Rajasthan Royals kicked off their IPL 2026 campaign with a dominant 8-wicket thrashing of Chennai Super Kings in Match 3 on Monday (March 30) at Guwahati's Barsapara Stadium.
Without MS Dhoni in the lineup, CSK imploded spectacularly, limping to 127 all out, a total RR chased down with ease and over 7 overs remaining.

After losing the toss and being put in to bat, CSK's innings unravelled on a batsman-friendly pitch. Openers Sanju Samson (6 off 7) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (6 off 11) departed cheaply to Nandre Burger and Jofra Archer. Promising youngster Ayush Mhatre registered a golden duck, and Matthew Short managed only 2 as the top order disintegrated.
RR's bowlers, blending pace and spin from the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, struck repeatedly. Shivam Dube and tailender Jamie Overton mounted brief counters, but clustered dismissals left CSK bowled out in 19.4 overs for a subpar 127.
The Royals' openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, unleashed havoc in the powerplay, targeting Matt Henry and Khaleel Ahmed relentlessly. The 15-year-old Suryavanshi blazed to a sensational 52 off 15 balls before holing out. Dhruv Jurel added a quick 16 until Anshul Kamboj struck, but Jaiswal anchored the innings with an unbeaten 38. RR romped home comfortably, signalling their title intent.
Here are the full list of award winners from the RR vs CSK match.
Super Striker of the Match: Vaibhav Suryavanshi (RR) - SR: 306
Angel One Super Sixes: Vaibhav Suryavanshi (RR) - 5 Sixes
Rupay on the Go Fours: Vaibhav Suryavanshi (RR) - 4 fours
TATA Green Dot Ball Award: Jofra Archer (RR) - 17 dot balls
Player of the Match: Nandre Burger (RR) - 2/26 in 4 overs
"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. But, nowadays, you never know what's a good score, so you just have to keep going. So 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. I'm someone who's not a firm believer of going all the way. But, with the impact player, you never really know what's the good score. So you don't really often see games going down the line till the 20th over when you're defending 150, 160 or 170. So I think it's just about backing yourself, backing your game for the batsmen. If you have it in your area, just make sure you go for it. Today it didn't work but we can be better in batsmanship. You just have to be positive, especially when you're batting first. If conditions are good, you never know, the same batting line-up can put a good score."
Lucky to win the Toss, but the way we executed was superb. We are putting in a lot of time in planning and to become champion is the goal for us. Everyone who came, Jofra, Nandre did superbly. 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. Me and Drhruv were thinking how he was hitting those shots, in awe. Really happy to have him in my team. Dhruv comes in at three, Hettie at five to keep the right-hand left-hand combination going in the latter overs. Hopefully we win with this batting line-up.