The Indian Premier League 2019 started with a one-sided match between MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. In the high-stakes clash, defending champions CSK defeated the visitors by seven wickets with 14 balls to spare.
Join us again tomorrow for a double-header. Last season's finalists SunRisers Hyderabad will be hosted by Kolkata Knight Riders in a clash of former Champions in the afternoon match. It will be followed by three-time champions Mumbai Indian's match again rechristened Delhi Capitals in Mumbai.
RESULT: CSK WON BY 7 WICKETS
11:22 PM IST: A fairly comfortable win for MS Dhoni's CSK. After bowling out RCB for mere 70 runs, all they need to do was occupy the crease. And they did it despite facing some inspired spell from RCB bowlers early in the innings. Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir were brilliant in a spinners' game.
Brief Scores: RCB 70 All Out in 17.1 overs (Parthiv Patel 29 off 35 balls, Harbhajan Singh 3/15, Imran Tahir 3/9); CSK 71/3 in 17.4 overs (Ambati Rayudu 28 off 41 balls).
11:15 PM IST: For the third time, RCB played and lost season opener – by 140 runs to KKR in 2008, by 35 runs to SRH in 2017 and today. This is also their seven successive defeat to CSK, a streak which started in 2014.
CSK INNINGS; TARGET - 71
11:07 PM IST: Shivam Dube got an over. A single off the first ball of the 18th over, then a wide. Scores levelled. Then, Ravindra Jadeja took a single off the fourth ball to win the first match of the IPL 2019. Champions started title defence off to a rousing note. Beat CSK by seven wickets.
11:04 PM IST: Mohammed Siraj produced a maiden over. Little late. Ravindra Jadeja was hardly perturbed by it. CSK need three runs from 18 balls. Siraj's figures so far: 2-1-5-1.
10:57 PM IST: Umesh Yadav got another over, leaked five runs, leaving the equation at 3 off 24. CSK were 68/3 after 16 overs.
10:53 PM IST: Then, out of nowhere, Mohammed Siraj came and got the wicket of Ambati Rayudu (28 off 42)off his second ball. Played on. FoW - 59/3 (14.2 Over). Ravindra Jadeja opened his account with a well-timed punch. Five runs from the over. CSK were 63/3 after 15 overs. They need another 8 runs from five overs.
10:47 PM IST: Navdeep Saini also bowled out. Six runs from the last over. His figures after the day's hard work: 24/0. CSK were 58/2. Need 13 off 26 balls.
10:41 PM IST: Yuzvendra Chahal with his final over. A single off the second ball, taken by Kedar Jadhav. That's all from his over. 4-1-6-1. CSK were 53/2 after 13 overs. Ambati Rayudu was unbeaten on 24 off 38 while Jadhav on 7 off 10.
10:38 PM IST: Top of the bounce, and a delicate push through cover. That's clash from Ambati Rayudu. That happened off the fifth ball of Navdeep Saini's third over. Four runs from the over. CSK were 51/2. Need 20 off 48 balls.
10:34 PM IST: Umesh Yadav did well to keep Kedar Jadhav quiet for three balls but he landed the last ball of the over little short, and the CSK batsman dispatched it for a four. A pull shot played with some conviction. Five runs from the over. CSK were 47/2 after 11 overs.
10:28 PM IST: Suresh Raina (19 off 21) lasted two more balls after reaching 5000 run. Moeen Ali had him caught by Shivam Dube. FoW - 40/2 (9.2 Over). Three balls later a massive mixed-up between Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav. But no harms done. CSK 42/2 afer 10 overs. Need another 29 runs in 60 balls. Moeen Ali completed his spell for figures of 4-0-19-1.
10:20 PM IST: Umesh Yadav got his first over. A dot to Suresh Raina, followed by a single, then a dot to Ambati Rayudu. Two singles later, Raina became the first player to hit 5000 runs in IPL, beating Virat Kohli to the mark. CSK 36/1. Three runs from the over. Time-out.
10:17 PM IST: Suresh Raina, with back-to-back fours off the second and third balls of the 8th over, changed broke the shackles. 10 runs from Moeen Ali's third over. CSK were 33/1. Ali's figures: 3-0-13-0.
10:13 PM IST: Navdeep Saini returned for his second over, and a front foot no-ball while going for the third ball. Suresh Raina hit the reloaded delivery ball for a straight, lofted drive for a four. Youngster responded well. Seven runs from the seventh over. CSK were 23/1. Ambati Rayudu and Raina unbeaten on 12 off 22 and 4 off 11. CSK need 48 off 78.
10:07 PM IST: And Moeen Ali's giving good support to Yuzvendra Chahal. Another tidy over from RCB. Two singles off the fourth and fifth deliveries. Ambati Rayudu then blocked the last ball with confidence. Two runs from the over. CSK 16/1 after six overs. Need 55 off 84 balls.
10:03 PM IST: Yuzvendra Chahal's brilliant so far. 3-1-5-1. Three of those runs came from his third over, all singles. CSK were 14/1 after five overs.
