At the MA Chidambaram Stadium on March 22, the Chennai Super Kings defeated the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the opening match of the 17th Indian Premier League (IPL 2024). Chennai, led by MS Dhoni, got off to a great start in their pursuit of a record sixth title this year with a victory of six wickets.
After choosing to bat first, RCB got off to a strong start thanks to a significant opening contribution from Faf du Plessis. But in the fifth over, Mustafizur Rehman’s outstanding return to the CSK squad enabled the home team to make their first breakthrough.
He then removed Rajat Patidar from the game in the same over, which put more strain on the batting order.
In an attempt to regain some momentum, Virat Kohli attempted to pass 12,000 runs in T20 cricket. However, it was not to be as RCB struggled to reach 78/5 in just 12 overs after dismissing Kohli and Maxwell cheaply as well.
Anuj Rawat (48) and Dinesh Karthik (38*) formed a vital combination that ultimately helped the visitors to a solid 173/6.In reply, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad tried to give his side an aggressive start but failed to continue for long courtesy of a Yash Dayal delivery in the 4th over.With their sixes in the middle, rookies Rachin Ravindra (37) and Ajinky Rahane (27) gave CSK a big start. Rachin scored a brilliant 37 from 15 balls with a 246 strike rate, and the fans let out a tremendous cheer when he did.
After losing another Kiwi batter, Daryll Mitchell, on 22, CSK was in need of motivation to win the game. In the end, it was Shivam Dube (34*) and Ravindra Jadeja (25*) who led the side to victory.
With the victory, CSK’s record versus RCB at Chepauk is at 8-1, demonstrating how strong the home team has been there.
