Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) endured a tough outing in their first match of IPL 2026, losing to Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Monday. After being put in to bat in Guwahati, CSK suffered a batting collapse and were reduced to 94/9 after 15.3 overs. However, Jamie Overton (43) and Anshul Kamboj put on a record 33-run 10th-wicket stand for CSK in the IPL, steering their side to a total of 127. In response, RR overhauled the total in 12.1 overs thanks to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi‘s 52 off just 17 balls.
The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side, which finished at the bottom last season, entered the new season with renewed hope, blending fresh additions with their retained core.
Former India batter Abhinav Mukund, however, lauded the CSK management for their player relations over the years. Reflecting on his time with the franchise, Mukund noted their tradition of doubling any BCCI prize money, regardless of the match result.
“I think the credit should also go to the management. That time, they clearly told us that whatever prize money BCCI is offering you, whether we are losing or winning, we will double it. And this is a tradition of Chennai from day one. Ask any clear Chennai player, they will say ‘this is a tradition that they have followed’, so at that point it felt like a huge thing,” said Mukund.
Coming back to the match, RR opted to bowl first, and Archer (2/19), Burger (2/26) and Jadeja (2/18) made CSK toil hard for every run as they sank to 57/6 at one point. Knocks from Overton (43 in 36 balls, with two fours and two sixes), Kartik Sharma (18), Sarfaraz Khan (17) helped CSK reach 127 in 19.4 overs before they ran out of batters.
Sooryavanshi (52 in 17 balls, with four boundaries and five sixes) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (38* in 36 balls, with three fours and a six) set up a platform for an easy win with a quickfire 75-run stand.
(With ANI Inputs)