'Thalaiva watches Thalaiva': Rajinikanth spotted in stands watching Dhoni's CSK demolish RCB batters in IPL 2019 opener

The much anticipated 12th edition of IPL began with the defending champions Chennai Super Kings(CSK) hosting Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the MA Chidambaram stadium.  

While the fans were anticipating a close contest between MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, they were in for a triple delight in the form of a local hero, who arguably usurped the two on the field. 

READ: Varun Dhawan And Sonakshi Sinha Pick Their Teams Ahead Of The Season Opener Between Chennai Super Kings And Royal Challengers Of Bangalore

It was none other than the 'Thalaiva' Rajinikanth'himself.  The fans were on their feet when they realized that the 'Petta' start was in the house. Even CSK took to Twitter to show their respect to the legendary actor.

Even the die-hard fans of the Thalaiva were so overwhelmed by his presence that could not shy away from sharing their happiness on Twitter. Here are the reactions.

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As far as the on-field action was concerned, the RCB, who were put into bat by Dhoni, were bowled out for a mere 70, with 17 balls to spare in the first innings of this edition. 

It was a complete mayhem at the Chepauk stadium, with CSK slow bowlers spinning their web around the RCB batters, who failed to judge the condition and lost their wickets in a cheap fashion.

Harbhajan Singh started Kohli and his team's downfall, dismissing the opposition skipper and the top order on his way to take 3 for 20 in his four overs. He got support from Imran Tahir, who finished with an astonishing 3 for 9 in his quota of overs. Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets, while Dwayne Bravo finished the innings with a wicket in his very first ball.

As for RCB, their batting was in tatters right from the word go. Barring Parthiv Patel, who made 29 and was the last batsman to go, having opened the innings, no other batter managed to even reach the double figures.