An all-round performance from Chennai Super Kings saw them pip arch-rivals Mumbai Indians at Chepauk to start the IPL 2025 campaign on a promising note. On a surface that was a spinner’s ally, CSK delivered the goods with the ball, led by their fresh recruit Noor Ahmad which was then followed by polar opposite half-centuries from Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra to fetch a four-wicket win. The loss meant MI have now failed to register a win in their opening game of an IPL season for the 13th successive time.
The middle overs for both teams mirrored each other given the struggle to find the boundary regularly against spin, which meant the first six overs were vital. Ravichandran Ashwin immediately made his presence felt after being asked to bowl in the PowerPlay with a carrom ball that Will Jacks mistimed. Before Ashwin’s dreamy homecoming it was Khaleel Ahmed who hit the straps early after CSK opted to bowl first. He claimed Rohit Sharma for a duck before cutting short an adventurous start by Ryan Rickleton. Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav joined forces to round off the PowerPlay on a high and the young southpaw even slammed Ravindra Jadeja for a couple of sixes, but it was Noor’s canniness in the middle phase which completely turned the tide in CSK’s favour after the halfway mark.
MI were sitting pretty at 82/3 but Noor broke the partnership by dismissing Suryakumar Yadav who was stumped by an ever-agile MS Dhoni. The Afghan spinner then got past Robin Minz and Tilak via his googlies. At 110/6, MI yearned for help from their lower order. The late finishing kick didn’t exactly arrive but MI managed to go beyond 150 and give their bowlers something to play with.
CSK made a left-field move by sending Rahul Tripathi to open alongside Rachin. However, it didn’t take long for Gaikwad to stroll out to bat as Deepak Chahar struck with a short ball that Tripathi gloved behind. Gaikwad wasted little time to get going, racing to 42 off just 19 deliveries. The shot of the match transpired in the first over after the PowerPlay when Gaikwad serenely lofted one over extra cover for his third six before reaching his fifty off just 22 balls – his quickest in IPL.
Vignesh Puthur made an impact immediately after coming in to the attack as the well-set Gaikwad holed out in the deep. From thereon, the spin choke was on full display. Shivam Dube became Puthur’s second victim and the debutant kept up the good work by picking up another wicket in his third over, that of Deepak Hooda to ring the alarm bells in the home camp. MI kept employing their spinners to tighten the screws and Sam Curran was the next to depart as he failed in his attempt to accelerate. CSK now needed 37 from the final five overs with five wickets in hand.
𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝘽𝘼𝙉𝙂 💪
Rachin Ravindra takes #CSK to a win over #MI with a brilliant maximum 💛
Scorecard ▶ https://t.co/QlMj4G7kV0#TATAIPL | #CSKvMI | @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/rVjsGQOHyD
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 23, 2025
With the game going down to the wire, CSK sought a couple of boundaries to break free and motor to victory. They were produced by the composed Rachin who slammed two sixes off Puthur in the 18th over. Jadeja’s run out in the penultimate over brought Dhoni out to the middle, much to the merriment of the fans, but by then the writing was on the wall for Rohit and his troops.
