IPL 2019: Match 1, CSK vs RCB, Review – Visitors fall like ninepins as CSK decimate them

The defending champions started off the new season of IPL on a positive note.

Published - 23 Mar 2019, 23:09 IST | Updated - 23 Mar 2019, 23:09 IST

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The first match of IPL 2019 between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) went against all the expectations. On a rank turner, Chennai spinners breathed fire and skittled out RCB for just 70 runs. The visitors equalled their second lowest score in the history of IPL and winning the match from there was next to impossible.

CSK played cautious cricket in the second innings. Ambati Rayudu made a valuable contribution to the chase before he got out for 28 runs. The hosts took 17.4 overs to chase this meagre target down but nevertheless won the match by 7 wickets. The Bangalore team didn’t have enough spinners in their line-up and failed to put enough pressure on the opposition.

Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir pick three-wicket hauls

MS Dhoni won the toss at Chepauk and has no hesitations to bowl first. The pitch was dry and both the captains were uncertain about how it would behave. But, what materialised, later on, was something that was completely unprecedented. Dhoni, as a part of his master move, opened the bowling with Harbhajan Singh. Virat Kohli had a troubled stay in the middle.

He fended at quite a few deliveries and tried to break free in the fourth over of the match. The RCB skipper absolutely smashed a delivery from Harbhajan but hit it straight to the fielder. After he fell, wickets kept tumbling one after the other. Moeen Ali smashed the first six of IPL 2019 and hit a ball straight back to Bhajji after scoring 9 runs.

At this point, there were high expectations on AB de Villiers. He was dropped by Imran Tahir just one ball before he got out. Yet, he tried to go big again and Ravindra Jadeja plucked a wonderful catch. Shimron Hetmyer, on his debut, was involved in an ugly mix up and was run out by Suresh Raina for a duck. Shivam Dube failed to pick a googly from Imran Tahir and edged it straight to Shane Watson at the slip.

Except for Parthiv Patel, no one else from the RCB got to double figures. The wicketkeeper-batsman fought through till the end and was the last man to be dismissed. Harbhajan and Tahir picked up three wickets each while Jadeja accounted for two as RCB was bowled out for just 70 runs.

Tough chase but CSK get through

The pitch seemed equally difficult to bat on in the second innings. Watson had an extremely troubled stay in the middle. He faced 10 balls before Yuzvendra Chahal got through his defence and dismissed him for a duck. Suresh Raina tried to score runs at a quick rate. He scored 19 runs before he holed out at long on. Though, he managed to become the first batsman to score 5,000 runs in the Indian Premier League.

Ambati Rayudu tried to accelerate as CSK approached the target. But he ended up dragging one back onto the stumps off the bowling of Mohammed Siraj having scored 28 runs. Kedar Jadhav played a circumspect knock in the end and remained unbeaten on 13 runs as they got over the line at ease.