NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Royals kicked off their IPL 2026 campaign in dominant fashion, registering a crushing eight-wicket win over five-time champions Chennai Super Kings at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Monday.During the high-intensity clash, among several key moments, one that stood out was Ravindra Jadeja’s animated celebration after taking a wicket.
Jadeja, after dismissing a CSK all-rounder, came up with a ‘gun’ celebration.After Rajasthan Royals’ win, former India cricketers Suresh Raina and Anil Kumble, part of the expert panel on JioStar, asked Jadeja if this was a new celebration.“Jadeja, ye naya aaya hai market mein?” the experts asked.To this, Jadeja said: “Ye mai CSK se jab khela karta tha, tab mai ye celebration karta tha. Maine socha to be continued karein”.“Dube ka mujhe pata tha wo spinners ko pehle ball se maarne ko sochta hai. Wo mere dimaag mein kahin na kahin tha but at the same time wo bhi soch rha tha ki agar uska wicket gya to CSK ka middle order khali ho jayega. Positive mindset se ball daalne ka soch rha tha mai bass,” he said.Jadeja also reflected on an emotional outing against his former team Chennai Super Kings.“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,” Jadeja said.“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,” he added.Jadeja’s impact was felt with the ball as RR bundled CSK out for 127, setting up a comfortable chase that was headlined by a blistering knock from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.“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.”Rajasthan Royals will now face Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium on April 4.
