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Cricket PlayersIPL 2019, CSK vs RCB at Chepauk, Highlights: Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir secure Chennai big win as Bangalore implode
Highlights: The Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets in the first match of the twelfth season in Chennai on Saturday. The CSK bowlers put up a brilliant performance to restrict RCB to a total of 70 runs. Theereafter, the CSK batsmen found it difficult to bat on the wicket in Chennai, however, they ensured that they don’t lose too many wickets. Eventually, Kedar Jadhav and Ravindra Jadeja wrapped up the match in 17.1 overs. ((Full scorecard))
23:04 hrs IST
CSK win by 7 wickets
Ravindra Jadeja tucks the ball for a single and Chennai Super Kings finally reach their target of 71 runs. They win by seven wickets and set the ball rolling in this season. If RCB would have managed 100 runs, they could have had a good chance of winning this match, but it wasn’t to be. MS Dhoni’s team reign supreme in Chennai once again.
22:58 hrs IST
RCB hold on
Siraj has bowled five consecutive dot balls to Jadeja with CSK just three runs away from victory. How long can RCB hold on for?
22:45 hrs IST
Siraj dismisses Rayudu
Ambati Rayudu would have liked to stay at the middle till the end, but it isn’t to be. He misjudges a delivery from Siraj and chops the ball onto the stumps. CSK: 59/3.
22:43 hrs IST
CSK need 12 more runs to win
Amabati Rayudu hits the ball straight to Virat Kohli and the RCB captain fakes a throw back to the batsman. Both players break into smiles. CSK need 12 from 35 balls to win.
22:38 hrs IST
Chahal finishes his four overs
Virat Kohli has bowled out his best bowler of the night. Chahal concedes just one run in the 13th over and finishes with figures of 1/6. CSK are 19 runs away from victory.
22:33 hrs IST
Rayudu’s classic cover drive
Ambati Rayudu struggled for form when he was playing for India, but once he has put his yellow shirt, he is timing the ball sweetly. He cover drives Navdeep Saini for a boundary. CSK need 20 runs from 48 balls to win.
22:29 hrs IST
Jadhav inches CSK closer
Kedar Jadhav strikes a boundary off Umesh Yadav’s bowling and takes Chennai Super Kings closer to victory. CSK need 24 runs from 53 balls to win the match.
22:21 hrs IST
Raina falls for 19
Moeen Ali strikes for Royal Challengers Bangalore! Just when Suresh Raina was looking to get into his groove, he presents a catch to Shivam Dube. He goes for 19, CSK: 40/2.
22:17 hrs IST
Milestone for Raina
Suresh Raina takes a single and with that he become the first cricketer to score 5000 IPL runs. Raina is also the leading run-scorer in the history of the cash rich league.
22:12 hrs IST
Four and four
Suresh Raina takes the attack to Moeen Ali as he hits back to back boundaires off the Englishman’s bowling. This will certainly release the pressure that the RCB bowlers had built in the innings with some tight bowling.
22:06 hrs IST
Free hit and boundary
Navdeep Saini bowled a no ball and then got hit for a boundary down the ground by Ambati Rayudu off the free hit. This is help the CSK batsmen gain some confidence as they have been on the back foot since the beginning of the innings.
22:00 hrs IST
Good over from Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal continues to pile on the pressure on the batsmen as he gives away just 1 run from his third over of the night. The CSK batsmen aren’t going for anything spectacular at the moment as RCB spinners are bowling really well.
21:56 hrs IST
Half-chance spilled
Moeen Ali created pressure on Ambati Rayudu by bowling five dot balls and that resulted in him going for a big heave on the last ball. Luckily for him, Umesh Yadav spilled a tough running catch at the mid wicket ropes. Rayudu survives on 8.
21:50 hrs IST
Watson dismissed
Shane Watson tried to sweep a Yuzvendra Chahal delivery but missed the line and the ball crashed into his stumps. CSK have lost their first wicket of the innings as RCB think they are right back in the game.
21:46 hrs IST
First six of the innings
Navdeep Saini had bowled a good over uptil then but on the last ball, Ambati Rayudu slaps the ball down the ground for a huge six. 8 runs came from that over from Saini.
21:41 hrs IST
Maiden over
Yuzvendra Chahal starts off with a maiden over as keeps the fielders interested with some fine bowling. Shane Watson tried to play against the line on couple of occasions but ended up edging the ball. Luckily for the CSK batsman, the ball didn’t go into the hands of fielders.
