on the other – perfectly illustrating his positioning skills as he dominated the CSK bowling attack.
Brief scores:
CSK 127 in 19.4 overs [Jamie Overton 43 (36); Jofra Archer 2-19, Ravindra Jadeja 2-18, Nandre Burger 2-26] lost to RR 128/2 in 12.1 overs [Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 52 (17), Yashasvi Jaiswal 38 (36); Anshul Kamboj 2-27] by 8 wickets.
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