IPL 2019: Match 1, CSK vs RCB: AB de Villiers's dismissal is the Moment of the Match
The Chepauk stadium played host to the VIVO IPL 2019 opener featuring the defending champions Chennai Super Kings and Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore.
CSK won the toss and decided to field first on a slow track. The pitch offered for the tournament opener was a low, slow rank turner. CSK got their strategies spot on. They played only three foreign players and had as many as four quality spin bowlers in Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kedar Jadhav.
This paled in comparison to RCB who had only Moen Ali and Yuzvendra Chahal as their spin bowling options. Looking at the pitch and conditions that suit spinners so much, RCB should have gone in another spinner in Pawan Negi, just to have more options.
On a pitch that turned sharp and square, Harbhajan Singh set up RCB's epic collapse. His accuracy and guile deceived Virat Kohli into playing an uncharacteristic false shot. He got out for six runs which led to a terrible collapse.
But the moment that turned this battle completely in favor of CSK was the dismissal of ABD. AB de Villiers mistimed a sweep shot which just missed deep square leg the ball before he got out. He then launched the next ball into the hands of Ravindra Jadeja, who made no mistake.
Considering the pitch conditions and the situation where Parthiv Patel was building an innings of some substance, it just required de Villiers to negotiate the spin of Imran Tahir and Harbhajan Singh. Once he gets set in, no ground is too small, no pitch is too tough for "Mr 360".
Harbhajan Singh's masterstroke to deceive ABD was the Moment of the Match. If ABD had stayed for even 4-5 overs more, RCB would have ended up scoring 120-130 runs. If the visitors had put up that score, things could have been a lot different on a tough pitch.
Unfortunately for RCB and their ardent fans who were looking at a fresh start in this season, they were in for a sheer disappointment- something they have been used to for many seasons now. On the other hand, everything fell into place for CSK and their fans.
The only complaint for the CSK fans who flocked to the Chepauk stadium was that they couldn't see their 'Thala' MS Dhoni bat. But they will take a thumping seven-wicket win over RCB to start the season.