21:35 hrs IST
RCB players in the middle
Virat Kohli has led his team out in the middle as we are about to get underway with the CSK chase. Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu are making their way into the middle. The lowest score chased in the IPL is 117 so if RCB are to win this game, they will have to be beat history as well.
21:26 hrs IST
Spinners do the trick for CSK
Harbhajan Singh was the star of the night for Chennai as he scalped three big wickets early on to pile on the pressure on the visitors. Imran Tahir and Ravindra Jadeja scalped three and two wickets each to inflict further misery on RCB in the middle over as they were finally bundled out for 70.
Innings Break!
Bravo has the last laugh. RCB all out for 70 runs in 17.1 overs at the Chepauk.
Three wickets each for Harbhajan Singh and Imran Tahir https://t.co/t3SaXIBvgO #CSKvRCB pic.twitter.com/FgekqUrk1n
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 23, 2019
21:21 hrs IST
Bangalore all-out
Dwayne Bravo picks the last wicket of the innings of the Parthiv Patel hits his first delivery of the day into the hands of Kedar Jadhav on the leg side. With that Bangalore have been dismissed for just 70 runs in their first outing of the season.
21:18 hrs IST
Umesh loses his wicket
Umesh Yadav plays the wrong line and ends up being castled by Ravindra Jadeja for 1. Bangalore have now lost their 9th wicket of the day and they are still miles off the 100-run mark. Second wicket of the day for Jadeja.
21:13 hrs IST
Dhoni humours Jadeja with DRS
Ravindra Jadeja trapped Parthiv Patel in front of the stumps but the umpire said not out as he thought the ball was going over the stumps. Jadeja insisted that Parthiv seemed out and just to humour the bowler, Dhoni asked for the DRS to come into play. Dhoni smiled all along the way and shook his head as well to say that he wasn’t out. Replays showed that the ball was indeed going over the wickets.
21:07 hrs IST
Same old story for RCB
It was been a same old story for Royal Challengers Bangalore as they have failed to deceive once again. All the big-ticket players have disappointed and RCB find themselves on the backfoot so early in the tournament.
21:03 hrs IST
Tahir picks his third
Imran Tahir too completes his three-wicket haul as he gets rid of Yuzvendra Chahal for 4. Chahal hit the ball into the hands of Harbhajan Singh, who was fielding at mid-wicket. Bangalore have lost their eighth wicket now. A wicket maiden over from Tahir.
20:56 hrs IST
DRS comes into play, Saini falls
Imran Tahir traps Navdeep Saini in front of the wicket and they went up in loud appeal. The umpire says not out but Tahir made Dhoni take the DRS. Replays showed that he wasn’t LBW but he had edged the ball which was taken by Watson in the slip. Saini goes for 2 as RCB lose their seventh.
20:51 hrs IST
Jadeja picks his first wicket
RCB’s freefall continues as they have now lost their sixth wicket of the day in Colin de Grandhomme. Ravindra Jadeja produces an edge off the bat of the right hander and Dhoni takes an easy catch. The Kiwi all-rounder departs for 4.
20:48 hrs IST
10 overs have been bowled
The first ten overs of the innings belong to the defending champions as their bowlers have ripped RCB’s top-order apart. Harbahajan Singh have picked up three wickets, Imran Tahir has picked one while there was one run-out as well.
20:43 hrs IST
RCB lose half their side
After a short break, Dhoni handed the ball to Imran Tahir and he didn’t disappoint. On merely his second ball of the night, he picks his team’s fifth wicket of night. Shivam Dube (2) edges the ball into the hands of Shane Watson at first slip. CSK bowlers are on fire.
20:37 hrs IST
Hetmyer falls for 0
Excitement got the better of Shimron Hetmyer as he runs himself out for a duck on debut. The southpaw went for a silly run and Parthiv sent him back. Raina threw the ball quickly towards Dhoni and he took off the bails. RCB are in a spot of bother here.
20:31 hrs IST
Harbhajan gets rid of ABD
Harbhajan Singh is on fire at the moment as he gets rid of AB De Villiers to picks his third wicket of the day. ABD is dismissed in the same fashion as Virat Kohli as he hits the ball into the hands of the fielder at mid-wicket. This after Imran Tahir has spilled his catch at square leg on the previous delivery.
20:26 hrs IST
Second wicket for Bhajji
Harbhajan Singh picks his second wicket of the day as he gets rid of the dangerous Moeen Ali for 9. The southpaw was looking to hit the ball down the ground but chipped it into the hands of the bowler. RCB are struggling early on in the match.
