Guwahati, March 30: Rajasthan Royals pacers Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger dominated the Chennai Super Kings' top order before Ravindra Jadeja took a double wicket, as the visitors were dismissed for just 127 in the IPL 2026 match at the ACA Stadium on Monday.
Without the calming presence of MS Dhoni and Dewald Brevis, CSK's young batting unit struggled on a red soil pitch that provided early assistance to bowlers, thanks to some pre-match drizzle. Archer and Burger each took two wickets, while Jadeja had two in the eighth over, in a disciplined bowling performance for RR.
Only Jamie Overton showed resilience, counterattacking at number eight with a gritty 43 off 36 balls that lifted CSK from 84/8 to a total that showed some semblance of respectability. However, the total remained significantly below par, giving RR a golden opportunity to start their campaign on a winning note under new full-time captain Riyan Parag.
Archer began by swinging the ball both ways to trouble Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the opening over. Nandre Burger then made the first breakthrough by dismissing Samson for 6 with a delivery that turned away and hit the off-stump.
Archer returned to remove Gaikwad in his second over - the CSK captain backed away to access the off-side but missed a straight ball and was bowled for 6. Burger intensified the collapse in the third over as Ayush Mhatre was dismissed for a duck - gloving a bouncer to keeper Dhruv Jurel, as RR got the decision in their favor on review.
Sarfaraz Khan came in as an impact substitute and began his resistance by pulling Burger for four and six in successive balls. After debutant Brijesh Sharma impressed by conceding only six runs in the fourth over, Sarfaraz continued to counterattack to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Sandeep Sharma struck immediately in the final over of the powerplay as Matthew Short, who struggled to get going, chipped a slower ball straight to mid-wicket for two, as CSK closed the powerplay at 41/4. After that, CSK suffered two major blows - Sarfaraz attempted a sweep off ex-CSK stalwart Ravindra Jadeja, but missed it and was trapped lbw for 17, while Shivam Dube holed out to long-off.
CSK's slide continued as Brijesh Sharma beat Kartik's inside edge and trapped him plumb lbw for 18, while Noor Ahmed edged behind to Jurel off Archer and Ravi Bishnoi took a sharp caught and bowled chance after foxing Matt Henry with a googly. However, thanks to Jamie Overton nailing boundaries alongside Anshul Kamboj, CSK were able to cross the 120-mark, before a complete confusion resulted in the former being run-out.
Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 127 in 19.4 overs (Jamie Overton 43, Kartik Sharma 18; Ravindra Jadeja 2-18, Jofra Archer 2-19) against Rajasthan Royals
