Sanju Samson Flatters To Deceive On CSK Debut: Nandre Burger Castles RR Export In IPL 2026

Sanju Samson's much-awaited Chennai Super Kings (CSK) debut ended in resounding disappointment with the bat, as his off stump was uprooted in the second over of their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati on Monday (March 30, 2026).

South African left-arm seamer Nandre Burger extracted disconcerting seam movement off a spicy Barsapara Stadium surface, beating Samson's attempted heave across the line to clean him up for a seven-ball six. The Kerala heartthrob's first innings in Yellow was thus cut short swiftly.

ALSO READ: RR Vs CSK Live Score

Samson was inducted into CSK in a blockbuster trade that saw Ravindra Jadeja returning to RR and Sam Curran joining him. On Monday, the wicketkeeper-batter saw himself up against the team he had captained for more than a decade. For RR, Samson's departure signalled the end of an era and the beginning of another under Riyan Parag, who began his captaincy stint playing at his home ground.

Earlier, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad lost the toss and was invited to bat first by Parag amid overcast conditions. Parag said at the toss to former India spinner Murali Kartik: "There's been a lot of rain here actually. So even though it is a red soil wicket, it's going to be a little moisture. So we want to try and extract that in the first few overs and then see how we go back into the game."

His pacers did exactly that in the powerplay, reducing CSK to 19 for three in the fourth over. Jadeja (2/18 off three overs) and other RR bowlers joined the party with a strong collective effort to bundle CSK out for 127 in 19.4 overs.

The Chennai-based franchise had a torrid previous season. They were the first team to be eliminated and finished 10th and last in IPL 2025. RR did not fare much better, becoming the second side to be knocked out and ending up in the ninth spot.

In the 2026 season, CSK will next host Punjab Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on April 3, while RR will visit Gujarat Giants at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on April 4.

RR Vs CSK, IPL 2026: Playing XIs

Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, Matthew Short, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Jamie Overton, Noor Ahmad, Matt Henry, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed

Impact sub: Sarfaraz Khan

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Riyan Parag (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma

Impact sub options: Donovan Ferreira, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Ravi Singh, Sushant Mishra, Tushar Deshpande