3 min readUpdated: Mar 31, 2026 05:42 PM IST
With Chennai Super Kings batting lineup absolutely imploding in the face of the Rajasthan Royals pace battery, former India spinner R Ashwin on Tuesday explained why it was difficult for the Chennai batters to get going in Guwahati on Monday.
“It wasn’t a great start for CSK last night, but here’s why it was really hard for the batters to take first strike on that pitch. 3 days the pitch remained under covers due to rain, enough moisture to give the first bowling side a significant advantage,” Ashwin posted on X.
“This image illustrates how much the ball has seamed to defeat Sanju on the outer half of the blade. That much seam movement is not ideal in the T 20 format, and it is very tough to control the uncontrollable. For better understanding, that’s a big spinning delivery coming towards the batter at a speed of 140+,” he added.
It wasn’t a great start for CSK last night, but here’s why it was really hard for the batters to take first strike on that pitch.
3 days the pitch remained under covers due to rain, enough moisture to give the first bowling side a significant advantage.
This image illustrates… pic.twitter.com/kB1K6oAFWV
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) March 31, 2026
In the match, Rajasthan Royals bowled out Chennai Super Kings for a below-par 127 at the Barsapara Stadium on Monday.
Opting to field first, pacers Nandre Burger (2/27) and Jofra Archer (2/19) rocked the CSK top order before Ravindra Jadeja (2/18) inflicted more pain on his old team. Jamie Overton top-scored for CSK with a 36-ball 43.
Chasing a modest target, the prodigiously talented Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored a 17-ball 52 to help Rajasthan overhaul the target in 12.1 overs.
“I felt the conditions at the start were really tough, especially when facing Jofra and Burger. They bowled brilliant lengths and even after that, to a medium-pacer it was slightly tough. You could see even the spinners were getting some assistance as well. Yes, we would have been better in batting, we would have taken the game deep, showed some batsmanship, maybe take the game till 150-160. But, nowadays, you never know what’s a good score, so you just have to keep going. So I think it just one of those days where the wicket was slightly on the tougher side,” CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said after the match.
