It was a high-octane match that delivered! At the majestic MA Chidambaram Stadium, new skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad aimed to continue Chennai Super Kings’ winning streak at home against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and he didn’t miss a beat. Looking comfortable in his shoes, the new captain had a task at hand and despite losing the toss, Gaikwad showed his readiness for the CSK captain’s role.
On the other hand, if there was a day when RCB would have felt the need for a smart bowling attack, it may have been today. Winning the toss and going in with an aggressive stance, RCB skipper Faf Du Plessis looked unstoppable. At one point, opening with Virat Kohli, it seemed RCB would put 200+ score very easily.
But then came in Mustafizur Rahman. The Bangladeshi bowler gave CSK the much-needed wicket and then there was no going back. The guests lost four wickets – skipper Faf, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell and Virat Kohli – and RCB were reduced to a sub-par 78/5 score.
While Kohli achieved a milestone – becoming first player to reach 12,000 runs in the history of the Indian Premier League- it didn’t help the team that he didn’t play a long innings.
It was left to Chennai boy Dinesh Karthik, who with the help of Anuj Rawat, gave some stability to the RCB batting. From 78/5, RCB managed to post a total of 173/5 thanks to the sixth-wicket partnership between Karthik and Rawat.
It could have been a challenging total had RCB got the sharp bowling attack. With the likes of Gaikwad, debutant Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, RCB bowlers looked a bit clueless. Towards the end, Shivam Dube, who was brought in as the impact sub and Ravindra Jadeja did what they do the best – finish the game quickly. Hence, CSK won the match with 8 balls to spare.
During the after-match presentation, Gaikwad said that quick wickets of Du Plessis and Maxwell really helped CSK. “We had total control right from the start,” Gaikwad said.
“There were 2-3 overs here and there but once the spinners and Fizz (Mustafizur) came on, we were in control. Yes, 10-15 runs less would have been great but they came back well,” he said.
CSK vs RCB IPL 2024 Match 1 Scorecard
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Virat Kohli c Rachin Ravindra b Mustafizur 21
Faf du Plessis c Rachin Ravindra b Mustafizur 35
Rajat Patidar c Dhoni b Mustafizur 0
Glenn Maxwell c Dhoni b D Chahar 0
Cameron Green b Mustafizur 18
Anuj Rawat run out (Dhoni) 48
Dinesh Karthik not out 38
Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 10) 13
Total (6 wickets, 20 Overs) 173
Fall of Wickets: 41-1, 41-2, 42-3, 77-4 (Virat Kohli, 11.2), 78-5, 173-6 Bowlers: Deepak Chahar 4-0-37-1, Tushar Deshpande 4-0-47-0, Maheesh Theekshana 4-0-36-0, Mustafizur Rahman 4-0-29-4, Ravindra Jadeja 4-0-21-0.
Ruturaj Gaikwad c Green b Yash Dayal 15
Rachin Ravindra c Rajat Patidar b Karn Sharma 37
Ajinkya Rahane c Maxwell b Green 27
Daryl Mitchell c Rajat Patidar b Green 22
Shivam Dube not out 34
Ravindra Jadeja not out 25
Extras (b 4, lb 4, w 8) 16
Total (4 wickets, 18.4 Overs) 176
Fall of Wickets: 38-1, 71-2, 99-3, 110-4, Bowlers: Mohammed Siraj 4-0-38-0, Yash Dayal 3-0-28-1, Alzarri Joseph 3.4-0-38-0, Karn Sharma 2-0-24-1, Mayank Dagar 2-0-6-0, Cameron Green 3-0-27-2, Glenn Maxwell 1-0-7-0.
(With PTI inputs)