In the opening match of the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Virat Kohli was caught on camera giving an expletive-laden send-off to debutant Rachin Ravindra. In a video that has gone viral on the Internet, a frustrated and anguished Kohli can be seen hurling an abuse while also signaling Ravindra to get off the field.
The incident transpired on the last ball of the seventh over when Karn Sharma ended an entertaining knock from Ravindra. After Rajat Patidar completed the catch, Ravindra's knock came to a close after the Kiwi scored 37 runs off 15 balls with the help of three fours and as many sixes.
Watch the video here:
What happened in the match between CSK vs RCB?
The losing streak for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Chepauk continued as the defending champions began their title defense in just the manner they had hoped for. For the eighth consecutive time, the Yellow Army trounced the Red Army at Chepauk.
After electing to bat first, RCB did well to post a score of 173/6 in 20 overs after they were reduced to 78/5. Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik played attractive knocks with the bat which gave RCB bowlers a chance to defend the total.
CSK began their run chase in fifth gear with debutant Ravindra going bonkers from the onset. All the top six CSK batters made handy contributions as the Super Kings managed to chase down the target with six wickets to spare and eight balls remaining in the game.
An excellent debut for Rachin Ravindra
While Rachin Ravindra didn't get a chance to roll his arm over, the left-handed stylish strokemaker made the most of the opportunity he received to show his potential with the bat. Ravindra rose to fame in the 2023 ODI World Cup and since then, the young all-rounder hasn't looked back.
He began his IPL career with a confidence-boosting knock with the bat which only augurs well for him and the Super Kings franchise.
"I think it was a pretty complete performance by us. Obviously, the wicket was a good one and we sort of held our nerve. It helped having the guys sort of finish the innings and batting with guys like Rahane and Ruturaj, very calm heads. So, allowed me to kind of play my game," said Rachin after the game.
"I wouldn't call myself a star just yet. Luckily we had four or five days of good training to get into it and it's just an intent thing as well. I find it easier probably going red ball to white ball because your positions are quite similar and it's just about trying to bring that calming presence, trying to slow the game down. Something that I think this team is very good at doing and such great senior guys in the change room to learn from," he added.
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