Guwahati, March 30 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals pacers Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger ripped through Chennai Super Kings top-order before Ravindra Jadeja made a double-strike, as the visitors were bundled out for just 127 in the IPL 2026 clash at the ACA Stadium on Monday.

Missing the calming presence of MS Dhoni and Dewald Brevis, CSK’s young batting unit faltered on a red-soil pitch offering early assistance to bowlers, thanks to some pre-match drizzle. Archer and Burger made the ball talk to pick two wickets each while Jadeja had two in the eighth over in a disciplined bowling performance for RR.

Only Jamie Overton showed fight, counterattacking at number eight with a gritty 43 off 36 balls that lifted CSK from 84/8 to a total showing some semblance of respectability. But the total remained well below-par, leaving RR with a golden opportunity to start their campaign on a winning note under new full-time captain Riyan Parag.

Archer began by swinging the ball both ways to trouble Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the opening over. Nandre Burger then made the first breakthrough by knocking over Samson for 6 with a delivery that shaped away and crashed into the off-stump.

Archer returned to remove Gaikwad in his second over – the CSK skipper backed away to access the off-side but missed a straight ball and was bowled for six. Burger intensified the collapse in the third over as Ayush Mhatre fell for a golden duck – gloving a bouncer to keeper Dhruv Jurel, as RR got the decision in their favour on review.

Sarfaraz Khan came in as the impact substitute and began his resistance by pulling Burger for four and six in successive balls. After debutant Brijesh Sharma impressed by conceding only six runs in the fourth over, Sarfaraz kept counterattacking to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Sandeep Sharma struck immediately in the final over of power-play as Matthew Short, who struggled to get going, chipped a slower ball straight to mid-wicket for two, as CSK closed the power-play at 41/4. Post that, CSK suffered two major blows – Sarfaraz attempted a sweep off ex-CSK stalwart Ravindra Jadeja, but missed it and was trapped lbw for 17, while Shivam Dube holed out to long-off.

CSK’s slide continued as Brijesh Sharma beat Kartik’s inside edge, and trapped him plumb lbw for 18, while Noor Ahmed edged behind to Jurel off Archer and Ravi Bishnoi took a sharp caught and bowled chance after foxing Matt Henry with a googly. But thanks to Jamie Overton nailing boundaries alongside Anshul Kamboj, CSK were able to cross the 120-mark, before a complete confusion resulted in the former being run-out.

Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 127 in 19.4 overs (Jamie Overton 43, Kartik Sharma 18; Ravindra Jadeja 2-18, Jofra Archer 2-19) against Rajasthan Royals

–IANS

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