That's that then
We leave you with a teaser from our final report. Thanks for joining us. Be back here tomorrow.
Chennai Super King’s bowling acquisitions during the off-season paid immediate dividends as their four new bowlers took nine wickets between them to reduce Mumbai Indians to 155 for 9, a target that they ultimately chased down with ease but not without a hiccup against debutant left-arm wristspinner Vignesh Puthur, who is yet to represent his state side in senior cricket.
However, it was the other left-arm wristspinner, younger than Puthur but a veteran by comparison, who made the telling impact. Noor Ahmad registered his best IPL figures and the best figures for a CSK spinner against MI, 4 for 18, to capitalise on the inroads made by Khaleel Ahmed, whose CSK debut was not too shabby either: wickets of openers and analysis of 4-0-29-3.
The CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad made the chase look like a walk in the park with 53 off 26, bringing the requirement down to a run a ball in the ninth over, but this is when they started losing wickets to Puthur, struggling to impart power into his slow wristspin. Three of them holed out in the deep, but Rachin Ravindra anchored the chase with 65 off 45 to see them home.
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Sealed with a six
But now by MS Dhoni. Rachin Ravindra pulls countryman Mitchell Santner first ball of the final over for a six to seal the win. This was the 14th over of spin used by MI, the most they have ever done in an IPL game. Sign of things to come at Chepauk in the rest of the tournament.
They didn't get the net-run-rate boost they were after when they went after the debutant Puthur, but they have the two points.
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It is Dhoni time
There is a late run-out that has sent the Chepauk into raptures. The broadcast is not cutting into a break or replays even as it takes an age to determine which of the two batters is out. Jadeja has to go back. Dhoni walks in to huge cheers. Only 4 required. If only Dhoni hits a six, the crowd will go home in ecstasy.
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Spin spin spin
13 Number of overs of spin deployed by Mumbai Indians, the most they have done in an IPL game.
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Fifty for Ravindra
Easy to miss he has been there, but Rachin Ravindra has anchored the chase even as wickets have fallen at the other end. He gets there with a six off Puthur. He is the only one to hit boundaries off the left-arm wristspinner, and he has done so by using his feet and getting momentum into his shots because Puthur gives you no pace to work with. Back to under a run a ball now.
He sees off Puthur with a third six, again by charging at him and getting momentum into the shot to counter Puthur's slow pace. Now CSK need 6 in 2 overs.
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Pace on, boundary on
MI go back to pace in the 17th over, and immediately Ravindra Jadeja uses the pace on the ball and the width to steer him for four to square third. Wonder if MI will regret giving them pace on the ball.
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Boundaries dry up
29 Number of balls, at the end of the 16th over, without a boundary for CSK. They now need 31 off the last four with the pitch gripping just a touch and not enough pace in it to be able to hit easily. Puthur has an over left, which I suspect they might use for Dhoni. Dhir and Santner have two each, and then Boult, Chahar and Raju have plenty
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MI keep fighting back
Sam Curran has got off to a slow start, and then he slogs across the line of a full and straight ball from Will Jacks to be bowled for 4 off 9. They are now 116 for 5, and need 40 off 35. Still no Dhoni, though. Stil two left-hand batters in the middle as Jadeja walks out.
CSK's win probability was up to 93% just before Gaikwad got out, and now it is down to 76%. They have left the door ajar.
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Crowd wants Dhoni
An update from Alagappan Muthu at Chepauk.
The fans were celebrating Dube's wicket. They were wearing yellow. Now having seen Sam Curran walk out, they've become even more insistent, screaming out "We want! Dho-ni!. We want! Dhooo-ni!" Ambati Rayudu was right when he said, on ESPNcricinfo's shows, CSK fans are Dhoni fans first, CSK fans later.