20:23 hrs IST
Another good over from Chahar
Deepak Chahar continues to build pressure on the batsmen as he is not bowling away wayward deliveries. He concedes just six singles off his third over of the day and CSK are moving along nicely at the moment.
20:20 hrs IST
First six of the season
Harbhajan bowls a full delivery to Moeen Ali and the southpaw gets down on one knee and swats the ball away for the first six of the night over mid-wicket.
20:17 hrs IST
Virat Kohli departs!
That was the wicket that CSK were hoping to get early on and Harbhajan Singh has just provided that. Virat Kohli hits the ball straight into the hands of Ravindra Jadeja who was fielding at mid-wicket. Kohli departs for 8.
20:14 hrs IST
Excellent over from Chahar
Deepak Chahar continues his good run in the innings as he bowls another excellent over. He gives away just three runs off his second over to build pressure on the visitors. There was no-ball in the over as well but Chahar bowled the perfect yorker to negate the free-hit.
20:09 hrs IST
RCB dealing in singles
Spinner Harbhajan Singh came to bowl the second over of the day and he gave away seven runs off it. There were five singles and one double off Bhajji’s first over of the day. RCB openers are off to a steady start in their innings.
20:04 hrs IST
First boundary of the season
Parthiv Patel hits the first boundary of the season and it comes following a misfield. Parthiv hit a Chahar delivery straight at Shardul Thakur at mid-off and he let the ball go in between his hands for a boundary. Five runs came off the first over from Deepak Chahar.
19:58 hrs IST
Match about to start
RCB skipper Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel have made their way into the middle and they will open the innings for the away side. As for CSK, Deepak Chahar has the new ball in his hand and he will bowl the first over of the season.
19:50 hrs IST
Great gesture from BCCI
The India cricket board contributed ₹20 crore, the budget earmarked for the IPL opening ceremony, to the funds of the Armed forces and CRPF. The Committee of Administrators (CoA), running the BCCI, had decided to cancel the glitzy opening ceremony in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. Read full story here
19:43 hrs IST
Stat attack
732: Runs against CSK for Virat Kohli, the most by any player.
710: Runs for MS Dhoni against RCB, the most by any player.
38: Maximums by MS Dhoni vs RCB, the most by any player.
6: Fifties for Virat Kohli against CSK, the joint-most by any player (Rohit Sharma also has 6).
469: The highest IPL match aggregate occurred at Chennai between CSK & RR.
15: Runs for Suresh Raina to reach 5,000 IPL runs.
52: Runs for Virat Kohli to reach 5,000 IPL runs.
1: More fifty-plus score for Virat Kohli to equal David Warner’s tally of most fifty-plus scores in the IPL.
19:36 hrs IST
Playing XIs:
CSK: Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir
RCB: Parthiv Patel(w), Virat Kohli(c), Moeen Ali, AB de Villiers, Shimron Hetmyer, Shivam Dube, Colin de Grandhomme, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini
19:30 hrs IST
Dhoni during toss
“We are bowling first as we are not sure about the wicket here. It is the first match of the season and we are not sure about what target to set. We are going with three foreigners for this clash.”
19:25 hrs IST
Toss update
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has won the toss and Chennai will be bowling first in the first match of the season. Virat Kohli reveals during the toss that he will be opening the innings with Parthiv Patel.
MS Dhoni wins the toss and elects to bowl first in the #VIVOIPL 2019 season opener here at Chepauk.
Live - https://t.co/t3SaXIBvgO #CSKvRCB pic.twitter.com/awzzbDqeGk
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 23, 2019
19:16 hrs IST
Sayan: Bangalore’s likely XI
Here is my predicted XI for RCB -
Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel, AB de Villiers, Shimron Hetmyer, Colin De Grandhomme, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Siraj,
19:10 hrs IST
Pratik: Dhoni at Chepauk is something different
MS Dhoni loves batting in front of his home fans at Chepauk.He has the second-most runs at this venue (all T20s). Dhoni (1238) is only behind Suresh Raina (1403) in this lift. Not to forget that MS Dhoni also is the leading run-scorer against RCB in the IPL: His 710 runs include three half-centuries and have come at a strike rate of 140.59.
18:57 hrs IST
Sayan: RCB too have a plan for CSK’s batting line-up
Umesh Yadav was pick of the bowler for RCB in the last season and was fourth highest wicket taker in the league. 2018 was his best year in his IPL career in terms of wickets and bowling average. His economy rate was his second best since his debut season. Strike rate of 15.95 in 2018 is second best in his IPL career. Another motivating factor for him would be that if he has a good IPL, he could seal his spot in India’s World Cup squad.
