XtraTime Web Desk: Chennai Super Kings won their first game of IPL 2020 quite comfortably against the defending champions Mumbai Indians as they beat them by 5 wickets. Even when their record run-scorer Raina isn’t playing, CSK had no problem in chasing 163 runs against Mumbai’s strong bowling line-up.
After 2 quick wickets, Ambati Rayudu and Du Plesis played brilliantly and set up a 115 runs partnership for the 3rd wicket. Ambati Rayudu scored 71 runs in 48 balls and had Du Plesis scored 58 runs of 44 balls. With this innings, Rayudu definitely sent a statement to selecting committee that not choosing him for Cricket World Cup was a huge mistake.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Ambati Rayudu was chosen the man of the match. In the post match conference Rayudu said, “I kept training in the lockdown. It was a stop-start but I was really eager. When the dew came on batting became much easier. We practiced in Chennai which really helped and then in Dubai as well.”
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the captain of the CSK side as usual remain modest in the post match presentation ceremony as he said, “ Plenty of positives but still plenty of areas for us to improve. In the second half there is a bit of movement till the dew sets in. If you don’t lose wickets, you have the upper hand. These are the learnings”.
Speaking about the important Rayudu-Du Plesis partnership, the captain said, Chennai team is often mocked and trolled on social media platforms calling it a team of old people. Speaking to which Dhoni said, “Most of us are retired so luckily no injuries as well. The experience pays off, everyone talks about it. You get it only after you play a lot of games. 300 ODIs is a dream for anybody to play and when you put an XI on the field, you need a good mix of youngsters and experienced players. You need the experienced players to guide the youngsters on and off the field. The young players get 60-70 days with the seniors in the IPL.” Dhoni also said that it was ‘physological’ game of sending Curran up in the order. He also congratulated BCCI and ICC for conducting the IPL in such a good way.
This loss means Mumbai Indians have started with another loss in IPL. It’s been their habit as the team never won their first game since 2013. When asked about the batting failure, Mumbai Indians captain, Rohit Sharma said, “None of our batsmen carried on for us, like du Plessis and Rayudu did for CSK. I think we were 85 in the first 10 overs. Credit to the CSK bowlers, they bowled well at the end to pull back things. Something for us to learn.”
Speaking about their failure in winning the first game, Rohit said, “Still early days. We all want to start really well, it’s crucial inthis tournament where momentum is important. Few things for us to learn from this game, we did make few mistakes. Hopefully we’ll rectify those and come out smarter in the next game”. Speaking about their experience in playing an IPL game in an empty stadium, Rohit said, “We are used to cheering people for us, and we knew this. This is new normal, I hope for a while, but things will get better soon.”
“We need to adapt to the pitches, it got better with the dew coming. You need to hit the gaps and focus on that part of the game. The opposition can tie you down, it’s all about understanding what we need to do”, Rohit said about the areas Mumbai needs to improve.