CSK skipper MS Dhoni presenting a cheque meant for the kin of the victims of the Pulwama terror attack to a CRPF official on Tuesday. PTI
Chennai, March 23
Harbhajan Singh was the star performer for defending champions Chennai Super Kings as they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets in the IPL opener here today.
On a tricky pitch that assisted slow bowlers, RCB were shot out for 70 in 17.1 overs, a target that CSK achieved in 17.4 overs. Ambati Rayudu (28) was the top-scorer for the Chennai side. Kedar Jadhav (13) and Ravindra Jadeja (6) remained unbeaten as the hosts got off to a flying start. RCB in defeat maintained their inglorious record against CSK and also had the ignominy of ending with the sixth-lowest total in the league. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's move to open with Harbhajan paid rich dividends as he removed RCB skipper Virat Kohli (6) in the fourth over and the team never recovered from that early blow. Parthiv Patel (29) was the top-scorer and the last man dismissed but hardly looked convincing. Moeen Ali slog-swept Harbhajan for a six but that was all that he could manage with a length delivery stopping on him as he tried to check his drive and a loopy return catch was gleefully accepted.
AB falters
AB de Villiers (9) wanted to hit out of trouble and was first dropped by Imran Tahir but off the very next ball was caught by Jadeja at the mid-wicket boundary. With Shimron Hetmyer (0) getting run-out needlessly, RCB were in the dumps even before halfway stage. Both the captains expressed their dissatisfaction over the slowness of the Chepauk track as the opening IPL encounter turned out to be damp squib. — PTI
5000
Suresh Raina is the first player in the IPL history to amass 5000 runs, from 177 matches at a strike-rate of 138.15. Raina is followed by Virat Kohli, who has 4954 runs from 164 games
Opening ceremony funds donated to armed forces
BCCI contributed Rs 20 crore, the budget earmarked for the IPL opening ceremony, to the funds of the armed forces and the CRPF. “It was unanimously decided that a sum of Rs 11 crore be contributed to the Indian Army, Rs 7 crore to the CRPF and Rs 1 crore each to the Navy and Air Force, respectively,” BCCI said in a statement. The toss for the opening match of the 12th edition of the T20 league was advanced by 10 minutes to allow a performance by the military bands. CSK announced that the proceeds from the ticket sales (Rs 2 crore) for the opening match would be donated to the CRPF. — PTI
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