Hello, everyone! We are back with another IPL live blog, and it's time for El Clásico as CSK take on MI. The most successful teams in the league are set to open their season, and we are ready for it. The match kicks off at 7:30 PM IST. Stay tuned for live updates.
Full Squads:
Chennai Super Kings Squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni(w), Sam Curran, Ravichandran Ashwin, Matheesha Pathirana, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Nathan Ellis, Mukesh Choudhary, Rahul Tripathi, Deepak Hooda, Khaleel Ahmed, Jamie Overton, Shaik Rasheed, Anshul Kamboj, Shreyas Gopal, Noor Ahmad, Gurjapneet Singh, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Andre Siddarth C, Vansh Bedi
Mumbai Indians Squad: Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Ryan Rickelton(w), Mitchell Santner, Jasprit Bumrah, Reece Topley, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Krishnan Shrijith, Karn Sharma, Robin Minz, Corbin Bosch, Raj Bawa, Arjun Tendulkar, Bevon Jacobs, Ashwani Kumar, Satyanarayana Raju, Vignesh Puthur
MS Dhoni continues to be the biggest attraction of IPL 2025, maintaining his superstar status despite retiring from international cricket in 2020. At 44, he is the oldest player in this season and is playing his 18th consecutive IPL, 16 of them with Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
While stars like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, and Yashasvi Jaiswal have led India to two ICC titles in the past nine months, Dhoni바카라™s presence still commands unmatched attention.
Though not yet the oldest player in IPL history바카라”Brad Hogg and Pravin Tambe hold that distinction바카라”his future remains uncertain. With his limited appearances last season and having stepped down as CS
Chennai Super Kings have won the toss and have opted to field against Mumbai Indians.
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton(w), Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Robin Minz, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Satyanarayana Raju
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Rachin Ravindra, Deepak Hooda, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran, MS Dhoni(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Nathan Ellis, Khaleel Ahmed
Chennai Super Kings Impact Subs: Rahul Tripathi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Vijay Shankar, Jamie Overton, Shaik Rasheed
Mumbai Indians Impact Subs: Vignesh Puthur, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Karn Sharma
That is not a start Rohit Sharma would have asked for. A soft dismissal as he flicks a 139 km/h length ball from Khaleel Ahmed straight to midwicket. It wasn바카라™t an aggressive shot, just a routine flick off a leg-stumpish delivery, but he couldn바카라™t keep it down, and the fielder made no mistake.
MI 8/1 (1.1)
Will Jacks is off to a strong start! A full delivery in the slot, and he doesn바카라™t miss out. Lofted beautifully over wide mid-on, timed sweetly, and it races away to the boundary with a few bounces.
Another wicket down, and MI바카라™s start is looking shaky! Rickelton goes, bowled! Chopped on! Chepauk isn바카라™t the place for risky cross-bat shots, and he pays the price for trying to manufacture one. Khaleel Ahmed strikes again, sending Rickelton back for 13 off 7. All eyes now turn to today바카라™s skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, as he walks in.
MI 21/2 (2.2)
Suryakumar survives a close call. Nearly a repeat of Rohit's dismissal as he flicks a 134 km/h fullish delivery on middle stump with a flourish. It comes right off the bottom of the bat and half-volleys to midwicket, where Dube lunges forward but can't get under it.
The power behind the shot even knocks over the off stump, but luckily for SKY, the ball didn바카라™t carry to the fielder.
Suryakumar scampers for a quick single to mid-off바카라™s left. A shortish delivery on a fourth-stump line, skidding through, but he has enough time to wait on it. He rocks back and punches with a mostly horizontal bat, placing it well to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Jacks goes for the big shot but ends up handing a simple catch to extra cover. Ashwin is all smiles as he high-fives Dhoni, he knew that was coming. Jacks looked to take him on but didn바카라™t get the timing right, and Dube made no mistake. A short stay for Jacks, out for 11 off 7.
Suryakumar Yadav is leading from the front, steering the ship to safety. A cracking SIX! On the pads, and SKY whips it over square leg, clearing the rope with ease. It was a full delivery down leg, meant to swing, but ended up as a gift. Deep backward square was in place, but SKY trusted his timing, and he nailed it.
