The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) men, one assumed, would have a spring in their steps after their women’s team’s title triumph in the WPL and also because ‘King Kohli’ was reportedly in his elements in the run-up to IPL 2024. The Chennai Super Kings, on the other hand, couldn’t be blamed if they were a bit shaky under a new captain. But in reality, the opposite happened.

The Super Kings, the defending champions, put forward an extremely confident first step in their season opener, while RCB were looked wobbly and weak in Chennai on Friday. As a result the home team walked away with a comfortable six-wicket win to kick-off the season.

Two Mustafizur Rahman overs in which he took four wickets pushed RCB on the backfoot when they batted and that went on to make a difference in the end.

Man of the Match Mustafizur Rahman of Chennai Super Kings at the Chepauk on Friday. PTI

Despite the early jitters and a mundane middle phase, RCB actually recovered well in the last five-odd overs to post a decent total of 173/6 in 20 overs. But on a pitch that was quite good for batting, it did not prove to be enough as Chennai, under new captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, chased down the target in 18.4 overs.

RCB captain Faf du Plessis summed it up perfectly at the post-match presentation ceremony. “We were 15-20 runs short on a pitch that wasn’t as bad as we played in the first ten overs. We were always a little bit behind trying to get ahead of the game. They were always ahead of the game,” the South African said.

There was no standout performer with the bat for Chennai, with almost everyone who stepped out onto the crease doing his bit to ensure a great start to the season. Rachin Ravindra top-scored with 37 off 15 balls on his IPL debut, while Ajinkya Rahane made a brisk 27 off 19 balls before Shivam Dube (34 not out off 28 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (25 not out off 17 balls) finished the job for the home team.

Dube, the Impact Player for the Super Kings in place of Mustafizur, boosted his chances for a T20 World Cup nod from the selectors with an impactful and timely knock.

Late burst not enough

Mustafizur, the left-arm seamer, first removed Du Plessis and Rajat Patidar in the fifth over of the innings, and then once again struck a double blow in the 12th over when he sent back Virat Kohli and Cameron Green.

Kohli, playing after a break following the birth of his second child, had a quiet start as he got to face only six balls in the first six overs. He was struggling to break free when he was caught at deep mid-wicket as Rahane and Ravindra completed a fine relay catch.

RCB, who were not really scoring at a great click, were 78/5 when Australian Green walked back to the hut.

It seemed the Super Kings would call the shots for the rest of the RCB innings, but the 38-year-old Dinesh Karthik and 24-year-old Anuj Rawat had other plans. Keeper-batter Rawat (48 off 25 balls) was the more aggressive of the two as he blasted four fours and three sixes. Karthik was not far behind, hitting 38 not out off 26 balls. Together, the duo plundered 95 runs off just 50 balls. But that proved insufficient in the end.

While RCB will need to regroup, new Chennai captain Ruturaj “enjoyed” his captaincy debut. “Not even a single time I felt pressurised by anything... Obviously had Mahi bhai with me.”