inaugural champion of Indian Premier League (IPL) Five-time winners Chennai Super Kings are facing off in the third match of IPL 2026 ACA Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati.
Five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings would like to make a strong start to their campaign with a win in this match. They had a very poor season in 2025, where they finished 10th in the points table. At the same time, the situation was similar with RR, as they also finished second-last. Both the teams would like to make a fresh start from this match.
RR vs CSK: Toss Update
Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag won the toss and decided to bowl first. Since there was a strong possibility of rain-interrupted play, this was a very straightforward decision. He also opened up about what it's like to be the full-time captain of such a successful franchise.
MS Dhoni out due to calf injury
This could be a big blow for CSK, with their former captain MS Dhoni being ruled out of CSK's first few matches in IPL 2026. He suffered a calf strain during training before the tournament. This was earlier confirmed by the franchise, which made an official announcement regarding the veteran's absence. Dewald Brewis of South Africa is also not participating in this competition due to injury. Meanwhile, CSK's new player Karthik Sharma has made his debut.
RR vs CSK: What did the captains say?
Riyan Parag, RR captain
“We are bowling first. It has really rained a lot here. So even though it is a red clay wicket, there will be some moisture in it. So we want to try to get it out in the first few overs and then see how we come back into the game. (Leading RR) It feels good. It feels tremendous. I have been with this franchise for eight years now. And then seeing the transformation that has happened from the age of 17 to being here as captain, I think The support has been incredible.”
Ruturaj Gaikwad, CSK captain
“It was actually not an easy task to bowl first. The wicket has been under cover for a long time, it has been cloudy, so we would have liked to bowl first, but still, we will start on a positive note. (Having a lot of youth in the team) Well, it was not something we had decided at the beginning of the cycle, but you saw how last year really went for us. And so we thought we will go into the auction with some strategy behind it, whatever that may be. The best of the options that are available. What options are available and get them buy into the team and buy them into the culture and hope they run really well, so that was the thought process behind it and hopefully it will work.”
RR vs CSK: Playing 11
Rajasthan Royals
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi JaiswalDhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Riyan Parag (captain), Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Joffra Archer, Nandre Berger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma.
Influential players: Donovan Ferreira, Luan-Dre Pretorius, Ravi Singh, Sushant Mishra, Tushar Deshpande
Chennai Super Kings
sanju samson (wicketkeeper), Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Ayush Mhatre, Matt Short, Shivam Dubey, Karthik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmed, Matt Henry, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed
Influential players: Sarfaraz Khan, Prashant Veer, Rahul Chahar, Gurjapaneet Singh, Ramakrishna Ghosh
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