Noor Ahmad celebrates one of his four wickets © Sportzpics A clinical performance from Chennai Super Kings saw them defeat their arch-rivals Mumbai Indians at Chepauk to lay down an early marker in IPL 2025. On a surface that did aid spin (finally), CSK did the job with the ball, led by their new recruit Noor Ahmad which was then followed by contrasting half-centuries from Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra to pick up a four-wicket win. The loss meant MI have now failed to win their opening game of an IPL season for the 13th successive time. Where was the game won? In the PowerPlay. The middle overs for both teams were quite similar in terms of the end product. Both teams struggled to find the boundary regularly against spin which meant the first six overs were absolutely crucial. The end difference was just 10 runs but MI in that phase lost two extra wickets which proved to be crucial in the end. CSK on the other hand, lost only one wicket in the PowerPlay with Gaikwad ensuring he made the most of this phase by getting his team off to a flier. That start meant despite the stutter in the middle overs, CSK were able to recover and finish off the game at the death. Mumbai Indians Powerplay – New boys make an impression Phase score – 52/3 [RR: 8.66, 4s/6s: 9/1] R Ashwin isn’t necessarily a new boy in CSK colours. But it’s been a decade since he played for them. He immediately made a mark after being asked to bowl in the PowerPlay with a carrom ball that Will Jacks mistimed to get caught by Shivam Dube. However, prior to Ashwin’s ideal homecoming it was Khaleel Ahmed who hit the headlines early after CSK opted to bowl first. He dismissed Rohit Sharma for a duck after the former MI skipper hit one straight to mid-wicket. Ryan Rickelton, playing his first IPL game, hit a couple of delightful strokes off Sam Curran but his adventurous start was cut short by Khaleel as the left-hander under-edged one that shattered his stumps. Tilak Varma then sprung a surprise by playing a couple of high risk shots off his first two deliveries to pick up boundaries and Suryakumar Yadav rounded off the PowerPlay with a typical whip that sailed over the fence. Middle overs – Spin to win again at Chepauk? Phase score – 58/3 [RR: 6.44, 4s/6s: 1/2] The narrative around CSK’s pre-season was always centred around the surface at Chepauk. Having not gotten the desired pitches in recent times, CSK hoped for a friendlier surface this time. While it wasn’t really a throwback to their glory days, it still had enough to cause problems for the batting side. Even though Tilak slammed Ravindra Jadeja for a couple of sixes, it was the Noor show in the middle phase which completely changed the game in CSK’s favour after the halfway mark. MI were decently placed at 82 for 3 after 10 overs but Noor broke the partnership by getting rid of Suryakumar Yadav who was stumped lightning quick by 43-year-old MS Dhoni. The Afghan spinner then picked two in his next over to derail MI as Robin Minz and Tilak failed to read the googly. At 110 for 6, MI needed something special from their lower order to post a competitive total. Death overs – Deepak Chahar drags MI to 155 Phase score – 45/3 [RR: 9, 4s/6s: 3/2] With Nathan Ellis having three overs up his sleeve to round off the innings, things looked bleak for MI. To make matters worse, Noor returned for his final over and bowled Naman Dhir around his legs. It was then left to the two former CSK men Mitchell Santner and Deepak Chahar to drag their new franchise to a respectable total. While Santner got trapped lbw against Ellis, Chahar hammered two sixes and two fours in the final two overs to push MI beyond 150 and give them something to fight for. Chennai Super Kings Powerplay – The Ruturaj Gaikwad show Phase score – 62/1 [RR: 10.33, 4s/6s: 8/2] CSK sprung a surprise by sending Rahul Tripathi to open alongside Rachin. But it didn’t take long for Gaikwad to walk out to bat as Chahar gave MI the early breakthrough with a short ball that Tripathi gloved behind to the keeper. Gaikwad took very little time to get going though as he hit Trent Boult for a couple of boundaries before taking on Chahar for a massive six over deep mid-wicket. Satyanarayana Raju was welcomed to the attack with a couple of fours and Suryakumar’s move to round off the PowerPlay with a quiet over by bowling Santner was ruined as the CSK skipper took on the left-arm spinner for a six and a couple of fours to race to 42 off just 19 deliveries. Middle overs – Debutant pegs back CSK Phase score – 57/4 [RR: 6.33, 4s/6s: 0/3] The shot of the match came in the first over after the PowerPlay when Gaikwad effortlessly lofted one over extra cover for his third six before reaching his fifty off just 22 balls – his fastest in IPL. It needed a debutant to stop Gaikwad’s carnage as Vignesh Puthur made an impact immediately after coming in to the attack as the CSK skipper mistimed one to get caught near the boundary. From thereon, the game slowly sprung back to life. Shivam Dube walked out with intent and pulled Jacks over deep mid-wicket for a six but he mistimed Puthur in the very next over to get caught near the boundary. The debutant had a field day as he struck again, in his third over. Despite getting hit for a six by Ravindra earlier in the over, the left-arm spinner managed to prize out Deepak Hooda to cause some flutter in the CSK camp. MI kept bowling their spinners to apply the squeeze and Sam Curran was next to depart as he failed in his attempt to break free and got castled by Jacks. CSK now needed 37 from the final five overs with five wickets in hand. Death overs – Rachin to the rescue Phase score – 39/1 [RR: 9.35, 4s/6s: 1/3] With the game getting tighter, CSK needed a couple of boundaries to release the pressure and coast to victory. Jadeja did find that boundary immediately when pace was back on with Boult returning but it was Rachin who pretty much shut MI’s faint hopes with two clinical sixes off Puthur in the 18th over to also bring up a vital half-century. With a lot of debate around that overseas opening slot, Rachin did his chances no harm with a measured fifty. Jadeja’s run out in the penultimate over dragged Dhoni out to the middle but it only delayed the inevitable as Rachin hammered another six to seal the deal with five balls left. Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 155/9 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 31; Noor Ahmad 4/18, Khaleel Ahmed 3/29) lost to Chennai Super Kings 158/6 in 19.1 overs (Rachin Ravindra 65*, Ruturaj Gaikwad 53; Vignesh Puthur 3/32) by 4 wickets What’s next for the teams? CSK would have liked what they saw tonight at the Chepauk. They would hope for another sticky surface to aid their spin trio against RCB on Friday in a blockbuster southern derby. A day later, MI will play their second fixture against Gujarat Titans, which will be an away game again.
