Royal Challengers Bangalore started their campaign on a winning note as they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 wickets to open their account in IPL 13.

Winning the toss, Sunrisers put RCB to bat first as it has been the trend so far this IPL. RCB got off to a flyer with debutant Devdutt Padikkal scoring a handsome 56 off 42 along with Aaron Finch for an opening stand of 90. Sunrisers’ bowlers slowed down the run rate and got two quick wickets. With Virat Kohli and AB De ’Villiers, RCB looked poised for a good total but Kohli got out cheaply. RCB was unable to take advantage of the opening stand but ABD proved once again by best scoring 51 to take the team to a respective total of 163.

In reply, Sunrisers lost their captain David warner early but Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey stitched in a good partnership. Jonny Bairstow scored 61 and at 121/2 in 15 overs. SRH looked poised for the victory. But Yuzevendra Chahal picked 2 in 2 to turn the tide of the match in RCB’s favor. In the end, it was a bit too much for the lower order as they got bundled out for 153 giving RCB the win.

David Warner the RCB captain pointed out that the over from Chahal was the turning point. He was also a bit surprised by the way he got dismissed today. He was overall impressed by the comeback his bowlers made after the opening stand but stated there was room for improvement.

Virat Kohli was pleased with his openers and also pleased with how his bowlers defended the total especially having to cope with Bairstow early on. He also praises for Yuzevendra Chahal as well as for other part-time bowlers who did the job when it was needed.

Chahal became the man of the match for his figures of 3/18 in 4 overs.

The biggest cricketing festival of India got underway today with defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on the mighty Chennai Super Kings. The hype was large as poster boy Mahender Singh Dhoni was returning to the field after 400+ days. Mumbai came into the match on the back of 5 successive wins against CSK while CSK was plagued with the corona Virus threat and injuries in the early part of the month with key players returning home.

Winning the toss CSK elected to bowl first on a pitch that looked nice upfront. Rohit Sharma and Quinton De Kock gave the batting side a good start before the spinners came in to tighten up things. Piyush Chawla was excellent in the middle overs but Saurabh Tiwary kept the scoreboard ticking. Jadeja’s breakthrough of Tiwary opened the gates and Mumbai could only manage 41 runs from the final 6 overs for a respectable total of 162/9.

In reply, CSK had the worst of starts losing both their openers within the first 2 overs. But from there on it was the Rayudu Show. A fantastic knock of 71 off 48 was enough for the team to guide them home. He was ably supported by Faf Du Plessis who remained unbeaten on 58*. Mumbai Bowlers had an off day and with dew settling in, the spinners were hopeless. In the end, it was Dhoni Du Plessis who finished the match with skipper Mahi on the other end.

The captains had their fair say with Rohit Sharma(MI captain) pointing it out that their batsmen needed to carry their innings forward once they settled in. Their fielding was also sub-par with dropped catches and misfields.

MSD(CSK captain) spoke on how the match fitness was a bit lacking but their experience paid off in the final moments and his experiment of Sam Curran sending up the order for some pinch-hitting worked well against the left-arm spin.

Ambati Rayudu was adjudged the man of the match for his knock of 71.

IPL is well and truly back, something which was missed over the past few months.