The tournament opener of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has been won by the men in yellow. MS Dhoni and his men registered an easy 5-wicket win over the men in blue owing to brilliant fifties from Faf du Plessis (58*) and Ambati Rayudu (71).
Earlier in the game, MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bowl first citing the batting strength they had. MI started off well as they amassed 51 runs in the powerplay bit they also lost crucial wickets of Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock. After their dismissal, Surya Kumar Yadav and Saurabh Tiwary 44 runs for the third wicket, before Yadav’s dismissal in the 11th over.
WATCH – Hardik Pandya Smashed Huge Sixes Off Ravindra Jadeja
However, in the very next over, Hardik tonked Jadeja for huge sixes. In the next over of the Jadeja, he got revenge as he not only dismissed Hardik but also got the wicket of Saurabh Tiwary who was looking good in the middle. After those dismissals, MI never managed to get back in the game as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals owing to some brilliant bowling by Lungi Ngidi, Deepak Chahar, and Sam Curran.
In the end, Mumbai Indians only managed to reach a total of 162/9 in their quota of 20 overs. For CSK, Ngidi took three wickets, Jadeja and Chahar two-wickets each while, Piyush Chawla and Curran also got one wicket each.
During the chase, CSK had a forgettable start as they lost Shane Watson in the first over of Trent Boult followed by the dismissal of Murali Vijay in the second over bowled by James Pattinson. The Chennai-based franchise was in a spot of bother when they were 6/2 after the second over but then their experienced campaigner, Du Plessis, and Rayudu took the responsibility of steadying the ship as they added as many as 115 runs for the second wicket.
Rayudu was dismissed by Rahul Chahar in the 16th over when CSK needed 42 runs in the last fours over and soon after that, Jadeja was also dismissed on the first ball of the 18th over as the equation came down to Chennai needing 29 of 17 balls, then came Curran who played a fiery knock of 18 off 6 balls as CSK went over the line with four balls to spare.
WATCH – Faf Du Plessis Pulls-off Brilliant Boundary Line Catches
For MI, all their five bowlers (Jasprit Bumrah, Chahar, Pattinson, Krunal Pandya, Boult) got a wicket each. However, after Jadeja’s dismissal MI was gaining the command back but Curran’s whirlwind knock turned the game completely in CSK’s favor as he received the man of the match award as well.
Match Summary:
Chennai Super Kings – 166/5 in 19.2 overs (F du Plessis: 58*, A Rayudu: 71; T Boult: 1/23) defeated Mumbai Indians – 162/9 in 20 overs (S Tiwary: 42; L Ngidi: 3/38, D Chahar: 2/32) by 5 wickets and 4 balls to spare
Here is how netizens reacted to CSK’s win:
Great start to the IPL. Looks like it's going to be a cracker of a tournament.
Rayudu and Du plessis were brilliant but Sam Curran's cameo in the end was the difference.
Idli beats Vada Pav again #CSKvsMI— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) September 19, 2020
Solid start by @ChennaiIPL. 💪🏻
— Albie Morkel (@albiemorkel) September 19, 2020
RECORD: 100th IPL win for CSK under MS Dhoni @ChennaiIPL #MIvCSK
— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) September 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/gaurav_sundar/status/1307378582813986820?s=20
Bahubali Returns! 🦁💛 #WhistleFromHome #WhistlePodu #Yellove #MIvCSK pic.twitter.com/eoIUK0wFK9
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) September 19, 2020
Not for the first time, CSK defy the script #MIvCSK
— Sambit Bal (@sambitbal) September 19, 2020
Was it ever a doubt? Solid stuff from all the South Africans in the first game of the @IPL @faf1307 @NgidiLungi #QDK
— Tabraiz Shamsi (@shamsi90) September 19, 2020
MS Dhoni today:
– 100 catches in IPL (96 as keeper; 4 as fielder)
– 100th IPL win as CSK captain
– 250 dismissals as wicketkeeper in Twenty20 cricket#MIvCSK #IPL2020— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) September 19, 2020
Semmma start @ChennaiIPL #தெறிக்கவிட்றோம் 💪💪💪 #CSK Masssss 😍😍😍😍
— Sathish (@actorsathish) September 19, 2020
#MI won the first four overs in both the innings….and #CSK the rest of the game. What an opening game….well done Team Dhoni 🙌✊ #MIvCSK #IPL2020
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 19, 2020
So the first prediction (Tukka) was on point.Well done @ChennaiIPL for a winning start of this #IPL2020 getting back to back wickets twice was a huge factor for their win. #chawla #ngidi #deepak #jadeja #Rayudu #faf #samcurran
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 19, 2020
Well played @ChennaiIPL! It was a great game of cricket. @RayuduAmbati aisich kama kare toh bulawa aata 👍#ProGyaan #MIvCSK #IPL2020
— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) September 19, 2020
