New DelhiIn their Indian Premier League 2026 opening match at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, Chennai Super Kings were crushed early on by Rajasthan Royals. CSK lost both of their openers, Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad, as well as No. 3 Ayush Mhatre, rather quickly after being ordered to bat first.
Samson and Ruturaj were both dismissed for six runs each, with Jofra Archer deceiving the CSK captain and Nandre Burger cleaning up the former. Burger nicked Mhatre behind off a short ball, dismissing him for a golden duck. Sarfaraz Khan had to be called in by CSK as their Impact substitute for Mhatre.
When Sandeep Sharma struck and Matthew Short chipped one to Yashasvi Jaiswal at mid-wicket, CSK's already dire situation at 19/3 worsened. After the first six overs, CSK was in complete disarray at 41/4.
In the meantime, fans are mocking CSK's demise in a plethora of memes on social media. Some supporters wanted CSK to surpass 49, which is the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's lowest all-out total. Some expressed their annoyance at the five-time champions' predicament.
Here are some memes about CSK's demise:After winning the toss, RR decided to bowl.
In the match against the Super Kings, RR captain Riyan Parag has confirmed that his team will bowl first. "First, we're bowling. Actually, a lot of rain has fallen here. Therefore, there will be some moisture even though it is a red soil wicket. Thus, we want to see how we return to the game after attempting to extract that in the first few overs. (On leading RR) It's pleasant. It's really overwhelming. I've spent the last eight years with this franchise. I feel that the support has been amazing as I've gone from being a 17-year-old to being here as captain.
"Every one of my peers has been incredibly helpful and encouraging to me. Thus, it should be a successful campaign for us. I believe winning the championship is the main objective. I believe that through the trades and the auction, we have made an effort to have a large number of intelligent cricket players, all-rounders, and individuals with a variety of skills so that we can adjust and play appropriately in situations like this, a flat wicket in Mumbai, or a green top in Kolkata. So that's the plan. "Nandre, Jofra, Donovan, and I have four overseas," Parag stated during the toss.
Actually, bowling first was a no-brainer. We would have preferred to bowl first because the wicket has been covered for a while and the weather is cloudy, but we'll try to get off to a good start. (On having a lot of young players on the team) Well, we didn't make that decision at the beginning of the cycle, but you can see how the past year truly went for us. And that's how we envisioned going into the auction with a plan, identifying the best options available, integrating them into the team and culture, and hoping for a successful outcome. So