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Chennai Super Kings’ batting woes have not seemed to fade away in IPL 2026, as the side suffered a crushing eight wickets defeat at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.

Even after several heavy trade exchanges and expensive auction buys, their batting problems did not quite improve and once again came under pressure.

Top order collapse and brief resistance

After being invited to bat first, CSK batting crumbled with Sanju Samson and their skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad departing for just six runs each. The top order failed to settle as the top four did not even reach double digits. The innings never found momentum and kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

Among the few positives, Sarfaraz Khan and Kartik Sharma showed some resistance with 17 and 18 runs respectively, but their stays were cut short as both were trapped LBW.

The only batter who showed some intent was English all-rounder Jamie Overton, who played a fluent knock of 43 runs from 36 deliveries, though it was not enough to challenge the opposition.

Rajasthan Royals bowling dominates

Rajasthan Royals produced a complete bowling performance where every bowler contributed. No bowler went wicketless in the innings.

Nandre Burger led the attack with two wickets with the new ball. Jofra Archer also impressed with two wickets for just 19 runs, while Ravindra Jadeja made an impact against his former franchise.

In response, Rajasthan Royals made light work of the chase. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi put up a 75 run opening stand in just 38 deliveries.

Sooryavanshi stole the spotlight with a 15 ball half century and scored 52 runs from 17 balls at a strike rate of over 305. Dhruv Jurel added quick runs with 18 off 9 balls before Riyan Parag and Jaiswal guided the team home comfortably.

CSK's bowling under pressure

For CSK, it was a disappointing outing with the ball as well. Only Anshul Kamboj managed to pick up two wickets. The rest of the attack failed to apply consistent pressure and struggled to contain the RR batters.

Rajasthan Royals chased down the target in 12.1 overs with 8 wickets in hand. The comprehensive win will boost their net run rate while Chennai Super Kings will be left searching for answers after a disappointing start to their IPL 2026 campaign.

Also READ: Sanju Samson registers 'an unwanted record' after early dismissal in Guwahati