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Three in three for Puthur
CSK must have the net run rate on their mind because they keep going after Vignesh Puthur without getting a proper sighter of him. Only Rachin Ravindra has been able to hit a six off him, using his momentum by charging down the wicket to get enough on it to clear the field. All others - Gaikwad, Dube and Hooda - have holed out in the deep. Puthur has given them no pace to work with. It's still 48 needed at a run a ball in the last eight overs with six wickets in hand.
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Puthur gets another
Two overs, two sixes attempted, and Puthur has two catches on the fence. This time it is the spin hitter Shivam Dube, a ball after he was beaten comprehensively by a wrong'un. He gets more height than length, and cannot clear long-on. CSK still way ahead in the contest, needing just 60 off the last 10, but Puthur has got off to a dream debut.
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Under run a ball now
Shivam Dube deposits the last ball of the ninth over into the stands, a shot that brings the requirement down to under a run a ball. Nine overs is a little too early for that to happen. CSK could get a big net-run-rate boost here.
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Welcome, Vignesh Puthur
The left-arm wristspinner yet to play senior cricket for Kerala has made his IPL debut with a wicket in his first over. He has got off to a decent start with four balls on a good length for four runs, and when he overpitches, Gaikwad tries to hit him for a straight six, but gets the cue end on the ball to hole out to straight long-off. He is gone for 53 off 26 that might have sealed the game for CSK, who are 78 for 2 in the eigth over and need only a little over than a run a ball.
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Gaikwad gets to fifty off 22
This is not a daunting task but Ruturaj Gaikwad is making it look like a nwalk in the park. He has continued hitting outside the powerplay as well, lofting offspinner Will Jacks over extra cover against the turn for a sumptuous six. CSK 74 for 1 in seven overs.
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Gaikwad punishes Santner
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Deepak Chahar might have had a good night against his former team, but Ruturaj Gaikwad has given a rude welcome to former CSK spinner Mitchell Santner at the bowling crease. He watched Santner for two balls, but then it was almost as if he knew the length beforehand. A quick pull for six, an inside-out chip for four, and again rock back to punish the short length. That sixth over looks fairly good for CSK, who have 62 in the powerplay. Gaikwad is 42 off just 19.
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Error-filled debut for Raju
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That's the fifth over of the chase, also S Raju's first on debut. He has made an error-filled start, giving Gaikwad width to cash in on. CSK 48 for 1 in five overs.
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Chahar carries batting momentum forward
This mst mean extra special to Deepak Chahar, who was let go by CSK. not only did he get MI past 150 with that late cameo, he has a wicket in his first over against his former team. Not with the usual swing, but a sharp short ball into the body of Rahul Tripathi, who was promoted ahead of the captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. CSK 11 for 1 in 1.4 overs.
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MI introduce a left-arm wristspinner
As expected, Mumbai Indians have brought in left-arm wristspinner Vignesh Puthur as the Impact Player. Rahul Tripathi is CSK's Impact Player, and is opening ahead of Ruturaj Gaikwad.
MI have a decent attack. Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar are known for early wickets. Here we go.
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Noor, Khaleel restrict MI to 155
Seven wickets between the two left-arm acquisitions of CSK since the last IPL. Khaleel Ahmed struck with the new ball, Noor Ahmad kept taking wickets the old ball, and Mumbai Indians never broke free. Only a cameo from Deepak Chahar in the end took MI past 150.
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Legspin at death
Yesterday RCB bowled Suyash Sharma and Liam Livingstone for overs 16 and 17. Today, Noor Ahmad starts the 17th over, and bowls Naman Dhir around his legs with another wrong'un. At least three of his four wickets have come off the wrong'un. Given the pace at which he bowls, if you are not picking Noor from the hand, you are done for.
Noor ends with an analysis of 4-0-18-4, the best figures by a CSK spinner against MI. MI are 120 for 7 in 17 overs. These are also Noor's best figures in the IPL.
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Ashwin 4-0-31-1
That's a fair return to the yellows. One of those overs was bowled inside the powerplay. He could have easily made it two wickets, but let a return catch slip. Not much mystery to him these days but his lengths were impeccable, forcing batters to take risks if they wanted to score boundaries off him. MI 110 for 6 in 15 overs.
