Chennai Super Kings batting coach Mike Hussey has encouraged his players to remain confident despite their heavy defeat to Rajasthan Royals and insisted there is no room for doubt after just one match in IPL 2026. Hussey stressed that the team will continue to trust their batting line-up and avoid overreacting to the result.
CSK endured a disappointing start to their campaign, going down by eight wickets in Guwahati after being dismissed for 127. After the loss, Hussey maintained that the result did not change the team’s faith in its batting line-up.
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RR vs CSK, IPL 2026: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD
“We’ll still support this team 100%. There’s no questions about that. There’s no doubt about that. I’m sure a few guys will say when I look back, maybe I could have played a little bit differently, but it’s going to come on another day and they’re going to change the pace of the game. I don’t want our batsmen going forward to have clouded their minds or cast doubt on their players’ opinions,” Hussey said in the post-match press conference.
“I would prefer them to come with a clear approach and a clear plan of how they want to play, assess the conditions quickly and then come back. If it works out, great. If not, it’s cricket sometimes. So I don’t want this performance to cloud or bring doubt and fear into our team,” he added.
HOW CSK YOU READ GUWAHATI HEIGHT WRONG
The surface of Guwahati, which was obscured by rain, offered early movement and assistance to the sailors RR capitalized perfectly after opting to bowl.
Reflecting on the conditions, Hussey admitted that CSK could have adapted better to what the pitch offered.
“I think if we had our time again, we might have tried to adjust to the conditions a little bit better. But generally speaking, across the country, the pitches are going to be pretty good. So I would expect a lot better batting performance going forward, especially if the pitches are a bit flatter,” he said.
“It’s a good lesson for us. We have to learn from this game that if the conditions aren’t perfect, we might have to adjust our approach a little bit and try to score our runs in different areas. We’ll definitely take some lessons, but like I said, we want to put this behind us very quickly and move on,” he added.
on the field Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger bowled disciplined lengths to dismantle CSK’s highest order. Burger struck early to remove Sanju Samson while Archer accounted for Ruturaj Gaikwad as CSK looked to equalise.
HOW STAR FUEL FAILED CSK VS RR
CSK’s collapse was not just about conditions, but a top order that could not adapt despite its pedigree.
The spotlight was firmly on Sanju Samson, who arrived after a major deal from RR in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and on the back of the T20 World Cup player. However, his return against his former side was short-lived as he fell prematurely to Nandre Burger, destroyed by the move.
Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was expected to anchor the innings, also failed to adjust and exposed his stumps against Jofro Archer in a bid to overcome the pressure.
Under-19 World Cup winner Ayush Mhatre was sped by the bounce and fell soon after as the RR seamers kept CSK on the back foot.
Any hopes of a recovery were then dashed by Jadeja, now in RR colours, who struck twice in quick succession to remove Shivam Dube and Sarfaraz Khan, reducing CSK to 57 for 6 in eight overs.
From there, the innings never recovered. A late effort from Jamie Overton only added some decency, but for a reputation-laden batting unit, it was a reminder that without adaptability, even star power can crumble quickly.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
31 March 2026 09:22 IST
