• Filmyatra Movie
• 01 Jan, 1970

There we have it then. After much anticipation and build-up, the 17th edition of the IPL is off and running. This is just the beginning of the nearly 2-month long cricket-festival and we've got some lip-smacking double-headers coming up over the next couple of days. Double all the glitz and glamour, double all the action and drama and of course, double all the thrills and frills. It was a great pleasure to bring you this opening encounter and we'll be right here covering every single game. For now though, this is Anurag Hegde signing off on behalf of Pradeep Krishnamurthy, Saurabh Shankar, V Harish and Siva. Take care and we'll see you tomorrow!

Mustafizur Rahman | Player of the Match

Ruturaj Gaikwad | CSK Captain: Total control I would say, right from the start (apart) from 2-3 overs. Would’ve loved 10-15 runs less but I think they played really well towards the end. I feel that was a big turning point to get Maxwell and Faf out. We got three quick wickets and it helped us control the next overs, that was the real turning point. I’ve always enjoyed it (captaincy), never felt it as an additional pressure. I had experience on how to handle it, never felt any pressure, obviously had Mahi (MS Dhoni) bhai as well. I think everyone in our squad are natural strokeplayers, I think even Jinks (Ajinkya Rahane) is playing really positively. Everyone knows their roles and which bowlers to take on. Role clarity really helps. Two-three things to work on, everyone batted well but I think if someone from the top 3 batted till the 15th over it would’ve been even easier.

Shivam Dube vs RCB in the IPL

46(32), Mumbai WS, 2021

95*(46), Mumbai DYP, 2022

52(27), Bengaluru, 2023

34*(28), Chennai, 2024

Total: 227 off 133, Avg: 113.50.50, SR: 170.67 4s/6s: 16/16

RCB in IPL season openers

2008: Lost to KKR by 140 runs

2017: Lost to SRH by 35 runs

2019: Lost to CSK by 7 wickets

2021: Won vs MI by 2 wickets

2024: Lost to CSK by 6 wickets

CSK vs RCB at Chepauk

Won by CSK: 8

Won by RCB: 1 (2008)

Most wins against a team in the IPL

23 - MI vs KKR

21 - CSK vs RCB

21 - KKR vs PBKS

20 - MI vs CSK

19 - CSK vs DC

Highest aggregate in an IPL game with no individual 50-plus score

349 - CSK vs RCB, Chennai, 2024

343 - GL vs RPS, Rajkot, 2017

343 - KKR vs CSK, Abu Dhabi, 2021

342 - PBKS vs RR, Mohali, 2014

337 - SRH vs KKR, Hyderabad, 2023

Rachin Ravindra: I think it was a pretty complete performance, we held our composure together towards the end, great hands from Jinx and Rutu as well. I wouldn't call myself a starter, I worked for around 3-4 days to get into the transition from red to white-ball. It was good, the training wicket was different, I wasn't sure if I was hitting well. Got a bit lucky at the start, but that helped me settle and get over my nervous energy. It's easier to settle into an environment when you know you have a couple of boys with whom you have hung around for a while.

Faf du Plessis | RCB Captain: Always when you play, you get a bit of dip after the six overs. Chennai are a very good team in the middle overs, they squeeze you with their spinners. Maybe we were about 15-20 runs short, the pitch wasn’t as bad as we played in the first 10 overs. They were always ahead in the chase, we tried to squeeze and get a couple of wickets, but in the end we didn’t have enough runs. On this pitch, it is always better to bat first. Last year, the record was very skewed towards teams that batted first. The ball started to grip a bit with our spinners. Really good for Dinesh to set up his season, especially for someone who hasn’t played a lot of cricket. Anuj has shown some great promise for us, he showed great composure for a young guy and great power through the backend.

CSK give their fans a win upon returning to their fortress. The packed house might not have had a chance to see their Thala out with the bat but they would've gotten what they bargained for. These are two fan-bases that love having a go at each other and the yellow-army take all the spoils tonight.