Debut Delight: Ravindra and Mustafizur sparkle as CSK kickstarts title defence with comfortable win
Fizz, as the fans call him (Mustafizur), was awarded player of the match after producing his best IPL figures (4/29) to put the RCB batters under pressure
Rachin Ravindra; Team CSK (Photo: Manivasagan)
CHENNAI: All questions regarding the replacements for Devon Conway and Matheesha Pathirana, who played a crucial part in Chennai Super Kings (CSK) title triumph last year, were answered by the debutants as the Ruturaj-led CSK breezed past Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to start its title defence on a winning note here at Chepauk on Friday.
Batting first, in what looked like a decent wicket to bat on, which later slowed down as the innings progressed, RCB looked solid in the first four overs of the powerplay (37/0 in four overs) as Faf du Plessis went blistering until Mustafizur Rahman’s pace off delivery offering width made the RCB skipper look for a drive and skewed it towards the backward point where the debutant Rachin Ravindra took a stunning catch to give CSK its first breakthrough.
Ravindra taking a stunning catch in Chepauk is not new, but this time it’s the New Zealander who later in the second innings showed his prowess with the bat scoring 37 runs off 15 balls to make everyone forget about the absence of Conway and played a sublime innings.
Fizz, as the fans call him (Mustafizur), was awarded player of the match after producing his best IPL figures (4/29) to put the RCB batters under pressure.
Mustafizur Rahman
Daryl Mitchell, another newbie in the block, displayed a quick (22 off 18) knock with the bat and also smashed back-to-back sixes off Karan Sharma’s over, which made the RCB skipper change plans in their game plan and give the ball to Cameron Green, which proved to help them as he got the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane.
The pair of Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja played a very good partnership (66-run stand) in the end and led CSK to defeat RCB by six wickets.
Positive takeaways for CSK
Good start of Rachin Ravindra up the order.
Daryl Mitchell power-hitting against the spinners.
Ajinkya Rahane (27 off 19) showing good signs after a poor Ranji season.
Mustafizur Rahman exhibited great potential, showing no sweat coming after an injury.
Areas to look on for CSK
Tushar Deshpande (0/47) showing signs of pressure in death overs.
CSK leaked 71 runs in the last five overs after being in an advantageous position in the middle overs.