18:45 hrs IST
Pratik: CSK have the perfect weapon to stop Kohli
Among the bowlers that call CSK as their home currently, only all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has got the better of the RCB skipper multiple times previously. Kohli has faced 96 deliveries off Jadeja and has scored just 104 runs at a strike rate of 108 — which is was lesser than his usual strike rate of 130. However, it is the wickets column that will give the hosts further joy as Jadeja has managed to dismiss Kohli three times in the past.
18:33 hrs IST
Sayan: How will CSK deal with Kohli?
Enough with team vs team. Let’s now take it player vs player. Who do you reckon is going to stop King Kohli? He enjoys a stunning record against CSK and he is the leading run-getter (732) against them as well. Moreover, the RCB skipper has hit six fifties against CSK and is tied at the top spot along with Mumbai Indians’ skipper Rohit Sharma.
18:20 hrs IST
Pratik: Young bowlers to shine for CSK
CSK suffered a huge blow ahead of the tournament as Lungi Ngidi was ruled out. However, i think it is time for the young bowlers to show their mettle this time around. Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif and Mohit Sharma are the designated pacers for CSK along with overseason fast-bowling all-rounder Bravo and Willey.
18:07 hrs IST
Sayan: RCB’s potent bowling line-up
Bangalore have Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Mohammed Siraj as their front-line pacers. To assist them there is the domestic sensation Navdeep Saini and the left arm bowler Khejroliya. The first three names are international regulars and they will surely trouble the CSK line-up.
17:55 hrs IST
Pratik: CSK’s quality ‘Indian’ all-rounders
Excellent point this Sayan and I have to agree with you. But allow me to remind you that three out of four players that you mentioned are foreigners and it will be difficult for the franchise to accommodate all the players at once. On the other hand, CSK have Indian all-rounders like Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav and Suresh Raina. Not to forget overseas all-rounder like Dwayne Bravo and David Willey.
17:42 hrs IST
Sayan: Quality all-rounders of RCB
I don’t feel that is going to be a problem for RCB as they have got some sweet timers of the ball all through their line up. With the likes of Moeen Ali, de Grandhomme, Marcus Stoinis (will join the team after Pak series) and Shivam Dube, RCB have big hitting all-rounders who are also wicket takers.
17:30 hrs IST
Pratik: RCB’s opening conundrum
But I don’t think RCB have done enough to deal with their opening problems. Parthiv Patel is likely to open the innings for them, but there are no other specialist openers in the team. Yes, Kohli has opened the innings in the past and can do it again but in my opinion, this is one thing area which CSK will be looking to exploit early on.
17:23 hrs IST
Sayan: RCB’s brilliant duo
Yes, I agree with you Pratik that CSK’s strength lies in their depth as far as batting is concerned. But you cannot fit all the mentioned players into the team at once. But for RCB, such problem doesn’t arise as Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers are more than capable of taking the game away from the opposition single-handedly. Not to forger the incoming of Windies hitman Shimron Hetymer. RCB’s batting looks sorted!
17:10 hrs IST
Pratik: CSK’s batting depth
There is no doubt that Bangalore is home to many power-hitters, however, Chennai themselves have an enviable pool of batsmen. They have eight players who have crossed the 1000-run mark in the cash-rich league - Raina, Dhoni, Watson, Rayudu, Vijay, Jadeja, du Plessis and Bravo. Not to forget the likes of Rayudu, Jadhav and Billings, all of whom can take any bowling attack in the league to the cleaners on their day.
16:57 hrs IST
Sayan counters
Royal Challengers seem to be well equipped to end their title drought finally this time around. With Virat Kohli at helm and some of the best power-hitters in the world in their rank, I am expecting that Bangalore will stun Chennai in their own backyard today.
16:45 hrs IST
Pratik’s opening salvo
Chennai have retained majority of the players from their trophy-winning campaign in 2018 and they would feel confident of a good show this time around as well. MS Dhoni takes charge of the team once again and he will be eager for his team to get off to a winning start in their title defence in front of the home crowd at Chepauk.
16:35 hrs IST
Hello and welcome
A very warm welcome to the live blog of the first match of the 12th season of the Indian Premier League between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Before the blockbuster contest gets underway, we will try to preview the match-up between two heavyweights of Indian cricket. My name is Pratik Sagar, cricket correspondent at Hindustan Times and I will present my case for CSK and why I feel they should win the opener. Our fellow cricket correspondent Sayan Ghosh will put forward his views as to why RCB will trump the defending champions today.
