Rajasthan Royals started the IPL 2026 season with an emphatic win—a win so powerful that it struck fear in the hearts of other teams. In their very first match played in Guwahati, Rajasthan Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings by a huge margin of 8 wickets. Led by their new captain, Riyan Parag, Rajasthan’s fast bowlers bowled out Chennai for just 127 runs. After this, thanks to a stormy half-century in 15 balls by young opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Rajasthan registered a big win by achieving the target in just 13 overs.
CSK was shaken by the attack of Berger and Archer.
In this third match of the IPL 2026 season played on Monday, March 30, Rajasthan Royals completely dominated. The strategic moves of Rajasthan’s new captain, Riyan Parag—who were playing on their home ground in Guwahati—were a complete success. After winning the toss and electing to bowl first, they completely demolished the CSK top order. The pair of Nandre Berger (2/26) and Jofra Archer (2/19) together created panic in Chennai’s top order; This was a blow from which the team could never recover. Sanju Samson, who returned after performing brilliantly in the T20 World Cup, could not show any magic against his old team; Playing his first match for Chennai, he was out after scoring just 6 runs.
CSK lost 5 wickets for just 51 runs, and by the time the score reached 94, 9 wickets had fallen. It seemed that the team might not be able to cross the 100-run mark, but Jamie Overton saved the team from complete embarrassment by playing an important inning of 43 runs. This experienced all-rounder—who was a part of CSK till last season—also played an important role in helping Chennai reach this bad situation by taking 2 wickets.
Vaibhav single-handedly destroyed the opposing team
After that turn, the match was just a matter of waiting to see how quickly Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s batting would take the team to the target. However, if Karthik Sharma had taken that catch, all hopes could have been dashed in the very first over. Facing his very first ball, Vaibhav played a shot in the air, but Karthik could not catch it. Vaibhav came up with his next chance when he had completed his half-century—a feat he achieved in just 15 balls. Apart from Vaibhav (52 runs in 17 balls, which included 4 fours and 5 sixes), star opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (38) also played a restrained innings and helped the team win in just 12.1 overs.
Rajasthan equalized
With this win, Rajasthan has equaled the head-to-head record against Chennai. So far, 32 matches have been played between the two teams, due to which the record is tied at 16-16. Apart from this, since last season till now, Rajasthan has defeated Chennai in three consecutive matches. In fact, out of the 7 matches played between the two teams since 2022, Rajasthan has won 6 matches; During this period, Chennai’s only win came in 2024.
