On a day the dais was graced by Shah Rukh Khan, Disha Patani, Karan Aujla, and Shreya Ghoshal, it was Rajat Patidar and his troops who set the stage alight with a dazzling seven-wicket victory over defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, led by a swashbuckling charge from their openers, chased down KKR’s moderate total of 174 with 22 balls to spare.
In the powerplay, with nothing but dew gripping the surface, Phil Salt and ‘Chase Master’ Virat Kohli took the KKR bowlers to the cleaners, racking up 80 runs in six overs without losing a wicket. This included a brutal 21-run over from Salt against mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy. The duo were striking at over 200, setting the tone for a dominant chase.
KKR managed to claw back with a few wickets after Kohli and Salt had raced to their respective fifties. Kohli became only the third batter to score 1,000 runs against KKR, joining David Warner and Rohit Sharma in the club. After Salt and Devdutt Padikkal departed, captain Patidar steadied the ship alongside Kohli, ensuring RCB cruised to an opening start to the season. Liam Livingstone applied the finishing touches to complete the chase.
A hard surface with quality bounce meant both teams preferred to chase. RCB won the toss and opted to field in the IPL opener. Under the leadership of new captain, Patidar, RCB came out all guns blazing, striking early with the wicket of the dangerous Quinton de Kock. But that didn’t mean the crowd was spared a moment of déjà vu. KKR’s new captain, Ajinkya Rahane, often underrated as a T20 batter, showcased his sublime form that had helped Mumbai clinch the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. From 9-1 after three overs, Rahane and Sunil Narine launched a counterattack, propelling KKR to 60-1 by the end of the powerplay.
Rahane’s clean striking saw him race to a fifty off just 25 balls, featuring four sixes and six fours, while Narine contributed three sixes and five boundaries of his own.
However, RCB clawed their way back with quick breakthroughs, led by Pandya, whose experience shone through as he bagged a three-fer from his four overs. The rest of the bowling unit stepped up as well, drying up KKR’s scoring rate.