IPL 2024 - Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik's 95-runs partnership helps RCB to 173 for 6

The season opener of the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium saw RCB go from 41 for 0 to 42 for 3, with Mustafizur Rahman claiming two wickets in one over with Rajat Patidar and Glenn Maxwell both departing for ducks while Deepak Chahar having one to his name after bowling an expensive over. 

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Virat Kohli (21) and Cameron Green (18) tried to stabilize the innings, but they too departed early. However, in came Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik, who stitched a very solid 95-run partnership at the end to help take RCB to 173 runs. While the score is not exceptional, it is significant, especially after RCB lost three quick wickets in the Powerplay itself. 

Dinesh Karthik, who played at his home ground went on to score 38 off 26 balls, along with Anuj Rawat who smashed 48 off 25 balls. The two lower-order batters broke ranks and took the ones and twos, then later went on to attack CSK's pacers towards the end. Their 50-ball 95-run stand has given their team a total to defend.

For the Chennai Super Kings, Mustafizur Rahman was the pick of the bowlers as he claimed 4 wickets for 7 initially, but he was hit for runs later which saw the equation change to 4 for 29. Deepak Chahar picked the other wicket, while Anuj Rawat was run out on the last ball of the innings by MS Dhoni when he and DK tried to sneak a run.

Teams:

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni(w), Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana, Mustafizur Rahman, Tushar Deshpande

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Faf du Plessis(c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik(w), Anuj Rawat, Karn Sharma, Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj.