Holders Chennai Super Kings got their title defense on a winning note as they got the better of Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 6 wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday in the opening game of the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League.
RCB scored 173 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in their 20 overs after opting to bat, but the defending champions successfully chased down the target with a little over an over to spare.
Also Read: Collective CSK Effort Heralds in New Era With Opening Day Win Over RCB
RCB were struggling at one point at 78 for the loss of five wickets before Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik put up a 95-run stand to stabilize the innings and spike up the team total to a fighting score.
The partnership shed light on the batting depth available at RCB’s disposal as their top order crumbled.
Speaking to the media after the conclusion of the game, Karthik said it was desirable to go on the offensive and pile pressure on the opposition unit.
“Yeah, we have a long batting lineup,” the wicketkeeper-batter began.
“What you want to be doing is put pressure on the opposition throughout, and that’s why we like to play attacking shots,” the 38-year-old elaborated.
He pointed out that it was essential for the players coming in towards the end of the innings to analyse the circumstances and pace their innings accordingly.
“And sometimes it becomes important for the back-end players to soak up the pressure and try to see what is required at that stage and that’s what Anuj and I did,” Karthik, the man originally from Chennai, said.
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However, he expressed confidence in the ability and quality of the batters that are present in the RCB roster and backed them to put up big scores going forward in the season.
“Having said that, most of these batters are high-pedigree batters,” Karthik asserted.
“They are playing international cricket and are doing it so well that they are dominating international cricket.”
“If they keep their form and continue to do what they have been doing and not lose wickets like we did today, we can certainly see big scores,” the Indian concluded.
CSK were taken for runs in towards the end of the innings as Karthik and Rawt scored a majority of the runs in the end overs of the innings.
The team’s bowling consultant Eric Simmons said it was a crucial aspect of the game to control the proceedings in multiple phases of the game.
“It is obviously important to control the game at the end overs,” the South African said.
“You do well in the powerplay and that extends into the middle overs. You control the middle overs that leads into the finishing overs,” he clarified.
The hosts were boosted by the performance of new boy Mustafizur Rahman, who marked his CSK debut with a memorable four-wicket haul, while Kiwi recruit Rachin Ravindra made an attacking 37 off 15 deliveries to set a good platform for the middle order to clinch the game.
Ajinkya Rahane made a 19-ball-27, while New Zealand batter Daryll Mitchell chipped in with 22 runs off his willow. Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja saw out the game as they carried their side over the line with their unbeaten 34 and 25 runs knocks respectively.
RCB will look to open their tally for the season when they welcome the Punjab Kings to their home at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on the 25th of March.
Chennai Super Kings will stay back in the Tamil Nadu capital city to host Gujarat Titans in a replay of last season’s finals on the 26th of March.
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