The much-anticipated cricket spectacular began on Friday, March 22. Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) faced off in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 curtain-raiser at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
While fans had hoped to see MS Dhoni take charge of what may be his final IPL season, the former India captain turned over the reins to Ruturaj Gaikwad a day before the launch. Nonetheless, MS Dhoni will continue to wear gloves behind the stumps.
MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli exchanged a heartfelt hug on the field as the former took his position behind the stumps and the latter walked out to start the innings for RCB. The two were all smiles as they hugged before the game began.
Here’s the video:
RCB’s Flying Start by Faf du Plessis Dampened by CSK Bowlers’ Strong Performance
RCB captain Faf du Plessis chose to bat first after winning the toss. He started the batting alongside Kohli, but the latter played a supporting role as du Plessis took responsibility of scoring runs. Faf controlled the 41-run opening partnership, scoring a 23-ball 35 before being bowled by Mustafizur Rahman.
Rahman, who made his CSK debut today, took two wickets in his first over, dismissing Rajat Patidar for a three-ball duck. Deepak Chahar, who gave up 17 in his second over, joined the party and removed the dangerous Glenn Maxwell.
Both Patidar and Maxwell edged the ball as MS Dhoni took two excellent catches behind the wickets. After a great start, RCB’s momentum waned, as they concluded the powerplay with 42 runs and three wickets.
Kohli accomplished two achievements during the match. Firstly, he became India’s sole cricketer with 12000 T20 runs, surpassing all others. Secondly, reaching this milestone swiftly, only Chris Gayle got there faster. Additionally, Kohli accumulated 1000 career runs against CSK, an impressive feat.