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Noor Ahmad all over MI
CSK's new acquisition is paying rich dividends immediately. Noor Ahmad has bamboozled not just the batters but also MS Dhoni tonight. After 28 balls without a boundary, Noor has beaten Tilak Varma both in the air and off the pitch. Caught on the crease, Varma has no time to adjust to a wrong'un that turns back in and traps him right in front. They are 96 for 6 in 13 overs.
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Noor tightens noose
27 Number of legal balls without a wicket, leading to a desperate shot from debutant Robin Minz, who is caught at long-off for 3 off 9. It's 95 for 5 in 12.4 overs.
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Surya st 43yo b 20yo
At the start of the 11th over, MS Dhoni missed a ball by miles. Noor Ahmad ripped one past Tilak Varma's outside edge, but Dhoni kept for the straighter one. Two balls later, Dhoni again kept for a straighter one and spectacularly stumped Suryakumar Yadav, who hadn't even charged at the bowler. MI 87 for 4 in 10.3 overs.
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Ashwin nearly gets Surya
0 Number of times R Ashwin has got the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav. He nearly has him in the 10th over with a leading edge on the carrom ball, but drops the catch high to his right. He is generally excellent off his own bowling. MI a bit stifled here: 82 for 3 in 10 overs.
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MI keep pressing
Despite losing three wickets inside the powerplay, Mumbai indians keep hitting. Tilak Varma hits the first two balls from R Ashwin for fours, one of them a sweetly times reverse shot. Suryakumar Yadav takes a six off the last over of the powerplay. MI end the powerplay at 52 for 3. Immediately CSK go to Jadeja, who enjoys a good match-up against SKY.
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Ashwin returns home in style
First let's Alagappan Muthu set the scene up as R Ashwin starts in the fifth over.
Whistles ring out around the ground as R Ashwin marks his run up. He was Dhoni's powerplay specialist when he last played for CSK and he's here again, trying to take pace off against two batters who are excellent at taking advantage of it. "Ash-wiiiiin, Ash-winn!" come the chants to the tune of Sachiiiin, Sachin.
The fourth ball of Ashwin's first over back for CSK is a carrom ball that Will Jacks is nowhere near. He still tries to clear mid-off, but can't get any power in the shot. He is caught at mid-off. That's wicket number 121 for Ashwin in a CSK jersey, and the 91st in the IPL. Also a bit of trivial: that's the 100th wicket off an Ashwin delivery for CSK in the IPL. Nine others are run-outs.
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Khaleel under lights
Khaleel Ahmed has a bit of a striking difference in his performance during afternoon games and night games. Typically the ball tends to do a little bit under lights for a bit, and Khaleel is a different beast altogether.
22 Number of IPL wickets Khaleel has taken in night games since 2023 at 26.59 and 8.75
During the afternoon games, Khaleel tends to travel.
6 Number of wickets Khaleel has taken in afternoon games over the same period at 33.83 and 11.27
During night games, Khaleel has done better than the average fast bowler in those games (average 27.38, economy 9.52). During afternoon games, Khaleel has done worse than the average fast bowler in those games (average 30.95, economy 10.37). Interesting to see if CSK play him in day games.
Today Khaleel has taken two in two overs: Rohit and Rickleton. MI 21 for 2 in three overs.
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Rickleton ain't slow
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That's the first five balls Ryan Rickleton has faced in the IPL. CSK have two left-arm quicks opening the bowling in Khaleel and Sam Curran.
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Slow starters live up to reputation
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They vare notoriously slow starters in the IPL. Mumbai Indians have got off a particularly slow start with Khaleel Ahmed getting slight seam movement to keep Rohit Sharma quiet. When he gets one on the pads, he hits it straight to forward square leg. MI 0 for 1 in 0.4 overs.