Tilak Varma picks up a single. A skiddy 96 km/h length ball on the pads, and he flicks it off the back foot toward deep midwicket.
Ashwin pauses midway through his action, trying to outfox Suryakumar, but it backfires. He ends up missing a caught-and-bowled opportunity as SKY pushes it away and sneaks a single.
Suryakumar Yadav Stumped! Age 43, but Dhoni바카라™s hands move faster than ever, lightning reflexes on full display! Noor Ahmad gets one to drift away, tempting SKY to step out for a big drive. But he바카라™s nowhere close to the ball, completely beaten in flight. Before he can even think of recovering, Dhoni has already whipped the bails off in a flash. Vintage MSD, doing what he does best.
Wickets Falling Like Rain in Chepauk! Noor Ahmad strikes again as the pressure gets to Minz. He tries to take on the wrong바카라™un, but there바카라™s no power behind the shot. Straight to Jadeja at long-off, he바카라™s never dropping that! Meanwhile, MI sink further as Tilak Varma is given out LBW. Unless he got a faint edge, this looks absolutely plumb. Third umpire checks... flat line as the ball passes the bat. No bat involved, Tilak has to walk!
MI 96/6 (13)
Naman Dhir and Mitchell Santner look to stage a fightback. Dhir picks up a couple. A 135.2 km/h short-of-length delivery outside off, he waits for it and taps it late towards short third. The fielder gets a hand to it but can't hold on, allowing them to scamper back for two.
Noor Ahmad has completely shifted the momentum in Chennai바카라™s favor. Three wickets in two overs, Mumbai바카라™s innings is in tatters, and they are struggling to find a way back.
Noor Strikes Again 바카라“ Four Wickets and a Hat-Trick Chance! Noor Ahmad cleans up Naman Dhir in style. A dream dismissal for any wrist-spinner, floated wrong바카라™un around leg, and Dhir completely misreads it.
He sits down for the sweep, but the ball dips, sneaks under his bat, and crashes into the leg stump. MI바카라™s hopes take another hit as Noor grabs his fourth, and now he바카라™s on a hat-trick.
A tight second, but Chahar dives in safely as Dhoni fumbles the take. Good length on off, Chahar tucks it into the mid-wicket pocket and is instantly off for the second. Dube swoops in, fires a flat throw, but Dhoni can바카라™t gather cleanly, giving Chahar just enough time to make it home.
Another cracking hit from Chahar, SIX. Khaleel takes the pace off, but it바카라™s still in the slot. Chahar holds his shape, stays balanced, and launches it straight down the ground, sailing over long-off with ease.
Mumbai's batters have struggled against spin at Chepauk, with Chennai's trio, especially Noor Ahmad, proving too good. Losing three in the powerplay, Rohit in the first over, Rickelton, and Jacks soon after, left MI in trouble. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma rebuilt with a 51-run stand, but Noor turned the game, dismissing SKY with a googly before removing Minz and Tilak in the same over. His 4/18 dismantled MI바카라™s innings, but a late Chahar cameo pushed
Ravindra latches onto the short, wide delivery and frees his arms. With third man up, he goes hard on the cut, slicing it over the infield. A couple of bounces and it races away to the boundary.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra are leading CSK바카라™s chase with intent. Gaikwad first steps down to a very full delivery around off, opens the bat face, and threads the drive through cover with precision. Then, as Boult switches to round the wicket, Gaikwad responds in style.
A confident forward stride, right to the pitch of the ball, and a fluent drive races through the covers. No need to run when it바카라™s timed that sweetly.
Gaikwad slams a FOUR. Short of length, but he is all over it. Rides the bounce, meets it sweetly, and cracks it in front of square. Deep point had no chance as the ball blazes to the boundary.
Ruturaj Gaikwad brings up a blazing 22-ball fifty, his fastest in the IPL, setting the tone for the season. A quick raise of the bat, a nod to the balcony, this is a statement knock. Gets there with a classy flick off a fullish 89 km/h delivery, threading it past short fine leg.
