From Rahul Dravid to Harshal Patel: Top 5 opening day displays for RCB

In less than a month’s time, the grand franchise extravaganza will be kicking off and this will be the fifteenth edition of the tournament. As new dawn awaits, the Challengers have their legion of doom all set to take the field by storm. Before the blizzard of 2022 takes over, let us take you for a ride to the tournament’s glorious past as we present you the sternum-churning displays of the Challengers in the remarkable openers.

AB De Villiers – 64* (42) vs Delhi Daredevils, 2012, Bengaluru

Once again, the Challengers’ batters failed to rack up something big and struggled at the start of the innings despite a decent opening knock from Andrew Donald. As the team teetered at 59 for 4, AB started steering the Challengers clear of trouble with a masterclass of his own. From stabilizing the ship to unleashing his wrath that intimidated the Daredevils, Mr. 360 led a picture-perfect display with the bat where his unbeaten 64 from 42 balls allowed RCB to pile up 157 on the cards. Despite Zaheer Khan’s expensive outing at the start, an economical display from Vinay Kumar and Muthiah Muralidaran left the Daredevils short of the stipulated total.

Chris Gayle – 96 (56) vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 2015, Kolkata

Another Chris Gayle masterclass and another opening victory that allowed the Challengers to start their campaign on a fine note. The Knights batted first and piled up a momentous 177 on the cards, thanks to a brilliant display from Gautam Gambhir and Andre Russell. Robin Uthappa played the perfect host to a fiery start. Chasing 178 to win, Gayle went on an unchecked rampage despite KKR’s regular stings from the other end. De Villiers stitched a painstaking knock with the blade that allowed Gayle to hit the ‘accelerate’ button harder and by the time the Knights could manage something from the rubble, the Challengers walked out with the bragging rights.

AB de Villiers – 82 (42) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2016, Bengaluru

This was a collective show of RCB’s dominance as two of their best batters clicked together, setting the sun for the Sunrisers. ABD and Virat joined forces belting out a searing display as the duo took out the Orange Army part by part. Kohli fired home a brilliant 71 while De Villiers came forth with a screaming 82 from just 42 balls that saw the Sunrisers running short of ideas. Yuzvendra Chahal and Shane Watson plundered four wickets between them to provide the much-needed shock to the chase and allow Bangalore to win the game comfortably.

Yuzvendra Chahal – 3/18 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2020, Dubai

The last couple of seasons have seen Bengaluru putting in a string of impressive displays and it started with a winning performance against the Sunrisers in 2020. Batting first they piled up a fine total of 163 as Padikkal and Finch came together with a couple of decent knocks. Padikkal hammered a decent 56 from 42 balls while Aaron Finch managed to stitch together a sedulous 29 where he seemed a bit more uncomfortable. However, De Villiers’ fine storm at the end allowed the Challengers to settle down comfortably. Despite the early wicket of David Warner, a stellar partnership between Bairstow and Manish Pandey allowed them to steer the tie around. They were nestled at 121 for 2 where the complexion of the game completely flipped around. Chahal bagged a set Bairstow as he rattled through his defences, razing his timbre, exposing an untested batting order of the Sunrisers to some tremendous pressure as they fell one after the other. Chahal’s double whammy was too hot for the Sunrisers to handle and he would propel RCB to a 10-run win from an almost ineluctable situation.

Harshal Patel 5/27 vs Mumbai Indians, 2021, Chennai

The start to Purple Patel’s madness kicked off in the season opener as he claimed his first fifer, leaving Mumbai Indians rattled. Patel’s screaming fifer saw Mumbai Indians being reduced to 159 for 9. Patel’s exploits started with Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, and Marco Jansen. From 135 for 3, Mumbai was reduced to 159 as Patel ran riots. AB de Villiers’ scintillating 48 from 27 balls allowed Bangalore to walk away with the bragging rights.