9:59 PM IST: Ambati Rayudu played five dot balls then went for a wild sweep shot off the last ball. Umesh Yadav floored the catch at deep. One run from that Moeen Ali over. CSK 11/1 after four overs.
9:54 PM IST: Yuzvendra Chahal bowled Shane Watson (0 off 10). Off stump uprooted. The ball stayed low and did the damage. FoW 8/1 (2.1 Over). That brought Suresh Raina in the centre. 2 runs and a wicket from the over.
9:52 PM IST: Navdeep Saini, right-arm medium pace, shared the new ball. A dot ball to Ambati Rayudu to start his spell, a single, then the youngster hit Shane Watson on the helmet. Virat Kohli's pumped up, applauded the effort from the bowler. A single then, Rayudu hit a six to end the over. 8 from it. CSK were 8/0 after 2 overs.
9:46 PM IST: A very good start from Yuzvendra Chahal. Maiden over. Shane Watson did well to keep his wickets safe.
9:41 PM IST: Yuzvendra Chahal to start the proceedings for RCB.
HERE's PTI's Innings Report - READ
RCB INNINGS
9:32 PM IST: What a spell from the Chennai Super Kings spinners. Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir took three wickets each as Royal Challengers Bangalore managed their joint-second total in IPL. Their lowest is still that 49 against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens in 2017. Then, the pacers did the trick, today, it's spinners.
9:24 PM IST: The very first delivery from Dwayne Bravo and the wicket of Parthiv Patel (29 off 35). Caught by Kedar Jadhav at square leg. FoW - 70 All Out (17.1 Over).
9:21 PM IST: Both Ravindra Jadeja and Imran Tahir have completed their respective spells. Jadeja bowled Umesh Yadav (1 off 10). FoW - 70/9 (16.5 Over). Mohammed Siraj did well to miss the last ball of the over. RCB were 70/9 after 17 overs.
In the previous over, Tahir leaked three runs for bowling figures of 4-19-3. Brilliant from the South African spinner.
9:14 PM IST: Parthiv Patel hit his second four of the match, but survived an MSD review. The ball was going over the leg stump. And CSK lost their review. Ravindra Jadeja finished the over with straighter, which missed the wicket by a whisker. RCB were 66/8 after 15 overs.
9:10 PM IST: Third for Imran Tahir. Yuzvendra Chahal tried his long handle, only to find Harbhajan Singh taking a well-judged catch. FoW - 59/8 (13.4 Over). AFter 14 overs, RCB were 59/8 with Parthiv Patel unbeaten on 20 off 25. Umesh Yadav was his latest companion. Meanwhile, Tahir produced a wicket-maiden. His figures so far: 3-1-6-3.
9:05 PM IST: Four runs from Ravindra Jadeja's second over as RCB added 14 runs in the last four overs at the price of three wickets. RCB - 59/7 after 13 overs. Time-out.
9:01 PM IST: Imran Tahir struck again. A lot of things happening there. A shout for LBW, umpire declined. Tahir pleaded MS Dhoni to take the review for the catch. Dhoni said yes finally, then, replays revealed a fine catch at first slip by Shane Watson. FoW - 53/7 (11.1). RCB 55/7 after 12 overs. Two runs and a wicket. Meanwhile, Parthiv Patel was unbeaten on 19 off 23. He got Yuzvendra Chahal's company.
8:55 PM IST: What a catch. MS Dhoni showed his class behind the wickets. Sharp turn from Ravindra Jadeja, and the ball beat Colin de Grandhomme's bat with the faintest of touch. FoW - 50/6 (10.3 Over). Parthiv Patel got Navdeep Saini's company. RCB 53/6 after 11 overs.
8:50 PM IST. After the break, Imran Tahir struck in his first over, had Shivam Dube (2 off 5) caught at first slip by Shane Watson. FoW - 45/5 (9.3 Over). Then, a welcome boundary for RCB as Colin de Grandhomme managed to beat two RCB fielders at deep mid-wicket. Four runs and a wicket from the over. RCB 49/5 the half-way mark.
8:40 PM IST: New man Shimron Hetmyer got himself run out off the second ball he faced for a duck. FoW-39/4 (8.0 Over). Thus Harbhajan also completed his spell (4-0-20-3).
8:37 PM IST: Then, Imran Tahir dropped a sitter to let AB de Villiers off the first ball off the 8th over. But AB (9 off 10) went for another shot, this time Ravindra Jadeja completed the rite. FoW-38/3 (7.2 over). What a spell Harbhajan Singh's having.
Deepak Chahar completed his spell for figures of 4-0-17-0. RCB 36/2 after seven overs. Parthiv Patel on 12 off 15 and AB de Villiers 7 off 8 were unbeaten.
