By BD Narayankar
Chennai, March 23 (UNI) Chennai Super Kings (CSK) secured a thrilling four-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians (MI) in the third match of IPL 2025 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 152, CSK reached 158 for six in 19.1 overs, with Rachin Ravindra starring in the successful chase with an unbeaten 65 off 45 balls, which included five boundaries and two sixes. He brought up his fifty in style, smashing a full toss from Vignesh Puthur over mid-wicket for a towering six in the 17th over.
Ruturaj Gaikwad (32 off 26) provided a solid start, dispatching Mitchell Santner for a sublime boundary over cover-point in the fifth over and following it up with a well-timed flick past square leg to bring up his fastest IPL fifty in the seventh over.
However, CSK suffered middle-order jitters as Shivam Dube (9), Deepak Hooda (3), and Sam Curran (4) fell cheaply. Ravindra Jadeja (17 off 18) looked in good touch, slicing a delivery from Trent Boult through backward point for a crucial boundary in the 16th over. But he was run out in the 19th over, leaving CSK needing six runs off the last over. Ravindra held his nerve, finishing the chase with a boundary and a quick single.
For MI, Vignesh Puthur was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 3/32 in four overs, including the key wickets of Gaikwad, Dube, and Hooda. Will Jacks (1/32) and Deepak Chahar (1/18) also made breakthroughs, but MI failed to contain Ravindra’s steady innings.
Earlier, CSK’s spinners dominated as they restricted MI to 151 for nine after opting to bowl first. Afghanistan’s young left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad led the charge with an impressive four-wicket haul (4/18), while Ravindra Jadeja (0/21) and Ravichandran Ashwin (1/31) stifled the scoring in the middle overs. Pacer Khaleel Ahmed provided crucial breakthroughs, returning figures of 3/29.
MI’s innings never gained momentum after losing skipper Rohit Sharma for a duck in the first over, trapped lbw by Khaleel. Ryan Rickelton (13 off 7) and Will Jacks (11 off 7) showed promise but fell quickly, while Suryakumar Yadav (29 off 26) and Tilak Varma (31 off 25) attempted to stabilise the innings before falling to Noor Ahmad.
Robin Minz (3), Naman Dhir (17), and Mitchell Santner (11) failed to provide the late push, and Deepak Chahar’s cameo of 24 off 14 helped MI reach a modest total.
CSK’s disciplined bowling and Rachin Ravindra’s composed knock ensured a successful start to their IPL 2025 campaign.
UNI BDN