Watch: IPL 2026: RR openers dominate powerplay with 69/0 vs GT

The Rajasthan Royals (RR) started their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with a dominating victory. And one of the pillars for the win of the inaugural champions was their strong opening stand between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. 

Both the left-handed batters smashed the ball around the park and clubbed 74 runs without any damage inside the powerplay before Sooryavanshi returned to the field for 52 runs in just 17 deliveries, shouldering on four boundaries and five sixes at a strike rate of 305.88.

RR openers give flying start with aggressive batting display

On the second ball of the first innings, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi glanced the delivery from Mohammed Siraj into the fine leg for a boundary before pulling the short ball in the same region for another boundary. Yashasvi Jaiswal joined the party from the other end as he lofted the pitched up delivery over the covers for a massive six. 

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Jaiswal backed it up with another boundary into the short fine-leg region. On the fourth delivery of the third over, the southpaw cleared the infield for another boundary over the mid-off region. The Mumbai-born, then, swiveled on the pull and turned his back on the ball making the follow-through for a six.

On the second delivery of the fifth over, Sooryavanshi clubbed a boundary to notch up their fifty-run stand fir successive contests. With another six and four in the last over of the powerplay, they ended the phase with 69/0.

GT bowlers struggle to contain runs in powerplay phase

The Gujarat Titans bowlers struggled at the start to find the right line and length. Mohammed Siraj was on the pads into the leg stump for many deliveries while Rabada was providing the width to Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi, who swung their bat with freedom to get the boundaries.

See Also: Watch: IPL 2026: Trouble for GT as Mohammed Siraj got injured while fielding vs RR

It was finally Rashid Khan, the stand-in leader for the clash, who drew the first blood for the hosts with the wicket of Sooryavanshi, who was dismissed for 31 runs in just 18 balls, thanks to five boundaries and one six at a strike rate of 172.22.

Royals made their way to 160/3 in 15 overs. They added 81 runs for three wickets in the last nine overs.

Brief Scores: RR 184/5 (Dhruv Jurel 58*, Yashasvi Jaiswal 55, Kagiso Rabada 2/42) vs GT

Fans react to Rajasthan Royals’ explosive start

Here is how the fans have reacted to the explosive start for the Rajasthan Royals between Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi-