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Chennai Super Kings kicked off their Indian Premier League 2025 campaign in style, producing a clinical performance to secure a convincing 4-wicket win over long-time rivals Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Sunday.
Chennai, powered by an impressive spinners performance from Noor Ahmad easily outclassed a Mumbai Indians side looking completely out of sorts without their captain Hardik Pandya and pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah.
Ahmad set the tone with an impressive performance with the ball, and Rachin Ravindra delivered the finishing touches with his bat, guiding his team to a thrilling victory.
The Chennai Super Kings successfully chased down the score of 156 runs, courtesy of a brilliant 65 not out by Ravindra and Ruturaj Gaikwad's contribution of 53 runs despite a notable effort from Mumbai Indians' new face Vignesh Puthur, whose spell brought a temporary threat to the Super Kings' pursuit.
Ahmad's four-wicket haul limited Mumbai Indians to a below-par 155/9 after the hosts put them in to bat on a slow surface.
Gaikwad, batting at number three instead of opening alongside Rachin Ravindra, smashed 53 off 26 balls before the latter took over to ensure CSK got over the line in 19.1 overs. Ravindra remained unbeaten on 65 off 45 balls.
IPL debutant Vignesh Puthur (3/32), a left-arm spinner from Kerala who has never played senior cricket, made life tough for CSK who eventually found a way to start their 2025 campaign with a win.
The 24-year-old Puthur removed Gaikwad, Shivam Dube and Deepak Hooda in quick succession with all three failing to dispatch the rookie spinner into the stands.
Ravindra deposited Puthur for couple of sixes towards the end to keep the crowd going. The deafening roar came when M S Dhoni walked into the middle with four runs needed for the win but Ravindra hit the wining six.
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With the loss, Mumbai Indians maintained their dubious record of not wining their opening game of the IPL since 2012.
Earlier, Mumbai Indians scored 155 for nine against Chennai Super Kings in their IPL match here on Sunday.
Ahmad (4/18) ran through the Mumbai Indians middle-order after Khaleel Ahmed (3/29) removed openers Rohit Sharma (0 off 4) and Ryan Rickelton (13 off 7) in the powerplay.
Rohit Sharma departed without bothering the scorers as MI's top-order struggled to get going.
Stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav (29) and Tilka Varma (31) stabilised the innings a bit before Deepak Chahar's fiery cameo of unbeaten 28 lent some respectability to the total.