The Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings will kickstart their 2026 campaign at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati. The RR vs CSK match will be the third game in the upcoming IPL season. The giants of the two teams, Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja, clash against their former teams.
Sanju Samson was traded from the Rajasthan Royals to the Chennai Super Kings ahead of the IPL 2026 mini-auction. This decision was made considering the future of the franchise, which has always had the best wicket-keeper batter in India. CSK instead released their most veteran star, Ravindra Jadeja, for this trade.
The following article includes a preview of the RR vs CSK match in the IPL. The article will also include the squads of both the franchises, the probable playing XI, the key player battle featuring players from two teams, the pitch and weather report, and the best possible performers in the contest.
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RR vs CSK Match 3 Preview:
Date and Venue:
The ACA Stadium in Guwahati will host the third match of the IPL to be played between the Rajasthan Royals and the Chennai Super Kings. The match is scheduled to be hosted on the 30th of March and is scheduled to start at 7:30 pm.
Squads:
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), M.S. Dhoni, Sanju Samson, Dewald Brewis, Ayush Mhatre, Aman Khan, Zak Foulkes, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Spencer Johnson, Kartik Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Urvil Patel, Anshuil Kamboj, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Mathew William Short, Shreyas Gopal, Gurjapneet Singh, Akeal Hosein, Matt Henry, and Rahul Chahar.
Rajasthan Royals: Riyan Parag (captain), Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Donovan Ferreira, Lhuan-Dre Pretorius, Ravi Singh, Aman Rao Perala, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Ravindra Jadeja, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Kwena Maphaka, Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra, Yash Raja Punja, Vignesh Puthur, Brijesh Sharma, Kyle Jamieson, Kuldeep Sen, Sandeep Sharma, and Nandre Burger.
NZ vs SA Probable XIs:
Chennai Super Kings Probable XI: Ayush Mhatre/Kartik Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Dewald Brevis, Prashant Veer, Anshul Kamboj, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni, Jamie Overton, Rahul Chahar, and Khaleel Ahmed.
Impact Player: Noor Ahmed / Spencer Joshnson
Rajasthan Royals Probable XI: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag (c), Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Dasun Shanaka, Ravi Bishnoi, Jofra Archer, Sandeep Sharma, and Tushar Deshpande/Nandre Burger.
Impact Player: Shubham Dubey
RR vs CSK Match 3: Key Player Battles
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi vs Khaleel Ahmed
Indian prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was picked for INR 1.10 crores in the Rajasthan Royals camp. Not many relied on the youngster, but it was Rahul Dravid’s vision with young cricketers that identified the supreme talent of the cricketer. Sooryavanshi, as a 13-year-old, made his debut last season and featured in 7 games.
He amassed 250+ runs at a whopping strike rate of nearly 200, and also smashed a stunning century, the second fastest in the IPL and the first ever by such a young cricketer. He will be an asset to the Royals, considering his form in Youth cricket over the last year. Khaleel Ahmed, who was CSK’s main strike bowler with the new ball, will fascinate a wicket against Sooryavanshi.
Shimron Hetmyer vs Jamie Overton
The Rajasthan Royals will also have the likes of youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel, who might be seeking a chance to enter the mix for the Indian T20I setup. However, Shimron Hetmyer continues in a central role for the Rajasthan Royals. The left-handed batter was promoted by the West Indies in the batting order, and he smashed massive scores for them.
Hetmyer mostly plays as a finisher in the Royals camp. Jamie Overton was a major challenge for Hetmyer in their clash between West Indies and England. The seam bowling all-rounder will be using up his height to great advantage and the bounce of the track to deceive the left-hander, who mostly is strong off the front foot.
Sanju Samson vs Jofra Archer
Sanju Samson, the Indian wicketkeeper who scored the most for the Indian team during their victorious ICC T20 World Cup campaign. Samson has moved from RR to CSK and will be adding a new dimension to the opening partnership for the Super Kings. Samson will play a pivotal role in the campaign.
