CSK Vs RCB, IPL 2024 Match 1: Mustafizur Rahman Shines As Chennai Beat Bengaluru By 6 Wickets - As It Happened

RCB won the toss, elected to bat first

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni(w), Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana, Mustafizur Rahman, Tushar Deshpande

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Faf du Plessis(c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik(w), Anuj Rawat, Karn Sharma, Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj

Faf du Plessis | RCB Captain: We will bat first. The surface appears to be decent, and the circumstances here are ideal for batting first. First time back here, it's fantastic to see the Chennai supporters again, but I'm here with RCB, and perhaps we can flip over a very strong CSK squad. Preparation has gone well; now we must show up. A seasoned campaigner brings this experience. Really excellent, our bowling resources work effectively. I got more backup. Hopefully, injuries will not trouble us too much. Alzarri Joseph comes in tonight, with a couple of spinners in the mix. And, because we are batting first, we will see how it goes.

Ruturaj Gaikwad | CSK Captain: Feel privileged. But I want to strive to be in my own shoes rather than filling someone else's. (On captaincy) I found out this week, but Mahi Bhai hinted at it last year. Everyone here is experienced, but we are missing Conway and Pathirana. We have Rachin and Mitchell coming in this year, so they should fit in nicely. Looks like a terrific pitch with a firm surface that should hold up well in the second inning. Mitchell, Rachin, Fizz, and Theekshana are all from overseas. Domestic player Sameer Rizvi is making his debut as well.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Yash Dayal, Akash, Prabhudessai, Swapnil, Vyshak

Chennai Super Kings: Shardul Thakur, Shivam Dube, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Moeen Ali

Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis opened the batting for RCB and Deepak Chahar came to bowl the first over for CSK. He started with a wide and then Faf played a beautiful cover drive. seven runs from the first over.

RCB - 7/0 (1)

Deepak Chahar has been hit for four boundaries by Faf du Plessis in the third over.

RCB - 33/0 (3)

Mustafizur Rahman was introduced into the attack in the fourth over and after conceding a boundary on the second delivery, he got rid of Du Plessis on the next ball and dismissed Rajat Patidar on the last delivery.

RCB - 41/2 (5)

Deepak Chahar continued his attack from one end and removed Glenn Maxwell on the third delivery when he was caught behind by MS Dhoni while trying for a cut.

RCB - 42/3 (6)

Virat Kohli completed 12000 runs in T20 cricket during his innings and became the only sixth player to achieve the feat. He took 360 innings to reach the milestone. Now, Green and him are taking the innings forward after three wickets in quick succession.

RCB - 63/3 (9)

Mustafizur Rahman has taken two more wickets. He first dismissed Virat Kohli when he tried to go for a big shot and was caught at the boundary line after Ajinkya Rahane's brilliant fielding. He then bowled Chris Green on the fourth delivery.

RCB - 79/5 (12)

Dinesh Karthik and Anuj Rawat have managed to find a way to score easy runs. Rawat being the aggressor, has hit a cover drive and an uppercut in between to extract runs.

RCB - 116/5 (16)

Anuj Rawat targeted Tushar Deshpande and smashed three sixes and a four in the 18th over to grab 25 runs from the over.

RCB - 148/5 (18)

Dinesh Karthik and Anuj Rawat have taken RCB to a respectable total of 173 runs after a sloppy start. Both batters took the bad balls and punished them at regular intervals to reach a defendable total.

RCB - 173/6 (20)

Brief Score: RCB - 173/6 (20)

Anuj Rawat - 48 (25), Dinesh Karthik - 38 (26) | Mustafizur Rahman: (4-0-29-4)

Rachin Ravindra and Ruturaj Gaikwad opened the batting for CSK and Mohammed Siraj came to bowl the first over for RCB. He conceded two boundaries and CSK started their chase with eight runs from the first over.

CSK - 8/0 (1)

Yash Dayal removed the CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad on the last delivery of his second over. Rachin Ravindra is hitting well on his IPL debut.

CSK - 62/1 (6)

Daryl Mitchell came after Rachin Ravindra's dismissal and he started to bamboozle the bowlers. He thrashed Karn Sharma for back-to-back sixes and Ajinkya Rahane also provided the needed support.

CSK - 92/2 (10)

In the last six overs, Ajinkya Rahane first smashed a six off Chris Green then holed out to Glenn Maxwell in the deep. Daryl Mitchell also lost his wicket to Green. Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja have taken the game forward since and now the equation is 34 needed off 24 balls.

CSK - 140/4 (16)

Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja remained unbeaten till the end and took the Chennai Super Kings past the line. CSK won the match by 6 wickets with back-to-back boundaries by Shivam Dube.

CSK - 176/4 (18.4)

When you play, you always experience a slump after six overs. Chennai is a very good middle-overs squad, and their spinners will pinch you. Perhaps we were 15-20 runs short; the pitch wasn't as awful as it had been in the first 10 overs. They were always ahead in the chase; we attempted to pressure and pick up a couple of wickets, but we didn't score enough runs. On this pitch, it is always preferable to bat first. Last year's record was heavily skewed towards teams that batted first. The ball began to grip somewhat with our spinners. Very impressive for Dinesh to start his season, especially for someone who hasn't played much cricket. Anuj has shown tremendous promise for us, with outstanding calm for a young player and great power into the backside.

I'd say total control from the start (with the exception of 2-3 overs). Would have like 10-15 runs fewer, but I believe they played really well in the end. I believe that was a significant turning point in getting Maxwell and Faf out. We took three fast wickets, which helped us control the next overs; it was the true turning moment. I've always appreciated it (captaincy), and it's never seemed like an extra burden. I knew how to manage it, never felt pressured, and obviously had Mahi (MS Dhoni) bhai. I believe everyone in our squad is a natural stroke player, and even Jinks (Ajinkya Rahane) is playing well. Everyone understands their roles and which bowlers to face. Clarifying one's role is quite beneficial. Two-three things to improve on: everyone batted well, but I believe if one of the top three batted till the 15th over, it would have been easier.

Mustafizur Rahman | POTM (CSK)

Chennai Super Kings have defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by six wickets in the opening game of the Indian Premier League 2024 in Chennai. We will join you all tomorrow. Until then, it's goodbye from our side. Goodnight!