Chennai: Afghanistan’s ‘mystery’ spinner Noor Ahmad (4 wickets for 18 runs) delivered a memorable debut, while captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (53 runs) and Rachin Ravindra (an unbeaten 65 runs) scored half-centuries to lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to a four-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League match on Sunday.
Rachin Ravindra faced 45 balls in his unbeaten innings, hitting two fours and four sixes. He sealed the win for the team with a six. Instead of opening the innings, Gaikwad came in at No. 3 and played a 26-ball knock, hitting six fours and three sixes. The duo put on a 67-run partnership off 37 balls for the second wicket.
CSK, after winning the toss, restricted Mumbai Indians to 155/9 in 20 overs, thanks to an outstanding bowling performance by Noor Ahmad. Apart from him, Khaleel Ahmed also took three wickets, conceding 29 runs.
Chasing the target, CSK relied on Rachin Ravindra and Gaikwad, along with Ravindra Jadeja, who scored 17 runs before getting run out. None of the other batsmen could reach double digits, largely due to Mumbai Indians’ bowlers, especially Kerala’s left-arm spinner Vignesh Puthur, who was making his IPL debut. Puthur took three wickets for 32 runs. The 24-year-old dismissed Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, and Deepak Hooda.
Towards the end, Rachin Ravindra entertained the crowd with two sixes off Puthur’s deliveries. As soon as Ravindra Jadeja got out, MS Dhoni stepped onto the field, sending the crowd into a frenzy, as they hoped he would score the winning runs. However, with only four runs required, CSK comfortably secured the win.
Scoreboard
Mumbai Indians
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Rohit Sharma c Dube b Ahmed – 0
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Shivam Dube c Tilak b Puthur – 3
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Deepak Hooda c Raju b Puthur – 9
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Reeza Hendricks b Ahmed – 13
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Sam Curran b Jacques – 4
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Will Jacks c Dube b Ashwin – 9
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Suryakumar Yadav st Dhoni b Noor Ahmad – 29
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Tilak Varma lbw b Noor Ahmad – 31
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Tristan Stubbs c Jadeja b Noor Ahmad – 3
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Naman Dhir b Noor Ahmad – 17
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Mitchell Santner lbw b Ellis – 11
Extras: 5
Total: 155/9 in 20 overs
Fall of Wickets: 1-0, 2-21, 3-36, 4-87, 5-95, 6-96, 7-118, 8-128, 9-141
Bowling (CSK)
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Khaleel Ahmed – 4-0-29-3
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Sam Curran – 1-0-13-0
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Nathan Ellis – 4-0-38-1
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Ravichandran Ashwin – 4-0-31-1
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Ravindra Jadeja – 3-0-21-0
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Noor Ahmad – 4-0-18-4
Chennai Super Kings
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Rachin Ravindra not out – 65
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Trent Boult c Gaikwad b Ahmed – 1
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Rahul Tripathi c Hendricks b Chahar – 2
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Ruturaj Gaikwad c Jacques b Puthur – 53
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Ravindra Jadeja run out – 12
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Mahendra Singh Dhoni not out – 0
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Deepak Chahar not out – 28
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S. Raju not out – 1
Extras: 5
Total: 158/6 in 19.1 overs
Fall of Wickets: 1-11, 2-78, 3-95, 4-107, 5-116, 6-152
Bowling (Mumbai Indians)
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Trent Boult – 3-0-27-0
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Deepak Chahar – 2-0-18-1
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S. Raju – 1-0-13-0
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Mitchell Santner – 2-0-24-0
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Will Jacks – 4-0-32-1
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Vignesh Puthur – 4-0-32-3
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Naman Dhir – 3-0-12-0