CSK vs RCB IPL 2025: Chennai fielders put on a sloppy display at Chepauk

The most-awaited rivalry of the season has hit the play button at Chepauk. The CSK vs RCB IPL 2025 fixture started with Chennai skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad winning the toss and opting to bowl first. Losing the toss might have suggested early luck for RCB skipper Rajat Patidar. However, that indication was proven wrong as the newly appointed Bengaluru captain survived multiple catching chances to hit a fifty in the first innings. The CSK fielders put on a sloppy display at their home ground, with Deepak Hooda dropping Patidar when he was just on 17. With the batter racing to his half-century at a strike rate above 150, Chennai could rue the chances they missed in the field.

RAJAT PATIDAR SMASHED FIFTY FROM JUST 30 BALLS AT CHEPAUK 🔥

- That drop catch is hurting CSK badly. pic.twitter.com/AKpW8TcDHk

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 28, 2025

CSK struggled a bit for their first breakthrough before MS Dhoni stepped in with his lightning-fast gloves. The former CSK captain stunned once again with his wicketkeeping brilliance, sending the dangerous-looking Phil Salt back in the fifth over of the game off Noor Ahmad’s bowling. The next man in, Devdutt Padikkal, also pressed the accelerator, wasting no time in sending the ball flying around Chepauk, thrashing the spin duo of Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. However, the same Ashwin dismissed Padikkal for 27 off 14, as skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad took a sublime catch.

However, Gaikwad’s catch of Padikkal remained the last positive moment at Chepauk for a long time, as a series of blunders followed. Rajat Patidar and Virat Kohli navigated the middle overs sensibly. However, CSK failed to capitalize on the chances they got. The RCB skipper was dropped on 17 when Deepak Hooda spilled a sitter. In the very next over, another opportunity arose, but Rahul Tripathi put down Patidar once again, off Noor Ahmad’s bowling. However, Kohli didn’t let CSK fans suffer for long, departing for 31 off 30 as Rachin Ravindra made no mistake, taking a catch at deep mid-wicket off a Ravindra Jadeja delivery.

Jadeja's reliable hands also came to the fore as he caught Jitesh Sharma cheaply in the first innings. However, Patidar, dropped twice at 17, rubbed salt into CSK’s wounds. The skipper made 51 off 32 before Sam Curran finally got him out off Matheesa Pathirana in the penultimate over. RCB, meanwhile, raced to a mammoth 197-run total at Chepauk. If CSK fumbles the chase, the nightmares of dropped catches would come back to haunt the team and the fans.