Sonu Nigam’s rendition of the national anthem moved the partisan crowd that had flocked in to witness Thala MS Dhoni begin what is set to be his swansong season. The fireworks that followed lit up the city’s skyline with colours of celebration as the fans were treated to a handsome couple of minutes of visual sparks up in the troposphere.
An esteemed cohort comprising of BCCI President, Mr Roger Binny, Secretary Mr Jay Shah, the chairman of the IPL, Mr Arun Singh Dhumal and Vice-President, Rajiv Shukla emerged on the dais while the performers flanked the officials before the captains of the ten sides set to compete in the sporting spectacle.
It was a watershed moment as newly-appointed CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad walked out to a massive reception as he represented the yellow that has shone bright in the tournament for over a decade and a half.
India’s lucky charm on the mic and a spectacular player during is heyday, Mr Ravi Shastri welcomed the skippers of the curtain-raiser as former Chennai lad Faf du Plessis, now heading the RCB contingent accompanied Gaikwad to the coin toss, which swung the way of the visitors.
The South African batter opted to have a bat first as the tourists sought to set the target for the hosts to chase, in an attempt to get their pursuit of a maiden crown off to a positive start.
‘Fizz’ as he is fondly known did not make the partisan audience wait long for another moment of celebration as he sent Rajast Patidar back to the hut for a duck as he closed out the fifth over with a double wicket performance. And this time the noise was even louder as Dhoni held on to the RCB batter’s catch behind the wicket.
RCB looked to be in free fall as Aussie maverick Glenn Maxwell was removed in the very first ball he faced as Deepak Chahar opened his account for the season as the ever-reliable Dhoni collected yet another catch to dismiss the big-hitting right hander.
Newly recruited Cameroon Green accompanied Kohli for a 35-run stand before the Indian batter left the crease as Mustafizur scalped his third of the day thanks to an early catch-of-the-season contender as Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra combined impeccably to get rid of the dangerous former Indian skipper after he had added a 21-run contribution.
Fizz seemed to be striking in pairs as he dismissed Green, a couple of deliveries after Kohli’s scalp, with RCB reduced to a paltry 78 for the loss of half their side.
Just when it looked like the Bengaluru-based side were crumbling, a quality innings came in from Anuj Rawat, who saved the sinking ship with a measured innings with hometown boy Dinesh Kartik across the pitch.
The pair started in a rather conservative manner finding their feet one ball at a time before cutting loose in the 15th over.
Chahar was taken for 15 runs off his final over, and the RCB batters followed it with yet more runs coming off the overs of Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana, who leaked 14 runs off his ultimate over of the day including a six sent into the stands by DK.
The strategic time-out seemed to have cooled things down a bit as Mustafizur restricted RCB to 7 runs off his third over, but the following over from Tushar Deshpande turned out to be RCB’s most productive over as they churned out 25 runs to inch closer to the 150-run mark thanks to three massive maximums Rawat and Karthik came up with.
With momentum now on their side RCB had the final two overs to capitalise on and did so by adding 25 runs in the final 12 deliveries of the innings.
RCB had put up a score of 173 runs but Dhoni ensured CSK would finish on a high despite the visitors’ late onslaught as he caught Rawat short of the crease in the ultimate delivery of the innings.
The halftime show was yet another production of lights, smoke, music, glitz and glamour as the entertainers plied their trade in front of a capacity crowd at the MAC.
Chennai came out to bat with skipper Gaikwad leading from the front accompanied by Kiwi Ravindra, maintaining the right-left combination that has proven fortuitous over the years.
The newly anointed captain brought up the new rein with a boundary off the very first ball he faced with a pull that oozed authority. A message of intent from the youngster at the very beginning. He reasserted his will with yet another boundary to pick up 8 off the over.
Ravindra introduced himself to the partisan crowd with the willow as he mimicked his skipper with a first ball boundary.
Chennai looked to be cruising at nearly 30 runs in the opening three overs, but RCB found their breakthrough thanks to impact player Yash Dayal, who scalped Gaikwad as Green plucked the captain’s catch as the opener fell for a run-a-ball 15.
Despite the scalp, the runs kept flowing thanks to an attacking display from the Kiwi southpaw Ravindra as Chennai reached the 50-run mark in the sixth over as Rahane sent Dayal over the ropes beyond long off.
RCB introduced spin with Karn Sharma coming in from the MCC end, and the change paid dividends as the spinner dismissed Ravindra for a quickfire 37 off just 15 deliveries. But the very same swashbuckling nature proved to be his fall as he lofted one into the thankful hands of Patidar in deep.
Rahane, who was going steady at 21 off 17 sent one over the boundary off Green, but the Australian hit back immediately with the scalp of the veteran batter, paving the way in for Shivam Dube, CSK’s impact sub.
CSK scaled the triple-digit mark swiftly after, but Mitchell, who looked like finding his rhythm was sent back to the hut by Green. With the pressure mounting, Chennai sent star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja out to bat to settle the nerves as the batters chipped away at the target.
With 34 to win off the final four overs the home crowd egged on the men in yellow over the target, and the side responded well picking up 15 runs off Alzzari Jospeh’s over as the asking rate dwindled to run a ball.
Dube further eased the pressure with a pair of boundaries in the 18th over off Mohammed Siraj as he pierced the gap expertly on the leg side before producing a four down the wicket. CSK inched closer to the win as Dube sent a projectile on the leg side, before the hosts closed out a quality win with 8 deliveries to spare following a boundary behind the wicket off a leg bye.