Guwahati, March 31: In the third match of IPL 2026, Chennai Super Kings faced an 8-wicket defeat against Rajasthan Royals. CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad acknowledged that the team’s poor batting performance contributed to their loss. He stated, “We could have performed better with the bat.”
After the match, Ruturaj commented, “I felt the conditions were quite challenging at the start, especially against Archer and Burger. They bowled exceptionally well. You could see that the pitch was assisting spinners as well. Yes, we could have done better with our batting. We could have pushed the game further. If we had showcased some skills, we might have reached a score between 150 and 160. However, these days, you never know what a good score might be. You just have to keep scoring runs. I think it was one of those days when the wicket was a bit tricky. Nonetheless, I am not disappointed at all.”
The performance of CSK’s batsmen against Rajasthan Royals was disappointing. Sanju Samson managed only 6 runs after facing 7 balls, while captain Ruturaj was bowled out for 6 runs by Jofra Archer. Ayush Mhatre returned to the pavilion without scoring, and Matthew Short could only add 2 runs. Sarfaraz Khan scored 17 runs off 12 balls before falling to Jadeja. Young batsman Kartik Sharma contributed 18 runs. Shivam Dube also struggled, getting out for just 6 runs. Jamie Overton was the standout performer for the team, scoring 43 runs off 36 balls, helping CSK cross the 100-run mark.
Overton hit 2 fours and 2 sixes during his innings. Eight of CSK’s batsmen failed to reach double digits. The bowling unit also struggled to find their rhythm. Matt Henry conceded 40 runs in 3 overs, while Noor Ahmad gave away 24 runs in 2 overs without taking a wicket. However, Anshul Kamboj showed promise, taking 2 wickets for 27 runs in 3 overs. CSK will face Punjab Kings in their next match on April 3.
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