CSKvsMI: Du Plessis and Rayadu pulverizes Mumbai for a clinical victory
As people started feeling the absence of a handy Suresh Raina, Faf Du Plessis exactly fit the bill joining hands with Ambati Rayadu put CSK in the driver's seat.
Chennai
Chennai Super Kings seals victory against Mumbai Indians in IPL 13's maiden encounter quite comfortably despite a jittery start.
CSK went past the target 162 to post 166 with 5 wickets in hand and 4 balls to spare.
Chasing 162, the openers were dismissed successively in the first two overs by Trent Boult and James Pattinson.
Both Murali Vijay and Shane Watson were dismissed leg before wicket for 1 and 4 respectively.
As people started feeling the absence of a handy Suresh Raina, Faf Du Plessis exactly fit the bill joining hands with Ambati Rayadu put CSK in the driver's seat.
Plessis' innings was a calculated one and the pyrotechnics was taken care of by Rayadu.
Strike rotation on one end and shot making in the other proved too much for the men in blue given making a chaseable 162.
Though getting caught and bowled by Rahul Chahar, Rayadu amassing 71 of 48 with 6 boundaries and 3 fours had sealed the fate of the match.
Out of the box thinking for which Mahi is famous for again proves his mettle in this aspect.
He promoted Jadeja and Sam Curran above the order which was quite successful with their strike rates being 200 and 300 respectively.
Dhoni came in very late and did very little (faced two dot balls), Du Plessis stood till the end and finished off with a boundary staying unbeaten on 58 from 44 balls.
The confidence in Dhoni while choosing to bowl after winning the toss reflected in all the departments of his team.
The headstart MI batsmen got was quickly curtailed by the Chennai bowlers.
Except for De Kock's 33 and Tiwari's 41 no other score was worth remembering.
The momentum shift provided by spinners Piyush Chawla and Ravindra Jadeja was smartly capitalised by Lungi Ngidi and Deepak Chahar who were bludgeoned by batsmen earlier.
With an all round clinical performance CSK enters the tournament all guns blazing.
Chennai up next faces Rajasthan royals on September 22 on 7:30 PM.
Mumbai faces KKR on September 23 on 7:30 PM.
Final Scores
MI 162/9 in 20 overs
Saurabh Tiwary 41 (31)
Quinton De Kock 33 (20)
Lungi Ngidi 38/3
Deepak Chahar 32/2
CSK 166/5
Ambati Rayadu 71 (48)
Faf Du Plessis 58* (44)
Trent Boult 23/1
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