8:29 PM IST: Caught and bowl from Harbhajan Singh. Moeen Ali lasted 8 balls for his nine, which included a six. FoW-28/2 (5.2 over). New man AB de Villiers took a double off the first ball he faced. Another double, followed by a single. Five runs a wicket from the over. RCB 33/2 after 6 overs. Harbhajan's figures so far: 3-0-18-2.
8:20 PM IST: Harbhajan Singh has done the job for MS Dhoni. Ravindra Jadeja took a very good catch to send back Virat Kohli (6 off 12). FoW-16/1 (3.3 over). Moeen Ali joined Parthiv Patel in the centre. Then, the Englishman hit the first six of the season. RCB 22/1 after four overs.
8:17 PM IST: Brilliant stuff from Deepak Chahar. A double off the first ball, then four dot balls. A no ball, for height, but he kept Virat Kohli quite. Three runs from his second over. RCB 15/0 after three overs.
8:12 PM IST: Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh conceded seven runs in his first over – four singles, one leg bye and a double. RCB 12/0 after two overs.
8:07 PM IST: Brilliant start from Deepak Chahar. The right-arm medium pacer five runs, a single and a four. RCB 5/0 after first over. Virat Kohli took a single off the very first over, then his opening partner Parthiv Patel hit the penultimate ball for a four through mid-off. A sloppy effort from Shardul Thakur, though.
8:00 PM IST: Deepak Chahar to bowl the first over of the Indian Premier League 2019, to Virat Kohli.
7:40 PM IST: This may be billed as MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli clash, but a certain Suresh Raina can end up as the hero of the match. He's got an unrivalled IPL pedigree. 350 runs in each of the nine seasons for CSK. That pretty sums up his status as a legend of the league. But there are the likes of AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Dwayne Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer – all match winners.
7:35 PM IST: Here are the teams
CSK: Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (wk/c), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir
RCB: Virat Kohli (c), Parthiv Patel (wk), Moeen Ali, Shimron Hetmyer, AB de Villiers, Shivam Dube, Colin de Grandhomme, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini
7:28 PM IST: MS Dhoni wins toss, and CSK will chase. RCB captain Virat Kohli says he has no issues batting first.
7:21 PM IST: A little while ago, Sunil Gavaskar and Simon Doull appeared for the 'pitch report'. The batting great said 200 might not happen, and the team winning the toss will prefer chasing.
7:17 PM IST: Interesting scenes. Former BCCI boss N Srinivasan was seen shaking hands with CSK captain MS Dhoni even as fans chant their names.
7:10 PM IST: Then, how about this? MS Dhoni (710 runs in 24 matches) is the only player to have 650+ runs against RCB in IPL; Virat Kohli (732 runs in 21 innings) is the only player to score 650+ runs against CSK in IPL.
7:05 PM IST: Chepauk pitch is known to be a spinner friendly one, and CSK will surely hope to exploit it. And they have plenty of spinners in their ranks. BTW, last time RCB won in Chennai was way back in 2014. CSK lead RCB 15-7 in head-to-head encounters. CSK are almost unbeatable here. They have lost only once in the last 13 outings at home. Overall, they have won 34 matches, lost 13 and tied 1.
6:58 PM IST: Glimpses of teams arriving for the season-opening clash:
6:47 PM IST: The Supreme Court-constituted Committee of Administrators (CoA), running the Board of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI), on Saturday donated the entire amount (INR 20 Crore) budgeted for the opening ceremony of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 season to the armed forces.
6:30 PM IST: Here are some interesting facts ahead of the toss:
- Suresh Raina has been a pillar for CSK. He has scored in excess of 350 runs in each of the nine seasons CSK has played the IPL
- In 2018 IPL, CSK beat RCB both times they faced each other. Head to head: CSK 14 RCB 7, No result 1
- Virat Kohli’s 732 runs in 21 innings of 22 matches are the most by a batsman against CSK in the IPL
- MS Dhoni's 710 runs in 24 innings of 25 matches are the most by a batsman against RCB in the IPL
- 176 matches by Suresh Raina for Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Lions is the most by a player in IPL. MS Dhoni is second with 175 appearances
- A 229-run stand between Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers for the second wicket for RCB vs Gujarat Lions at Bangalore on May 14, 2016 is the biggest in IPL.
Preview:
The world’s top stars, past and present and irrespective of format, will grab the spotlight as IPL 2019 gets underway at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai Saturday evening.
Shane Watson, long retired from international cricket, Dwayne Bravo, the West Indian who only plays T20 cricket, and Harbhajan Singh, a full-fledged TV pundit will add experience to Dhoni’s CSK. In comparison, Kohli’s RCB is younger but there is no dearth of experience, especially when AB de Villiers is in their ranks and raring to go.
Dhoni has always relied on his trusted generals like Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja and has seen from close what a Kedar Jadhav is capable of in short-format cricket.
RCB has some exciting players, especially South African Heinrich Klaasen and West Indian Shimron Hetmyer. But history has shown that Bangalore has rarely profited from big names.
Both teams will look for a head start. RCB finished sixth among eight teams last season, winning just three of their first 10 games.
