That's a wrap for our coverage of the IPL 2026 clash between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. RR begin their campaign with a +4.171 NRR win that sees them take top spot for the time being.

Stay tuned to NDTV Sports, as we bring you the match between last year's runners-up Punjab Kings and 2022 champions Gujarat Titans face off. Goodnight!

CSK finished rock bottom in IPL 2025, and their first game of IPL 2026 doesn't paint a positive picture. Yes, they're missing many key players to injury, but they'll still struggle to justify the batting collapse of today. 

Be it with bat or ball, Rajasthan Royals completely humbled Chennai Super Kings today. Nandre Burger and Jofra Archer did the early damage with the ball, Ravindra Jadeja then took two in one over, and CSK never really recovered. And then Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed a scintillating fifty to make mincemeat of the target.

A really promising start for RR, who appear to have struck the right balance this year.

Rajasthan Royals win! They've completed it in just 12.1 overs. A massive, massive victory. A superb bowling performance, and then Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's superb half-century ensured CSK never stood a chance of defending the total.

RR 128/2 (12.1)

RR beat CSK by 8 wickets.

Yashasvi Jaiswal finally slams a 6. Steps out and slams Matt Henry for a maximum over long-off. That shot finally takes his strike-rate over 100. RR 1 run away from victory at the end of the 12th over.

RR 127/2 (12)

What a shot by Riyan Parag! He nails the reverse-sweep and smashes Noor Ahmad for 6 over deep point. Rajasthan Royals now just 13 runs away from victory.

RR 115/2 (11)

Parag through extra cover! Slower ball from Khaleel, RR's captain punches it for 4 runs. Rajasthan Royals will be eyeing victory in the next couple of overs.

RR 106/2 (10)

In stark contrast to CSK, Rajasthan Royals have raced to the 100-run mark in just 8.4 overs. Victory is in sight for the Royals, and captain Riyan Parag would be hoping to take them home in front of his home crowd.

RR 100/2 (9)

Dhruv Jurel departs! He has done his job. RR clearly want to wrap this game up quickly and achieve a huge net-run-rate (NRR) gain. Jurel slams two more boundaries, before getting cleaned up by Kamboj for his second wicket of the game. 18 off 9 by Jurel.

RR 99/2 (8.3)

Dhruv Jurel and Yashasvi Jaiswal dealing in boundaries! Jurel attacks the leg-side, first getting a boundary with a well-timed flick and then pulling it towards fine-leg. Jaiswal gets a boundary on the final ball, helping it over the keeper's head.

RR 91/1 (8)

GONE! Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's knock ends. Anshul Kamboj gets the wicket. Vaibhav hit it firmly again, but Sarfaraz Khan takes a good catch after running in from the deep. The 15-year-old sensation departs for 52 off 17.

RR 75/1 (6.2)

50 off 15 balls for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi! He hammers Noor Ahmad for two sixes over long-on and gets to his half-century in style. WOW. Brutal, brutal hitting from the dashing left-hander. 19 off Noor's over.

Joint third-fastest half-century in IPL history, and that's gonna be hard to beat this season.

RR 74/0 (6)

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is going absolutely berserk! He slams a boundary through the off-side, then gets another 4 thanks to a lucky inside edge, and finally clears wide long-on for a big 6 on the final ball of the 5th over to bring up 50 for RR.

Sooryavanshi up to 38 off 13!

RR 55/0 (5)

What a shot! Terrific hit by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The power, at this age, just never fails to amaze you. Width offered by Henry and thumped over deep point by Sooryavanshi for 6. 

RR 34/0 (3)

Khaleel Ahmed's inswinger traps Sooryavanshi on the pads, but CSK's big appeal is turned down. CSK take the DRS review, but hawkeye shows the ball to be missing wickets. Sooryavanshi slams a boundary on the final ball, over backward point and into the gap.

RR 24/0 (2)

Drama! Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, now 15 years old, looks to go big from ball 1, ends up getting a top edge. The ball goes high in the air, Kartik Sharma gets his hands to it but can't hold on. Some poor fielding after that and it goes for 4.

Sooryavanshi then hammers a huge 6 over deep mid-wicket, but gets another top edge next ball that lands just beyond short third-man. 

The final ball of the over is then caressed for 4 by Jaiswal through fine-leg.

