An excellent spell by Mustafizur Rahman (4 for 29) and an unbeaten knocks by Shivam Dube (34 runs from 28 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (25 runs off 17 balls) helped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by six wickets in the IPL 2024 tournament opener at the M.A.Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday.
Chasing 174 runs for victory, CSK got off to a rollicking start with the new opening pair of captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra taking the RCB bowling attack to the cleaners, putting on 38 runs in four overs.
RCB's new acquisition Yash Dayal gave his side the much-needed breakthrough, removing the former (15 runs off 15 balls), but Ravindra-making his CSK debut-continued to drive the innings forward in the company of Ajinkya Rahane to take CSK to 62 for 1 after six overs.
But experienced leg-spinner Karn Sharma brought RCB back into game, dismissing Ravindra (37 runs off 15 balls) caught by Rajat Patidar to peg the defending champions back.
Rahane and Daryl Mitchell then began to build on the foundation laid by the opening pair, but the former fell trying to go for one big shot too many, caught by Glenn Maxwell off Cameron Green for 27. Two overs later, Green claimed his second wicket by removing Mitchell (22 runs off 18 balls) to put the match on a knife-edge.
At 128 for 4 after 15 overs, the onus was on Dube and Jadeja to take CSK home. The left-handed duo never let the run-rate get to unachievable levels and pulled off the win with eight balls balls to spare.
Earlier, a sixth wicket stand of 95 runs in 50 balls between Anuj Rawat (48 runs off 25 balls) and Dinesh Karthik (39 runs off 26 balls) helped RCB recover from a stutter and reach 173 for 6 after 20 overs.
Skipper Faf du Plessis got RCB off to a brisk start, but he (35 runs off 23 balls), Patidar (0 off 3 balls) and Maxwell (0 off 1 ball) fell inside the Powerplay to leave RCB in desperate strife at 42 for 3 after 6 overs.
Virat Kohli and new acquisition Green then began the rebuild but just when they looked to increase the innings' pace, CSK's new acquisition Rahman broke the growing stand, removing both Kohli (21 runs off 20 balls) and Green (18 runs off 21 balls) in the 12th over to leave RCB reeling at 79 for 5 after 12 overs.
The onus was on Rawat and Karthik to take RCB to a defendable score and after taking their time at the start of their stand, the duo accelerated the scoring rate significantly in the final five overs, lifting RCB from 102 for 5 after 15 overs to 173 for 6 after 20 overs.
Brief scores: RCB 173 for 6 in 20 overs (Rawat 48, du Plessis 35; Rahman 4 for 29) lost to CSK 176 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Ravindra 37, Dube 34) by 6 wickets.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