Shivam Dube, 3 wides! Full and angling down leg, Dube fails to connect with the glance. Fine leg sprints across to cut it off, keeping it to three extras as the batters steal a couple.
Santner keeps things tight with his variations. Ravindra picks up a single off a slower one that stays low around off, nudging it into the leg side. He then punches a quicker delivery straight back to the bowler.
Hooda manages to rotate the strike, guiding a slower ball into the off-side for a sharp single.
Deepak Hooda is dismissed. Vignesh Puthur claims his third wicket of the day, and he바카라™s making quite an impact. Hooda tried to clear the deep square leg boundary with a powerful sweep, but he didn바카라™t get the timing right, hitting it higher on the bat.
The catch was tricky for Deepak Chahar, who initially misjudged the ball while running in from the boundary. However, he made up for it with a superb dive, managing to clasp the ball with both hands just before hitting the ground. CSK's momentum keeps
Rachin Ravindra, facing a tight spell, clips a full delivery from Will Jacks to the left of deep mid-wicket for a single. In the next delivery, Jacks fires in a quicker, shorter ball outside off, and Ravindra attempts a cut shot, but the ball is well fielded at cover, denying him any runs.
Sam Curran is bowled out by Will Jacks in what can only be described as a disappointing attempt. Curran, looking to slog the ball out of the ground, misjudges the length, which was just a bit too full for such an aggressive shot. The ball skids through, sneaking past his under edge, and dismantles the stumps. Curran departs for just 4 off 9 balls.
Ravindra Jadeja and Rachin Ravindra are at the crease, with Chennai Super Kings needing 33 runs off 26 balls. The game is on a knife-edge, and it could swing in any direction from here.
Jadeja finds the gap with ease. A delivery wide outside off, and Jadeja expertly opens the bat face, guiding the ball through the vacant backward point area. The fielder in the deep had no chance as the ball races to the boundary for four.
Rachin Ravindra makes no mistake with this one! He charges down the track, expecting a fuller delivery, and gets a juicy full toss on the pads. With a clean strike, he smashes it into the mid-wicket stands for a massive six, bringing up his well-deserved fifty in style.
Jadeja, OUT
A disastrous mix-up, and CSK lose another. In walks Dhoni, and the stadium erupts with energy like never before.
Rachin Ravindra hit the winning six as Chennai Super Kings kicked off their season with a thrilling victory against Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. The home crowd erupted as Ravindra sealed the chase, leading CSK to a well-deserved win.
With a strong all-round performance, CSK made an impactful start to their IPL campaign, leaving Mumbai Indians to reflect on their missed opportunities.
"We were around 15-20 runs short, but the fight the boys showed was commendable. Vignesh Puthur's debut was amazing; MI has always been about nurturing young talent year-round, and he has a bright future ahead. I kept his one over in hand towards the end in case the game went deep, but it became a no-brainer. No dew, but it was quite sticky. Ruturaj Gaikwad batted exceptionally well in the second innings."
"Happy to be on the winning side, loved to have been more clinical but that is how the game goes. That is the requirement of the team (talking about the move to bat at three) and that gives the team more balance and I am really happy to change my position. The spinners were right on point and right after the auction, one thing we were really excited was all those three spinners bowling in tandem at Chepauk. Khaleel is experienced and Noor is an X factor and that is why we wanted him in the team and good to have Ash as well. He (Dhoni) is more fitter this year and he is still looking young."
"It feels special to play here in the IPL. Happy for the team and happy with the contribution. The focus was to land the ball in the right area and the wicket of Surya was special and the stumping from MSD was out of the world. Feels great to have someone like Mahi bhai behind the stumps, it is a great support for me."
Mumbai Indians suffer their 13th consecutive opening game loss. The last time MI won their season opener was in 2012.
Since the second leg of IPL 2021, Chennai Super Kings have won six out of the last seven head-to-head encounters against MI.
That's a wrap for today. We'll be back with another live blog tomorrow. Until then, take care, goodbye, and good night.