By Ikram Khan



Chennai Super Kings

Kolkata Knight Riders

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Kolkata

IPL

Dhoni

BMRCL makes life easy for city IPL fans



Tournament winner odds



Royal Challengers Bangalore 4.5

Mumbai Indians 4.5

Chennai Super Kings 6

Kolkata Knight Riders 6

Sunrisers Hyderabad 6.5

King XI Punjab 8

Delhi Daredevils 10

Rajasthan Royals 10



In pictures: MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018 opener 1 8 Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018 opener Ishan and Suryakumar shared 78 runs for the third wicket to pull the hosts out of trouble. But the stand was ended by Australian Watson, who got rid of the latter by having him caught by Harbhajan Singh at deep square leg in the 13th over. Ishan then fell to South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir, leaving his side at 113/4 in 14.4 overs. Photo by Raju Shinde Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018 opener While seamer Deepak Chahar got an LBW verdict against Lewis, Rohit was dismissed after a top-edge off veteran medium pacer Shane Watson was caught by Ambati Rayudu at backward point. Photo by Raju Shinde Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018 opener After CSK captain Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl, these four Mumbai batsmen helped the hosts recover from a poor start which resulted from the dismissals of openers Ervin Lewis (0), Rohit Sharma (15) inside 20 runs. Photo by Raju Shinde Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018 opener For Mumbai, Markander scalped three wickets while Pandya took two. Earlier, Mumbai Indians posted 165/4 in 20. Suryakumar Yadav (43 off 29 deliveries), Krunal Pandya (41 not out off 22), Ishan Kishan (40 off 29) and Hardik Pandya (22 not out off 20) were the main contributors for three-time champions Mumbai. Photo by: Raju Shinde Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018 opener In the very next over, Rayudu was sent back to the pavilion by spinner Mayank Markande. Now with scoreboard reading 42/3, middle-order got exposed and batsmen like Kedar Jadhav (14 retired hurt) Mahendra Singh Dhoni (5) and Ravindra Jadeja (12) failed to rise to the occasion and dismissed cheaply. Towards the end Bravo, smashed the Mumbai bowlers all around the park and also narrowed the gap of runs but lack of support from other end costed hugely but at the end Jadhav made it easy as he took his team to the finish line. Photo by Raju Shinde Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018 opener Shane Watson (16)A played his shots while Ambati Rayudu (22) rotated the strike. But after adding 27 runs in four overs, medium pacer Hardik Pandya dismissed Watson. Incoming batsmen Suresh Raina (4) also struggled in the middle but Rayudu kept on scoring runs at the other end. Soon Raina was also sent packing in the sixth over by Pandya. Photo by: Raju Shinde Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018 opener Mumbai's middle-order batsman Dwayne Bravo (68 off 30), also played a brilliant innings towards the end but could not took his team to the finishing line as he was dismissed in the second last over by Jasprit Bumrah. Chasing a decent score of 166, Chennai openers started the proceedings on a positive note. Photo by: Raju Shinde Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018 opener A heroic effort from Kedar Jadhav at the end helped Chennai Super Kings edged past three-time champions Mumbai Indians by one wicket in the opening match of the 11th Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament here on Saturday. Needing seven runs in three balls, Jadhav (24 not out) who got retired hurt, scooped a six over short fine leg and then slammed a boundary at covers off Mustafizur Rahman to clinch a thriller for his team. Photo by: Raju Shinde



andfollow close on heelsDespite the fact that(RCB) lost their opening game against the Bollywood star Shah Rukh ownedKnight Riders at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata and reigning champions Mumbai Indians were stunned by the pyrotechnics of the flamboyant West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo at home in the opening match of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (), the bookmakers fancy the two teams most, RCB and Mumbai Indians on top of the betting board.The bookies are offering (4.5) for both RCB and Mumbai Indians and that effectively means that an investment of Rs 1,000 on either team will fetch a dividend of Rs 5,500 if RCB or Mumbai Indians emerge champs. A couple of leading bookies disclosed that “Dhanda is Thanda” considering that it is early days in the league and most big bettors are studying the form and the momentum before thay start to place the big bets on the tournament winner.Chennai Super Kings (CSK) led by M Sback after a two-year suspension was quoted at (7.5) at the start but after two final over wins, the bookies have lowered the odds on CSK to (6), while the Hyderabad Sunrisers who opened at (6) are now quoted at (6.5) despite winning their opening game against Rajasthan without raising a sweat.The Knight Riders share the third spot on the board with CSK. The Dinesh Karthik led unit according to the pundits is the most balanced side. Most old hats in the game are of the view that the Knight Riders will go the distance. Back in business after cooling his heels for one year following the dope ban, Andre Russell is in good nick and coach Jacques Kallis is delighted with the approach and form of the power-hitter who stunned the Chennai crowd, producing the maximum shots at will in what is rated as one of the best innings in the IPL, 88 from 36 balls at Chepauk.A couple of bookmakers revealed that small bets are being placed on Mumbai Indians and RCB and the volumes will get bigger in the days ahead. The big bets on winner will take a while but the betting on each match is big. Barring the opening game which Mumbai Indians lost after being in the driver’s seat before Bravo turned the match on its head, the punters have ended up on the winning side.Admitting that they have lost out at the start, the bookies are confident that they will recoup their losses in the week ahead. All they need is a couple of stunning results and they know that T20 is loaded in their favour.Last train at 12.30 am, with trains available every 15 minutes, on all match daysPassengers on last train from Cubbon Park towards Mysuru Road can avail connections towards Nagasandra and Yelachenahalli stations from Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Station, MajesticPriced at Rs 50, paper tickets for a return journey from Cubbon Park and Mahatma Gandhi Road metro stations (valid 4pm onwards) can be bought from any metro station. Smart card holders pay regular discounted rate.