Guwahati, March 31: Under the captaincy of Riyan Parag, Rajasthan Royals kicked off IPL 2026 with a spectacular victory, defeating Chennai Super Kings by 8 wickets at the Barsapara cricket Stadium on Monday. This win marks Rajasthan’s largest victory in terms of balls remaining in IPL history.
Chasing a target of 128 runs set by Chennai, Rajasthan achieved the score in just 12.1 overs, losing only 2 wickets. They secured their first win of IPL 2026 with 47 balls to spare. Previously, in 2014, Rajasthan had chased down a target against Royal Challengers Bangalore with 42 balls remaining.
Fifteen-year-old batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi showcased an outstanding performance, scoring 52 runs off just 17 balls, completing his half-century in a mere 15 deliveries. With a strike rate of 305, Vaibhav hit 4 fours and 5 sixes during his innings. Yashasvi Jaiswal also contributed significantly, remaining unbeaten with 38 runs off 36 balls.
On the other hand, the performance of Chennai Super Kings’ batsmen was disappointing. The batting order collapsed like a house of cards, with the entire team bowled out for just 127 runs. Jamie Overton was the top scorer for Chennai, making 43 runs, while Karthik Sharma added 18 runs off 15 balls.
For Rajasthan, Jofra Archer delivered an impressive bowling performance, taking 2 wickets for just 19 runs in his 4 overs. Nandre Burger also claimed 2 wickets, conceding 26 runs. Ravindra Jadeja’s spinning deliveries troubled Chennai’s batsmen, as he took 2 wickets for 18 runs in 3 overs, dismissing Shivam Dube and Sarfaraz Khan.
This victory marks Rajasthan Royals’ 16th win against CSK in IPL history. With this win, Rajasthan now shares the second position with Punjab Kings for the most victories against Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. The record for the most wins against CSK belongs to Mumbai Indians, who have defeated Chennai in 21 matches.