Virat Kohli didn’t have a fluent start after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won the toss and opted to bat in the IPL 2024 opener against hosts and defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Chennai on Friday. And just when the RCB icon gathered some sort of momentum, Ajinkya Rahane‘s stunning effort and presence of mind as a boundary-rider ended Kohli’s stay.
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Kohli was on 21 when he shuffled across and attempted a pull shot against Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman. But Kohli didn’t find the middle of the bat and Rahane at deep mid-wicket took the catch while sliding, and just before his body touched the ropes, he relayed the ball to Rachin Ravindra who completed the joint effort.
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It was the third wicket taken by Mustafizur, who finished with figures of 4 for 30, which included wickets of Faf du Plessis (35), Rajat Patidar (0) and Cameron Green (18) besides Kohli.

RCB went on to put 173 for 6 on the board, thanks to the late-order cameos by Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik. While Rawat hit 4 fours and 3 sixes in his 25-ball 48, Karthik ended up with 38 not out off 26 balls, including 3 fours and 2 sixes.
The duo added 95 runs for the sixth wicket.