Jofra Archer has played with Samson for several years in the IPL. He has had experience bowling in the nets with the veteran Indian batter. Archer was seen in some promising form with the ball for England; however, Sanju easily neutralized his threat in the semi-final clash against England.
Ruturaj Gaikwad vs Ravindra Jadeja
The CSK skipper has not played full seasons for the Men in Yellow since he was appointed as the skipper. This is due to his frequent injuries in his IPL career. Gaikwad has been CSK’s best performer with the bat every time he takes the field with the bat.
Ravindra Jadeja, the veteran CSK all-rounder, once played for CSK alongside the current skipper, Gaikwad. His contributions have been widespread for CSK, and now he returns to his home team, where he had won his first-ever title in the IPL. The spinner will be crucial during RR’s battle against Gaikwad.
RR vs CSK Match 3: Key Players
RR Key Players: Riyan Parag, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi, and Jofra Archer
CSK Key Players: Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Khaleel Ahmed, and Noor Ahmad.
RR vs CSK Free Live Streaming in India, Live Telecast
TV Rights in India: The RR vs CSK match will be live on TV, as Star Sports Network has acquired broadcasting rights.
Live Streaming Platform in India: The match will be broadcast live on the OTT platforms, and fans can watch the match on the JioStar platform, which has secured the streaming rights.
RR vs CSK, Match 3 Weather Report, Pitch Report of ACA Stadium, Guwahati
RR vs CSK Weather Report of Guwahati:
The IPL is about to start, and the summer season has arrived in the subcontinent. India will be experiencing immensely high temperatures as the tournament progresses. The temperature would be around 29 degrees in Guwahati. However, the scorching heat would feel like 33 degrees.
The temperature will fall drastically during the game, as Guwahati experiences a wide range of temperatures. It might get as low as 19 degrees after some light showers. There is an obvious chance of rainfall, which might take away an hour or so out of the game. There is a large-scale probability for precipitation and a slight chance for thunderstorms as well.
RR vs CSK Pitch Report of ACA Stadium:
The ACA Stadium in Guwahati is also known as the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, which has been used in the IPL as the home venue of the Rajasthan Royals. The royals are destined to play a total of three games at this venue, as per the announced schedule of IPL 2026.
The stadium tracks often offer immense help for batters, especially in the early stages of the game, with some even having a good amount of pace, offering fine stroke play. However, the pitch offers help for seamers early in the innings; however, spinners are not assisted much.
It is a red soil pitch and is often considered a high-scoring ground. On the other hand, the spinners can come into play later in the game.
RR vs CSK IPL Head-to-Head Records:
The Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals have had a very neck-to-neck contest in the history of the IPL. CSK have had the upper hand in the clash, with two more wins than the Royals. CSK have managed to win 16 matches in the history of the IPL. Rajasthan Royals, on the contrary, have also performed dominantly, winning 14 games.
| Stats | Matches | RR Won | CSK Won | NR | Tied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 30 | 14 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Last 5 T20s | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
RR vs CSK Head-to-Head Records- Result of the last five games:
- Rajasthan Royals won by 6 runs, IPL 2025 RR vs CSK
- Chennai Super Kings won by 5 wickets, IPL 2024 RR vs CSK
- Rajasthan Royals won by 3 runs, IPL 2023 RR vs CSK
- Rajasthan Royals won by 32 runs, IPL 2023 RR vs CSK
- Rajasthan Royals won by 5 wickets, IPL 2022 RR vs CSK
RR vs CSK—Conclusion
The Rajasthan Royals have had the upper hand over the Chennai Super Kings in recent years. Despite CSK winning the trophy in 2023, they had lost the two matches against the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. The Royals, under their new captain, would be hunting their third IPL final appearance and second title in the competition.
The Chennai Super Kings, on the contrary, have failed to qualify for the knockouts in the last two seasons. CSK will be eyeing their first IPL playoff under Ruturaj Gaikwad’s captaincy. This might also be MS Dhoni’s final season before his retirement; hence, CSK would want to send him away with a sixth IPL title.
