Chennai Super Kings defeated arch-rivals Mumbai Indians in a classic encounter at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. The Yellow Army posted a mammoth total of 206 runs for the home favourites. Despite Rohit Sharma's mammoth century, the Hardik Pandya-led team could only manage 186 runs.
Earlier in the day, the five-time former champions made a stunning move to their formidable batting line-up after fielding veteran players. Ajinkya Rahane To open the innings in the captain's position Ruthuraj Gaikwad.
However, the move failed miserably with Rahane scoring just five runs off eight balls. The right-hander was dismissed by Gerald Coetzee in the second over after failing to get past Pandya at mid-on.
When Gaikwad stepped into the middle at No.3, he made sure to get the better of the MI bowlers. The young player scored 69 runs in just 40 balls which included 5 fours and 5 sixes. The CSK The fans were treated to a masterclass from MS Dhoni, who could only play four balls but hit MI captain Hardik Pandya for three sixes to take his team past the 200-run mark.
MI started the chase in fine style with 70 runs from their first ten overs before CSK's ace bowler Mathisha Pathirana dashed their hopes by taking four big wickets. The Sri Lankan slinger opened with another huge wicket of Suryakumar Yadav in the third ball after left-handed batsman Ishan Kishan was dismissed in his first ball. He then dismissed captain Hardik Pandya and bowled an excellent 18th over, conceding just six runs. In the same over, he dismissed MI's destroyer Romario Shepherd with a toe-crushing yorker that paid dividends for CSK's win. The young Gunn also received the Man of the Match award for his performance.
Gaikwad in Rahane's opening move.
After his fourth win of the season, skipper Gaikwad spoke to Rachin Ravindra about why he sent in Ajinkya Rahane to open the innings. The youngster revealed that Rahane had little ambiguity and was sent in to score as many runs as possible in the powerplay.
“Jinks (Ajinkya Rahane) was a bit indecisive, so he thought it was better to open. “I'm batting well anywhere, and it's an added responsibility as captain,” Gaikwad said in the post-match presentation.
