Chennai Super Kings’ harrowing time in the IPL continues.
The five-time champions, who finished rock-bottom last year, got off to the worst possible start in IPL 2026 as Rajasthan Royals were all over them on Monday, thrashing them by eight wickets in Guwahati.
The Super Kings, without icon and former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni — who’s out for a fortnight with a calf injury — were in real danger of being bundled out for just a double-digit total, before Jamie Overton (43 off 36 balls) got a few runs at the fag end of their innings to somehow stretch the team total to 127 in 19.4 overs. If not for the last-wicket partnership of 33 between the England bowler all-rounder and Anshul Kamboj (7 not out), the Super Kings would have folded a lot earlier.
For them to turn things around this season, CSK rely a lot on their new entrant Sanju Samson. Fresh from his success with Team India in their T20 World Cup campaign, keeper-batter Samson could manage just 6 in his first appearance for the Super Kings.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
The Royals, who had a paltry total to overhaul, cruised home with 47 balls remaining, beginning their journey in style. Teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (52 off 17 balls), dropped off the first ball he faced, starred upfront with his relentless strokeplay, as the Royals raced to 74 without loss in six overs.
The pitch did become a tad easier for batting later, while the Super Kings bowlers kept feeding Sooryavanshi with room and width.
In a victory set up by their bowlers, after Royals’ captain Riyan Parag won a good toss, South African quick Nandre Burger (2/26) rocked CSK early with a double blow. Spearhead Jofra Archer and ace spinner all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets apiece, while Sandeep Sharma and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi also found success. So did 27-year-old medium-pacer Brijesh Sharma, a Bengal connection in the Royals’ bowling attack.
Brijesh, who has turned out for Sobisco Smashers Malda in the Bengal Pro T20 League, trapped Kartik Sharma LBW with a pitched-up delivery, giving away only 17 off his three overs.
Decisive spell
Left-arm quick Burger, in his second season in the IPL and also in Royals colours following his debut two years ago, made superb use of the moisture on the Guwahati pitch, which had been under covers due to rain.
Burger struck twice in his first couple of overs, while Archer removed Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad in the third over. Burger bowled a beauty to remove the dangerous Samson, a delivery that pitched on a good length
and shaped away at the last moment to dismantle the batter’s off-stump.
Archer kept it full and straight, which crashed onto the stumps as Gaikwad attempted a rash stroke. Burger, in his next over, dug it short which kissed the gloves off CSK No.3 Ayush Mhatre as he tried to pull it. CSK were reeling at 19/3 in the fourth over.
They still had a bit of hope for a turnaround when Impact Player Sarfaraz Khan (replacing Mhatre) resisted for a little while, with Shivam Dube to come. But Jadeja was at his accurate best to trap Sarfaraz LBW.
Dube began from where he had left off in the T20 World Cup, launching Jadeja over the on-side for a maximum to be off the mark. But in that same over, the left-armer induced a mishit to send Dube back. There was no way back then for CSK.
