Sanju Samson castled for 6 by Nandre Burger, fails badly on CSK debut in IPL 2026

Silence has consumed the shining light as soon as Sanju Samson departed cheaply against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). The latest big signing of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has gone for only 6 runs off 7 deliveries at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.

All of the CSK fans were hoping to see a masterclass from the bat of Sanju Samson, who helped Team India to win the 2026 T20 World Cup with his excellent form; in reality, they received a bag full of disappointments. RR pacer Nandre Burger simply clean bowled the star keeper-batter, who came to open the innings tonight with the captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Rajasthan Royals pacer Nandre Burger cleaned the off-stump of Sanju Samson.

It was a nicely crafted outswinger from the South African pacer, which uprooted the off-stump of the right-handed batter. The seamer harled the ball on the good length area, which nipped away from the batter and lashed on the stumps. Sanju went defenseless as his legs moved nowhere.

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— Nickk Knight (@KnightNick34590) March 30, 2026

Chennai Super Kings is among the teams that started their preparations early for the 2026 Indian Premier League campaign. Before moving into the auction room, they secured the service of Sanju Samson in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. In the trade deal with the Rajasthan Royals, CSK secured the service of the keeper-batter, who is considered a crowd puller and a prospect for the franchise.

Sanju Samson was in fine form for India, ahead of IPL 2026

Ahead of the league, the top order batter was at its peak during the 2026 T20 World Cup, scoring 97*, 89, and 89 in back-to-back matches for Team India against West Indies, England, and New Zealand, respectively. One of the 89-run knocks he registered in the final of the tournament to help India claim their historic third T20 WC title.

As he scored a ton of runs ahead of the IPL 2026 campaign, CSK fans expected to see another special knock from his blade in his debut match for the franchise. Cricket fans on social media platforms exploded in reactions as soon as he departed cheaply. The dismissal of Sanju Samson initiated a domino effect as CSK lost one after another top and middle-order batters in regular intervals.

The pace pack of Rajasthan Royals rattles CSK's batting order

The pace attack of the Rajasthan Royals completely rattled the batting cards of CSK. The combination of Nandre Burger, Jofra Archer, and Sandeep Sharma proved effective enough to cause a batting collapse in Assam.

Against Nandre Burger, Samson tried to execute a leg-side flick but missed it brutally as there was barely any foot movement involved. The delivery, clocked at 140.2 kmph, moved away from the batter to shatter the stump.

According to the stats, this was also the first time since 2020 that Samson did not register a score of 50 or more in his opening match of an IPL season. Overall, Samson's debut in Yellow proved far from a celebratory occasion for the CSK fans.

Read More: Ruturaj Gaikwad reveals CSK's tactics ahead of RR clash in IPL 2026