The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) emerged victorious on the curtain raiser of 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the M. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Winning the toss, RCB captain Faf du Plessis decided to bat first against his former franchise. Riding on the back of top-order and lower middle-order contributions, RCB piled up 173 runs on board. However, CSK eased the chase with contributions from their top six, with eight balls and six wickets in hand. Let us quickly dive into the match defining moments of the encounter.
Top-order’s slow start
In a T20 game, it is important to make the most of the powerplay phase. But RCB openers, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis did not look at their absolute best. Despite cultivating 33 runs off the first three overs, the addition of Maheesh Theekshana and Mustafizur Rahman curbed RCB’s run flow, resulting in a 44-run powerplay for the loss of three wickets including du Plessis, Rajat Patidar and Glenn Maxwell. 
Rahman extracted two wickets in the fifth over, removing du Plessis and Patidar. In the following over, Chahar returned to get the better of Glenn Maxwell who was dismissed for a golden duck while playing a rash stroke.
Mustafizur Mayhem
The Bangladesh pacer proved lethal in the Chepauk and used his cutters perfectly to help CSK gain early momentum. He scalped four big fishes including du Plessis, Kohli, Patidar and Cameron Green. Mustafizur induced the early breakthrough for CSK, following it by sending Patidar back to the pavilion for a bronze duck. He was lethal during the middle overs phase too, outsmarting Kohli and Green in the 12th over.
Karthik-Rawat resilience
Despite the score reading 78/5 in 11.4 overs, RCB managed to counter back the CSK bowlers and reach a total of 173 runs in 20 overs. Following Mustafizur’s lethal bowling spells, Dinesh Karthik and Anuj Rawat soaked in pressure and orchestrated an invaluable 95* runs partnership.
CSK bowlers had the upper hand halfway through the innings but it’s their failure in the slog overs that helped RCB stretch the game to the 20th over. Karthik was unbridled at 38 off 26 balls while Rawat was run out at the final ball of the match, scoring 48 off 25 balls. The pair produced seven fours and five sixes altogether, triggering 50 runs off the last three overs, including a 25-run 18th over off Tushar Deshpande.
Dube-Jadeja exploits after steady top-order contributions
In response to a chase of 174-run target, Rachin Ravindra, playing his maiden IPL game, took the aggressors role with Ruturaj Gaikwad playing second fiddle until the fourth over. Yash Dayal ended the CSK skipper’s stay for run-a-ball 15, making way for Ajinkya Rahane at No.3. The Mumbaikar added 33 runs with Ravindra for the second wicket before the latter was outwitted by Karn Sharma for 15-ball 37. With the score reading 71/2 in seven overs, the Yellow Army were well in the chase before two more wickets haunted them.
Rahane and Daryl Mitchell were outdone in the 11th and 13th over by Cameron Green. However, the left-handed pair of Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja came to the rescue with 64 needed from 45 balls. The target wasn’t difficult and it was all about taking calculated risks.
Despite looking scratchy at times, Dube produced four fours and a six with Jadeja anchoring the knock. The tag team consolidated a 66 runs stand to trail the chase comfortably with six wickets and eight balls to spare. Henceforth CSK managed to open their winning account on the first day of the tournament itself.