RR 18/0 (1)

After a phenomenal bowling effort by the Royals, it's now their batters' turn to chase this down without much of a fuss. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at the crease. Matt Henry opening the bowling. Jaiswal gets off the mark first ball.

RR 2/0 (0.1)

RUN OUT! CSK are all out for 127. Jamie Overton has played a great hand, but he departs for 43. He hammered a maximum on the first ball of the final over, looked to keep strike and scramble 2, but a great throw from the deep by Shimron Hetmyer leaves him stranded.

CSK 127 all out (19.4)

RR Target: 128

Valuable runs here for CSK! Poor over from Nandre Burger in the context of the game. Does not attempt a yorker against the tail, and a ball down the leg-side is swatted for 4 by Kamboj. 

CSK 118/9 (19)

Chennai Super Kings scrape past 100! Another boundary for Jamie Overton. Riyan Parag gives the ball to Sandeep Sharma over Nandre Burger, but a ball on the pads is whipped away by Overton through fine-leg.

CSK 103/9 (17.1)

Jamie Overton gets another boundary! Four dots in a row as Archer targets him with the short ball. He then goes full, Overton swings hard, and picks up 4 over short third-man. CSK 1 run away from the 100-run mark.

CSK 99/9 (17)

9th wicket goes down! First one for Ravi Bishnoi in RR colours. Soft dismissal, caught and bowled, and Matt Henry departs for 5 runs. Just 1 more wicket left for RR to take.

CSK 94/9 (16)

Matt Henry picks up 4 runs! Brijesh Sharma constantly uses short deliveries against the Kiwi tailenders, he swings hard at one, gets a top edge that goes just over Dhruv Jurel and runs for 4. CSK inching towards the 100-run mark.

CSK 93/8 (15)

GONE! 8th wicket goes down for CSK! Jofra Archer takes his second of the match. Noor Ahmad is caught behind, after a couple of dot balls. CSK are no longer in danger of reaching their lowest IPL total, but the embarrassment continues.

CSK 82/8 (13)

GONE! Brijesh Sharma takes his first-ever T20 wicket! RR's debutant traps Kartik Sharma on the pads, and the umpire gives it out straight away. Kartik takes the review, but hawkeye shows three reds. Riyan Parag is absolutely ecstatic!

CSK 74/7 (11)

10 overs done. Jamie Overton smashes Ravindra Jadeja for a maximum, and takes CSK to 70. The two final recognized batters in the CSK lineup at the crease now. 

CSK are 9 runs short of their lowest-ever IPL total, which is 79.

CSK 70/6 (10)

Drama upon drama! Ravindra Jadeja removes Sarfaraz Khan and Shivam Dube in the same over! Sarfaraz is trapped LBW, Dube then comes and slams a 6 over long-on first ball, then gets out second ball trying to hit over long-off! 

CSK are 57/6 after 8 overs!

CSK 57/6 (8)

Maximum! First big hit for Kartik Sharma, the youngster who was bought for Rs 14.20 crore in the auction. He helps it over deep square-leg for 6 against Ravi Bishnoi.

50-run mark comes up for CSK.

CSK 51/4 (7)

GONE! Another one bites the dust! Sandeep Sharma strikes in his first over! Matt Short goes for a desperate pull, mistimes completely, and a simple catch taken by Yashasvi Jaiswal at mid-wicket.

End of the powerplay. CSK in tatters.

CSK 41/4 (6)

Another boundary for Sarfaraz Khan! The Impact Player is off to a great start here, and has kept CSK's run-rate above 7. Matt Short is struggling to score at the other end, so Sarfaraz's boundaries are keeping CSK going.

CSK 36/3 (5)

Sarfaraz Khan on the charge! He has been brought in as an Impact Player amidst the chaos, and sent in at No. 5. He goes after Nandre Burger, and slams a boundary and a maximum. 

A big appeal on the final ball for a catch, but umpire gives not out. Replays confirm it hit Sarfaraz on the pad, not bat.

CSK 30/3 (4)

OUT! What is going on!? Nandre Burger strikes again! Ayush Mhatre is gone first ball! Terrific short delivery, Mhatre went for a hook, looked to have gloved it. Huge, huge appeal, RR were celebrating, but the umpire gave not out. Riyan Parag took the review, and UltraEdge confirms clear glove.

