IPL 2019, CSK vs RCB: It was all about the pitch
How do you analyse a match where you have 22 super talented cricketers with skills in multiple disciplines, and at the end of it all it becomes clear that it was the pitch that really determined the result?
Virat Kohli has to be the most luckless captain with the toss. He seems to lose it almost every match, which as a side note, makes his record as an international captain look even more glorious.
But this being the IPL, losing the toss on a pitch such as this is like the death knell sounding 30 minutes before the match has even started. MS Dhoni had no hesitation in chasing. He said he wasn't sure how the pitch was going to behave, and chasing gave them that luxury of seeing the target and then deciding whether to go hard from the start or not.
As it turned out, the CSK batsmen had to play a Test-like innings rather than a T20 one, to reach their minuscule target of 71. Post-match, both captains seemed to agree that this was more of a 140-type of pitch rather than a typical T20 one of 160-180.
Such pitches always play into the hands of the chasing team. The team batting first are stuck between scoring quickly, but also safely, and more often than not, they fail to score even 140 in trying to reach 180.
As with every RCB match, it would come down to two wickets - those of the two best batsmen in the world - Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. And lo and behold, the one taking both those wickets was the good ol' turbanator, Harbhajan Singh.
With Ravindra Jadeja and Imran Tahir also in the side, Harbhajan was looked at as more of the third spinner. But Dhoni opened the bowling with Harbhajan (yet another of Dhoni's miracle moves) and bowled his spell of 4 overs on the trot, surprisingly also being rewarded with the two key wickets. Thala is Thala for a reason.
With Marcus Stoinus and Nathan Coulter-Nile still not in the side due to the Australians' matches with Pakistan, there is no depth in the RCB batting. A valiant effort from Parthiv Patel took them to 70, but despite how bad the pitch plays, 70 is too small a score to defend at this level - unless the batsmen commit hara-kiri.
Yuzvendra Chahal's early wicket of Shane Watson gave a ray of hope to RCB, but the now-dependable Ambati Rayadu and the evergreen Suresh Raina ensured there were no more hiccups, and the fat lady had sung.
Raina also became the first to complete 5,000 IPL runs in the process, and cemented his legendary status in the tournament.
RCB probably have the toughest opening schedule, being drawn to face three-time champions CSK and MI as well as 2018 runners-up SRH as their first three opponents. They will need to somehow come up with a 1-2 or 2-1 record to kick-start their campaign, or it might be over sooner than they expect.
The pitch provided at the MA Chidambaram stadium probably gives CSK a fair shot at the top 4 as early as now. Their spinners are suited to these pitches, and they will be heavy favourites in all their home games.
IPL 2019 has opened. Let the party begin.