Virat Kohli gave a fiery and aggressive send-off to debutant Rachin Ravindra during the IPL 2024 opener between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore at M Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk on Friday, March 22.
Ravindra opened the innings with Ruturaj Gaikwad and displayed his impressive batting skills. The 22-year-old unleashed his firepower and took Royal Challengers Bangalore's bowlers to the cleaners. Rachin Ravindra played a brilliant innings of 37 off 15 balls at an impressive strike rate of 246.67 before he was dismissed by RCB spinner Karn Sharma at 71/2.
In a viral video, Virat Kohli was at his aggressive best as he gestured Rachin Ravindra to go back to the dressing room while hurling abuses to the New Zealand youngster. Kohli was relieved after RCB finally managed to get rid of Rachin, who was taking on the bowlers with his explosive batting.
After Rachin Ravindra's wicket, Ajinkya Rahane was joined by Daryll Mitchell at the crease to carry on CSK run-chase. Rahane's stay at the crease came to an end after he was dismissed for 27 at 99/3. Then, Mitchell scored 22 off 18 balls before was removed by Cameron Green at 110/4.
Thereafter, Shubham Dubey and Ravindra Jadeja carried on Chennai Super Kings' run-chase. The middle-order pair formed a crucial unbeaten 66-run partnership to take the team past the finishing line in 18.4 overs. At one point, CSK were in a spot of bother when they required 46 off 30 balls but Dubey and Jadeja accelerated the innings.
When Chennai Super Kings required 10 off 12 balls, Shubham Dubey hit a six and a four off Alazzari Joseph in the penultimate over of the run-chase. With this, Chennai Super Kings kicked off their title defence in style and Ruturaj Gaikwad earned first win as a captain.
Rachin Ravindra credits Ajinkya Rahane and Ruturaj Gaikwad
The Chennai Super Kings' new recruit Rachin Ravindra gave credits to Ajinkya Rahane and skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad for allowing him to play his natural game.
"Yeah, I think it was a pretty complete performance by us. Obviously, the wicket was a good one and we sort of held our nerve. I mean it helped having the guys sort of finish the innings and batting with guys like Rahane and Rutu, very calm heads. So, allowed me to kind of play my game,” Rachin said.
Rachin Ravindra was acquired for INR 1.5 crore by Chennai Super Kings at the IPL 2024 Auction in Dubai in December. The 22-year-old was shot to fame during the ODI World Cup last year, where his batting exploits caught the attention.
With Devon Conway being ruled out for first half of IPL 2024, Chennai Super Kings are likely to continue with opening batting combination of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra
