Faf du Plessis kickstarted IPL 17 in style, unleashing a flurry of boundaries in the opening overs to quickly surpass 30 runs. Ruturaj Gaikwad, making his debut as captain, made a strategic move by introducing Mustafizur Rahman into the attack, who promptly dismissed du Plessis and Rajat Patidar within four balls.
Deepak Chahar further added to RCB’s woes by removing Glenn Maxwell in the next over, leaving them struggling at 42/3 by the end of the powerplay.
Despite a brief partnership between Cameron Green and Virat Kohli, Mustafizur’s return spell dismantled RCB’s middle order, leaving Dinesh Karthik and Anuj Rawat to rebuild slowly. Rawat later accelerated, breaking the boundary drought and smashing multiple sixes to guide RCB to a competitive 173/6.
In response, Ruturaj Gaikwad and debutant Rachin Ravindra set the tone for the chase with aggressive strokes. However, Gaikwad departed followed by Ravindra after a brisk start. Ajinkya Rahane and Daryl Mitchell contributed with quick runs, but their dismissals left CSK needing 64 off 45 balls.
Kohli giving send off to young Rachin Ravindra who literally played better than him. What a shameless guy#CSKvsRCB pic.twitter.com/dyEuvr2anL
— ♡ (@iam_aleeraza) March 22, 2024
Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja then took charge, guiding CSK to victory with calm and composed batting, securing the win with eight balls to spare and six wickets in hand.