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Some colour from Chepauk
And it's all yellow. Well mostly. Let's hear from Alagappan Muthu then.
Not a ball's been bowled but there's already been a lot of activity at Chepauk. There's been a little concert by Anirudh, whose songs the DJ pulls up as MS Dhoni usually walks out to bat. The only blue in the crowd are the seats that are painted in that colour, although as I was walking in there were a few shirts with Rohit's 45 on the back. Last season the fans showed off some pretty cool Tifos around Chepauk and they're here again, unfurled to the sounds of The Final Countdown. They really love the retro stuff here.
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CSK bowl first, MI don't mind batting first
Chennai Super Kings won the toss in Chennai and had no reservations deciding to chase against Mumbai Indians. The pitch wore a sheen and looked hard as against the expectations from CSK, who have three quality spinners in their line-up.
Suryakumar Yadav, the MI stand-in captain, said he would have batted first anyway because there hasn't been much dew around because of the windy conditions in the night. There were two exciting newcomers for MI. Well they built them up at any rate. S Raju was the fast bowler expected to be their death specialist, and left-arm wristspinner Vignesh Puthur was a possible Impact Player when they start their defence later in the night.
On a day that had been excellent for at least one Jharkhand wicketkeeper, MI handed a debut to Robin Minz to make it three Jharkhand wicketkeepers in IPL action on the same day.
The third one, MS Dhoni, of course continued to be a leader for CSK without a title. As is the case usually with CSK, they were not handing out any debuts, banking instead on experienced players. R Ashwin came back to the team representing his beloved home town of Chennai. Nathan Ellis edged out Matheesha Pathirana. CSK had a more established left-arm wristspinner of their own in Noor Ahmad.
Mumbai Indians 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 3 Will Jacks, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt.), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Naman Dhir, 7 Robin Minz, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 S Raju
Substitutes: Vignesh Puthur, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Karn Sharma
Chennai Super Kings 1 Rachin Ravindra, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt.), 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Sam Curran, 7 MS Dhoni (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 Nathan Ellis, 11 Khaleel Ahmed
Substitutes: Rahul Tripathi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Vijay Shankar, Jamie Overton, Shaik Rasheed
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Conditions report
One of the middle pitches. Only 3m between the two square boundaries: 72m on one side, 75 on the other. There is a sheen on the top of the pitch, it is hard, and it doesn't look liked the turner everyone expected CSK to roll out what with Jadeja, Ashwin and Noor in their squad. Dew is always around. We might well see a side claim a ball change for the first time.
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Ashwin comes home
In what seems will be his final chapter as an IPL player, R Ashwin has come back to the team that represents his beloved Chennai. This is the team with which he last won the IPL. Not much has changed. MS Dhoni is still there, Ravindra Jadeja is still there. They are three of the only nine players who have played each of the 18 IPLs.
Apart from Ashwin, Dhoni and Jadeja, the list includes Kohli, Rahane, Rohit, Pandey, Ishant and a surprise player. Read on to find out who.
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Surya not fussed
"I think the harder you work, the luckier you get. If it has to come, it will come anytime. But I am actually a process-oriented man. I love to work hard in the nets. And if the runs have to follow, it will follow quickly. Someday or the other."
Those are Suryakumar Yadav's words when asked about his personal form. He will be captaining MI in this game as Hardik Pandya serves an over-rate suspension carried forward from the last season.
Then again, if you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have guessed Suryakumar has been short on runs. It is just such a high-intent sport that you need some luck to go with you. We will see more during this season if the recent shortage of runs is just one of those things or if there is an issue.
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Two of the best
While the mayhem continues in Hyderabad, let's move further east to the coast. THE rivalry of the IPL. Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians, two of the most successful IPL teams of all time. Both have won five titles each, both tend to bring their best against each other. They are no longer led by MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, but the veterans are both part of the sides. Strap in because there won't be much time to recover from SRH vs RR.
Just to get in the mood, here is a list of the best matches between these two sides.
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