Rajasthan Royals registered a statement eight-wicket win in their opening game of TATA IPL 2026 against Chennai Super Kings. Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Google Search AI Mode Match Centre Live’, RR’s Ravindra Jadeja, along with JioStar experts Anil Kumble and Suresh Raina, shared their thoughts on the exit from the CSK, RR’s opening bowling burst, and the all-round strength of the team.
Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Google Search AI Mode Match Centre Live’, RR all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja reflected on his emotional exit from CSK ahead of TATA IPL 2026:
“I’m liking the pink colour. The yellow had started to feel a bit old, but I’m just joking. Obviously, leaving a franchise like CSK, where I had played for 12-13 years, was a little difficult initially. It was very emotional. But I told myself that changes like these are also part of the journey. The good thing was that I’m now with the team where I had first won an IPL title. That memory has always stayed with me, that after the Under-19 World Cup, I started my IPL career there and won the title in my very first season. I have carried those memories along with a positive mindset, and my aim is to learn as much as I can with the new group and also share my experience with the team.”
On the Guwahati wicket and adjusting his line to get the big wicket of Shivam Dube:
“The wicket was a bit sticky, so it suited my kind of bowling. My job was simply to bowl in the right areas. When you hit the right areas on a wicket that is holding up slightly, the ball tends to grip and come slower, which feels good as a bowler. Getting such a surface to bowl on in the very first match boosts your confidence as a bowler. I was thinking of bowling it at the stumps, as I wanted to take a chance in case he didn’t middle it. But when he hit me for a six, I quickly changed my strategy to bowling wide, as he would have kept hitting me on a straight line. So, I decided to finish on the fifth-sixth-stump line, thinking that if he went across, he might not get his timing right, and that’s what happened. Luckily, he did not get the elevation he was looking for, and it was a big wicket for us.”
On his gun-firing celebration after getting Shivam Dube out:
“When I played for CSK, I used to celebrate similarly, so, it was my ‘to be continued’ moment. A batter like Dube doesn’t give you any room for error and tries to hit big shots from the first ball. That was in my mind, but my main aim was to get him out because his wicket at that time would have probably ended their hopes, given that only bowlers were to follow next and there was no other hard-hitter in the line-up.”
Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Google Search AI Mode Match Centre Live’, JioStar expert Anil Kumble analysed RR’s opening bowlers’ first overs to Sanju Samson in his first match for CSK:
“It wasn’t an easy pitch. There was something in it for the bowlers, a bit of moisture. In Nandre Burger’s first over, everything was going into the right-hander, and even on the wicket ball, the angle looked like it was going to come in. But after pitching, it straightened up. It was a perfect left-arm seamer’s delivery to a right-hander, and Sanju Samson was beaten. When Jofra came on to bowl, Sanju was expecting a short delivery because he had gotten out that way against Jofra Archer, but he went full. It was a good toss to win for Rajasthan.”
Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Google Search AI Mode Match Centre Live’, JioStar expert Suresh Raina stressed the importance of RR’s opening pair, Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal:
“Riyan Parag mentioned in the post-match presentation about the batting mindset that as long as the team is winning, they are sticking to their approach. The changes are evident from last season. You now have eight overs of spin in Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Bishnoi, who are both capable of bowling four overs in every match. Then you look at the batting order, starting with the openers, followed by Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, and then Ravindra Jadeja and Donovan Ferreira down the order. There’s some serious depth in the batting. But I think the game-changers for RR will be the pair of Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal. I immediately went back to the duo of Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli for RCB all those years ago, where Gayle would blow the opposition away, like Suryavanshi did with a 15-ball half-century against CSK, and Kohli would control the innings, solid as ever. I think that combination will be very important for RR this season.”
Watch Punjab Kings vs Gujarat Titans in the TATA IPL today, 7:30 PM onwards, LIVE on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network