CSK are 3-down! Nandre Burger is on a hattrick! Sarfaraz Khan has been sent up as an emergency Impact Sub!

CSK 19/3 (3.1)

BOWLED! Ruturaj Gaikwad departs! He slams a boundary against Jofra Archer, but the English speedster bounces back with a terrific yorker! Gaikwad looks to give himself room, but misses the ball, and sees his stumps dismantled.

He goes for 6 off 11. CSK in deep trouble.

CSK 19/2 (3)

GONE! Nandre Burger dismisses Sanju Samson! It was a great over by the experienced South African left-arm seamer, and he breaks through Samson's defence on the final ball of the second over. A tad fuller from Burger, Samson misses his attempted flick, and his stumps are knocked off.

CSK 14/1 (2)

We are LIVE! Jofra Archer takes the new ball, Sanju Samson on strike. Ruturaj Gaikwad at the other end. Samson picks up his first boundary in CSK colours with a thick outside edge through third-man, just past the fielder at wide slip. Bit of luck for the in-form opener.

Nonetheless, a tidy over by Archer. Just 7 off it.

CSK 7/0 (1)

For the first time ever, Chennai Super Kings are lining up for an IPL game without either of MS Dhoni or Suresh Raina, arguably the two most legendary players for the franchise. This brings an end to a 277-game streak of at least one of the two featuring for CSK.

RR XI vs CSK: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Riyan Parag (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma.

RR have put their faith in uncapped pacer Brijesh Sharma. Donovan Ferreira is set to be the Impact Sub.

CSK XI vs RR: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, Matthew Short, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Matt Henry, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed.

Prashant Veer and Gurjapneet Singh among the Impact Subs.

Rajasthan Royals win the toss and opt to bowl! Riyan Parag wins the toss in his first game as RR's permanent captain. Parag, of course, plays for Assam in domestic cricket, and captaining at his home ground.

The toss has been delayed by 5 minutes! Instead of the customary toss time of 7 PM IST, it will now take place at 7:05 PM IST. The positive news is that the rain has stopped!

There is no rain in Guwahati at the moment but forecast suggests that the chances of rain during the match is quite high. While the drainage system in the stadium is considered quite impressive, the chances of a shortened game cannot be ruled out.

The rain has stopped in Guwahati and this is brilliant news for all the cricket fans who were waiting for the game. This will be the first match of the IPL 2026 for both sides and the constant drizzle had all of us worried. However, the rain has stopped and the super soppers are out. The pitch is still under covers as a precaution.

CSK have suffered several injury problems in the build-up to IPL 2026. Nathan Ellis, expected to lead their pace attack this year, was ruled out for the season just before the start. Ellis' replacement, Spencer Johnson, won't join till late-April. Star batter Dewald Brevis will also miss today's match due to injury.

As a result, CSK could be relying on many of their backup players today.

According to reports, it is still raining at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. With less than an hour to go till toss time, the weather is developing into a major concern for both players and fans.

Let's hope the condition improves shortly.

One of the standout storylines attached to today's game is Sanju Samson vs Ravindra Jadeja. Samson and Jadeja were at the centre of the most high-profile trade in IPL history ahead of the season. Samson left RR after 8 years, while Jadeja returned to his first team after 12 trophy-laden years at CSK.

What makes it the most high-profile trade is the amount both players earn. Samson earns Rs 18 crore at CSK, while Jadeja gets Rs 14 crore at RR. 

Chennai Super Kings' legendary former captain MS Dhoni will not play today's game. In fact, he is set to be out for at least the first two or three weeks of IPL 2026 after suffering a calf strain while training. 

Here's what the weather forecast suggests for today. As per AccuWeather, there is a 20% chance of rain right from 7 PM till 11 PM, during which the match will be played. Let's hope it isn't a persistent drizzle.

According to reports, it is currently drizzling at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, the venue for today's encounter. We are just under two hours away from the start of the match. The pitch is under cover, at the moment.

Hello and welcome to NDTV Sports, for the live coverage of the IPL 2026 clash between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). We are at Guwahati today, where the Royals will play their first three home games. They are up against the mighty five-time champions!

Stay tuned for all the live updates from the match.