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IPL 2019: CSK vs RCB: Chennai start their title-defence in style with a 7-wicket victory over RCB

IPL: Suresh Raina turned Umesh Yadav to fine leg for single and the crowd at the M A Chidambaram stadium erupted in joy.

Chennai Super Kings celebrate their win over Royal Challengers Bangalore

Chennai, March 23: Suresh Raina turned Umesh Yadav to fine leg for single and the crowd at the M A Chidambaram stadium erupted in joy. And why would you cheer so much for a regulation single? The giant screen soon flashed the answer – Raina became the first batsmen in IPL history to score 5000 runs and it came in 177 matches – solely in the Chennai Super Kings yellow uniform.

IPL SPECIAL SITE | IPL 2019: CSK vs RCB: As it Happened

In fact, that moment somehow underscored the certainty around Chennai's performance on a muggy Saturday evening (March 23), which eventually translated into a facile seven-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game of the IPL 2019. It certainly was a popular home victory for Chennai but the game offered nothing for thrill seekers. For the record, Chennai bundled out Royal Challengers for 70 and then eased past the target losing three wickets in the process.

The result was also a tribute to the still burning bright cricketing awareness of Mahendra Singh Dhoni who read the pitch to a nicety and chose to bowl first after winning the toss. But even before that moment came, Dhoni had packed his side with spinners who can exploit the sluggish nature of the 22-yard trampoline.

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Dhoni pressed veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh into action straightaway with the new ball along with pacer Deepak Chahar. Harbhajan, who was adjudged man of the match, rewarded Dhoni with three wickets – Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Moeen Ali. Those early wickets cramped Royal Challengers and they never recovered from the early jolts.

However, the dismissal of De Villiers came as a big disappointment. The Proteas legend got a reprieve when Imran Tahir grassed an easy chance off Harbhajan in the deep but in the very next ball he pulled the offie to Ravindra Jadeja, who took a fine tumbling catch at deep mid-wicket. West Indian Shimron Hetmyer fell to a casual piece of running to get out for a duck and those two dismissals apart the Royal Challengers were never quite able to tackle a tough pitch or the Chennai spinners.

The dominance of Chennai can be gauged from the fact that they did not use two regular bowlers – pacer Shardul Thakur and spinner Kedar Jadhav. However, when their turn to came to defend that measly total, Royal Challengers had only two spinners – Moeen Ali and Yuzvendra Chahal. They did not even have a part-timer who could have backed up the main tweakers, not that it would have mattered much after such a shoddy batting effort.

The total Royal Challengers put on board was even insufficient to create an element of artificial excitement as Chennai completed a regulation chase to pocket full points. Defending champions are off the block in style as Kohli and company will assemble in the meeting room for an analysis on where all they went wrong.

Story first published: Saturday, March 23, 2019, 23:54 [IST]
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