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Renowned for his fiery instincts, Virat Kohli gave an aggressive send-off to IPL debutant Rachin Ravindra in the 2024 season opener between CSK and RCB in Chennai on Friday, March 22.
Chasing 174 for victory, Ravindra got CSK off to a racy start before his dismissal in the final ball of the seventh over. The 24-year-old mishit a slog sweep off Karn Sharma to be caught at deep backward square leg.
A fired-up Kohli gave Ravindra a mouthful and gestured him to head to the dressing room. However, the Kiwi batting all-rounder had done his job, scoring a quickfire 37 off 15 deliveries.
Here is a video of the moment:
Earlier in the contest, Ravindra took the catch on the boundary to dismiss Virat Kohli during RCB's batting innings.
In a terrific example of teamwork, Kohli's pull shot off Mustafizur Rahman found Ajinkya Rahane at deep mid-wicket. However, realizing his momentum taking him towards the boundary line, he relayed the ball to Ravindra, who completed the catch.
CSK restricted RCB to 173/6 in 20 overs on a batting-friendly Chepauk track and chased it comfortably with six wickets and eight balls to spare.
"Worked for around 3-4 days to get into the transition from red to white-ball" - Rachin Ravindra
Rachin Ravindra was elated to be on the winning side in his debut IPL game and spoke about the work he put in for a quick transition from red to white ball cricket.
The southpaw was part of New Zealand's 2-0 Test series defeat to Australia that ended less than a fortnight back. Following an incredible showing in the 2023 ODI World Cup, CSK acquired Ravindra for a bargain price of ₹1.8 crore at the auction last year.
After the IPL opener, Ravindra spoke to the host broadcasters and said:
"I think it was a pretty complete performance, we held our composure together towards the end, great hands from Jinx and Rutu as well. I wouldn't call myself a starter, I worked for around 3-4 days to get into the transition from red to white-ball. It was good, the training wicket was different, I wasn't sure if I was hitting well."
The win made it eight consecutive wins for CSK over RCB at home, dating back to 2008.
They will take on the Gujarat Titans in a repeat of last year's final in their second match of the 2024 IPL season in Chennai on Tuesday, March 26.
