Mustafizur Rahman got ready with his brain changes, followed by Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube Their best finishing got the job done, earning a comfortable six-wicket win for Chennai Super Kings over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL opener on Friday. CSK has not lost to RCB at home since 2008, thus maintaining an enviable record. Mustafizul took his best-ever IPL figures of 4/29 in four overs, restricting RCB to 173 runs for 6 on a good batting line, including 95 for the sixth wicket A 50-ball stand between Anuj Rawat (48 off 25 balls) and Dinesh Karthik (38 not out off 26 balls) were the visitors’ only saviors.
Jadeja (25 not out off 17 balls), who brings a wealth of experience at a time when the run chase can get tricky, urged a rusty Dube (34 off 28 balls) to complete some quick doubles to finish with 18.4 The chase was completed in one round. By the end, Dube was finishing the chase quickly and he was growing more confident in Jadeja’s company.
Rachin Ravindra (37 off 15 balls) also deserves credit for opening the innings in superb fashion, hitting 3 sixes and setting the tone with as many boundaries.
Ajinkya Rahane (27 off 19 balls) had a forgettable season with Ranji bat, with Glenn Maxwell excelling as a fielder He also hit a couple of sixes before batting.
Dube and Daryl Mitchell (22 off 18 balls) were surrounded by the short balls of Alzarri Joseph and Cameron Green, who also fell victim to such deliveries.
Mustafizul brought back memories of his rookie days as RCB batted, but Rawat’s impressive rearguard action allowed RCB to reach the fighting total.
Rawat was cautious at first, but he attacked Tushar Deshpande, who is on the short side of his natural length. Three sixes and one four in the 18th over turned the tide as RCB posted 83 runs in the last six overs. Rawat hit four fours and three sixes in the innings.
This came after Mustafizul took four wickets in his first two overs to reduce RCB to 78 for five.
If Matheesha Pathirana was fit to represent the ‘Yellow Brigade’, ‘Fizz’ as he is known in the cricketing fraternity would not have received recognition in the top eleven.
Introducing the powerplay to stop a furious Faf du Plessis (35 off 23), Mustafizur measured the pace of the track without keeping it too full and bowled between 7-8 meters in length to extract enough bounce to get a couple dismissals.
Kohli scored 21 off 20 balls in his first official match in more than two months.
Having to face just six deliveries in the Powerplay, Kohli’s first over was a six off Maheesh Theekshana (0/36 in 4 overs), but in two months He never found a rhythm after paternity leave, as an ill-timed pull led to a turnover. Dismissed. Rahane caught the ball at deep mid-wicket but as he was about to slip out, he flicked the ball inside, allowing Rahane to complete the catch.
Mustafizul’s best shot, however, was the one that cleaned up Green as he twisted his wrist to hit a chip that was teetering on the seam.
Early on, Deepak Chahar (1/37 in 4 overs) did look lacking match training as his frantic off-spinner was first met with harsh treatment by skipper Du Plessis.
But RCB’s joy did not last long as the captain fell into deep trouble after a brisk knock.
Rajat Patidar (0), whose poor form since the England Test match continued, scored one behind the stumps to Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The break in RCB’s momentum worked in Chahal’s favour, as towards the end of the over he bowled a long ball and moved a shadow, allowing Glenn Maxwell to catch behind.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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