CSK have handed a 13th consecutive defeat to MI in their opening IPL matches.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have started the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season with an solid victory. Facing Mumbai Indians (MI) at the MA Chidambaram, CSK chose to bowl first and restricted MI to just 155. The target seemed gettable, and following an impressive performance from Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra, CSK claimed a 4-wicket victory.
CSK Player Rating vs MI
Ruturaj Gaikwad, 10/10: Fastest-ever fifty in the IPL for the CSK captain, 22 balls. In the first match of the tournament, Gaikwad was in full flow. For some reason, he demoted himself to number three, but his impact remained the same. The target was gettable, and Gaikwad, with his 53 (26), killed whatever chance MI had. A captain’s knock.
Rachin Ravindra, 9/10: The Kiwi opener wasn’t at his best for most of his innings. He was 46 (41). Then in the last four balls he smashed three sixes to finish the game. His knock was almost a disaster. Luckily, he got CSK home with MS Dhoni by his side.
MS Dhoni, -/10: One can’t judge Dhoni’s performance. He stumped Suryakumar Yadav, but it wasn’t a tough take. He came to the crease when CSK needed 3 runs from 8 balls. Dhoni chose to defend two balls to let Rachin finish the match in the next over.
Ravindra Jadeja, 8/10: Some might see the numbers and say Jadeja didn’t do well. But he bowled tight overs, 21/0 in 3 overs. And when Rachin needed a partner, he stayed in the middle for 18 balls, scoring 17 runs. The run-out in the end was the only blemish.
Ravichandran Ashwin, 6/10: After a poor start on his CSK homecoming, 14 runs in the first over, Ashwin gave away just 17 runs in his next three. He did get the wicket of Will Jacks in the horror first over. An average performance.
Noor Ahmad, 10/10: Spending Rs 10 crore on the left-arm wrist spinners doesn’t look bad now, does it? The Afghani spinner spun his web around MI. He got Suryakumar Yadav in the second over, Robin Minz and Tilak Varma in the third over and Naman Dhir in his last over. He broke MI’s back. Mind you, Surya and Tilak were the highest scorers for Mumbai.
Shivam Dube, 3/10: Didn’t bowl in the first innings and scored 9 (7). The only thing Dube did was not tank the run rate. Went for a big one against unknown Vignesh Puthur and paid the price.
Sam Curran, 1/10: Bowled one over for 13 runs and wasn’t given the ball again. Curran came to bat when CSK were 107/4 in 11.4 overs and needed just 49 runs in 50 balls. When he departed for 4 (9), the figure was 40 runs in 35 balls. The return to CSK didn’t go well for Curran.
Deepak Hooda, 2/10: Didn’t bowl, similar to Dube. But Hooda scored 3 (5). He fell to Puthur as well.
Rahul Tripathi, 2/10: The move to send Tripathi over Gaikwad didn’t work. He lasted just 3 balls and scored just 2 runs.
Khaleel Ahmed, 9/10: A great start to the IPL 2025 season for the left-arm pacer. Khaleel started by getting the prized wickets of Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickleton. He bowled three overs in the powerplay for 16/2, playing a vital part in restricting MI. But he was taken for 13 runs in his last over (19th). Those two hits by Deepak Chahar spoilt a perfect outing for Khaleel.
Nathan Ellis, 4/10: CSK debut didn’t go that well for the Australian pacer. He’s least expensive over went for 7 runs, and the best batter he got out was Mitchell Santner. His last over (20th) went for 14 runs as Chahar took him on.
