It was Chennai Super Kings who started off their IPL campaign with a resounding victory against the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 7 wickets after CSK’s bowlers did a terrific job to bowl out Bangalore for a paltry score of just 70 runs. RCB did bowl well but the score just way too less for any contest. Chennai eventually coasted to the target with 16 deliveries left.
Chennai was given a tough fight by the visitors but the score of 70 was just not enough to give Bangalore a chance. For Chennai, Imran Tahir and Harbhajan Singh were the pick of the bowlers who bagged 3 wickets each. Ravindra Jadeja also returned with a couple.
Here are the Player Ratings for Chennai Super Kings
Shane Watson- 2/10
The former Australian all-rounder didn’t have a great day and was dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal without bothering the scorers much. Watson attempted a sweep but was beaten all ends up. He didn’t bowl a single over.
Ambati Rayudu – 5/10
Rayudu scored a sedate 28 of 42 deliveries in a very difficult pitch. He was consistently troubled by the RCB spinners and couldn’t find a flow in his knock. His knock was studded with a couple of fours and a six. Rayudu was eventually dismissed by Mohammed Siraj as he came down the track and attempted to whack it out of the ground.
Suresh Raina- 6/10
The southpaw who has been with Chennai Super Kings since the first year looked in good touch during his knock of 19 of 21 deliveries which included 3 fours. He was eventually dismissed by Moeen Ali as he went for a big shot.
MS Dhoni- 6/10
It was a sensational day at the office for MS Dhoni. He handled his troops to perfect and changed around the field to perfection. Yet again he proved why he is one of the best ever captains to grace the game. With the gloves, he was classy and took a brilliant catch to dismiss Grandhomme.
Kedar Jadhav- 4/10
The pocket-sized dynamite was not given a ball despite his heroics for India. Chennai already had several spinners and hence he wasn’t required. He remained unbeaten as Chennai coasted towards the target.
Ravindra Jadeja- 8/10
It was a sensational day for the spinners and it was no different for Ravindra Jadeja. He bowled in the perfect areas and did the pitch do the rest. Some of his deliveries were just unplayable and turned from length. He bagged the wickets of Colin de Grandhomme and Umesh Yadav to finish with impressive figures of 2/15 in his 4 overs spell.
Dwayne Bravo- 5/10
The Windies all-rounder bowled just a single delivery in the match and bagged the prized wicket of Parthiv Patel. The southpaw had batted through the innings and was dismissed by a good slower delivery from Bravo.
Deepak Chahar- 7/10
It was a good day in the office for Deepak Chahar. He was introduced in the attack early on by MS Dhoni and he didn’t disappoint his captain. The medium pacer didn’t bag a wicket but was economical in his 4 overs spell. He conceded just 17 runs and bowled in the perfect areas.
Shardul Thakur- 4/10
Thakur was not given a single over as Chennai wrapped it up with their remaining overs. He was hardly seen on the field and mostly had a rest day.
Harbhajan Singh- 9/10
The wily off-spinner was not expected to be part of the playing XI. However, MS Dhoni went for the experienced campaigner and he didn’t disappoint. He bagged 3 wickets in his quota of 4 overs which included the wickets of two best batsmen in the world Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. His wickets tally also included the prized scalp of Moeen Ali.
Imran Tahir- 9.5/10
It was one of the best spells Imran Tahir has ever bowled in IPL. He was introduced into the attack after Chennai had already taken 5 early wickets. Tahir wiped out the tail and finished with exceptional figures of 3/9 in his allotted 4 overs. His scalps included Shivam Dube, Navdeep Saini and Yuzvendra Chahal.