CSK triumph in IPL 2024 season opener despite late fightback from RCB

It was a tame start for RCB to the IPL 2024 campaign as CSK chased down a 174-run target with eight balls to spare, despite the visitors’ bowlers chipping away at a few wickets in the middle overs. 

Winning the toss, RCB opted to bat first and skipper Faf du Plessis (35) did get off to a feisty start but couldn’t really convert that into a big one. His dismissal was followed by two more big wickets for CSK as Rajat Patidar and Glenn Maxwell departed without scoring, with Bangladeshi seamer Mustafizur Rahman accounting for all three scalps.

Virat Kohli (21) and Cameron Green (18) did try to steady the RCB ship but another double whammy from Mustafizur left RCB wobbling again. Teetering at 78/5, Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik stepped up. Rawat (48) and DK (38) added 95 runs for the final stand from 50 balls, propelling RCB to 173/6. Fizz was the pick of the lot for CSK with figures of 4/29.

Chennai got off to a superb start as Rachin Ravindra upped the ante while their skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad played the second fiddle. Gaikwad fell for 15 as Yash Dayal had his first scalp in the RCB threads while Karn Sharma got rid of Ravindra for 37, but by then, a big chunk of the damage had been done.

Cameron Green’s double strike to remove Ajinkya Rahane for 27 and Daryl Mitchell for 22 did bring CSK under pressure. However, Shivam Dube (34) and Ravindra Jadeja (25) picked up boundaries frequently and rotated strike, ensuring the home team faced no more major obstacles as they crossed the finish line in 18.4 overs to commence their season with a win.