A streak of low scores was broken by Rohit Sharma as he hit his first fifty of the season. Even Suryakumar Yadav looked his old self with a 30-ball 68, as the pair put on a match-winning partnership of 114 to guide their team to a comfortable nine-wicket win on what was a great batting wicket.
Riding on fifties from Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube, CSK posted a total of 176 — a score that was never going to be enough, as the dew had already started settling in during the first innings. Batting became easier, which is why both captains wanted to field first, but it was Hardik Pandya who won the toss.
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The first innings gave the impression that the pitch was a belter to bat on, with the ball coming on nicely. Rohit, along with opening partner Ryan Rickelton, laid the foundation for the run chase by adding 63 runs for the first wicket. CSK’s new-ball bowlers Khaleel Ahmed and Jamie Overton collectively gave away 53 runs in their four overs.
They erred in line and length, and the MI openers capitalised fully. The introduction of Ravichandran Ashwin didn’t change things either. Jadeja got the wicket of Rickelton but conceded plenty of runs. Even Noor Ahmad failed to make an impact, as the pair of Rohit and Surya didn’t allow the CSK spinners to settle. Boundaries flowed regularly, the required run rate kept dipping, and CSK lost their grip during the middle overs.
For the second consecutive game, CSK handed a debut cap to a youngster. In the last match it was Shaik Rasheed; in this game, it was Ayush Mhatre. And just like Rasheed, he made an impressive start. Two sixes and four boundaries — Ayush mesmerised everyone with his strokeplay.
Largely due to his efforts, CSK scored 48 in the first Powerplay. Soon after, Ayush was bounced out by Deepak Chahar, who completed his full quota of four overs within the first ten. Rasheed struggled to find the big shots and was eventually stumped off Mitchell Santner.
Jadeja was promoted up the order and added 79 runs for the fourth wicket. The partnership began slowly, with a lot of dot balls bowled between overs 9 to 15. Those dot balls ultimately proved costly, as CSK couldn’t push past 200. The death overs bowled by Santner and Jasprit Bumrah were boundary-less, and despite some late hitting from Jadeja and Dube, CSK fell short of a par total on a good batting track.
Pandya rotated his bowlers brilliantly, using a total of seven options. He held back Bumrah early and completed Chahar’s quota within the first ten overs. Santner bowled one over at the death — a smart move, as both Jadeja and MS Dhoni have historically struggled to hit spin, and that tactic paid off as well.