IPL 2020, CSK vs MI: Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets in opening match

Dubai : Ambati Rayudu and Faf du Plesis scored virtuous half centuries to ensure a victory for Chennai Super Kings against Mumbai Indians by five wickets in the opening match of Indian Premier League 2020.

Chennai won the toss and asked Mumbai Indians to bat first in the game, the latter gave the former a target of 163 runs in limited 20 over game. Chasing the target, CSK did not get off to a good start and lost both of their openers Shane Watson and Murali Vijay in the first two overs. Watson got out to Trent Boult, while Murali Vijay was trapped leg before by James Pattinson.

Despite dealing with a shocker of two quick wickets, Rayudu and Du Plessis pushed all of them and their experience to change the course of the game. The two batsmen stitched a solid 115-run partnership.

CSK lost a flurry of wickets towards the end but till then the fate of the match was already sealed in their favour and Du Plessis smashed two consecutive boundaries in the final over to make register their first win over Mumbai Indians in the last five encounters. 

CSK's Sam Curran also played well in the game as he bowled an economical spell and picked up an important wicket of opener Quinton de Kock. With win in sight, Dhoni decided to send Curran to bat ahead of him and he didn't disappoint the skipper, scoring 18 off just six balls.

Curran bagged the player of the game award in the end.

Earlier, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma (12 off 10) along with Quinton de Kock (33 off 20) gave the defending champions a bright start, adding 46 runs for the opening wicket inside five overs. However, they both got out in quick succession inside the powerplay.

The men in blue kept losing their wickets in the regular intervals and Mumbai Indians managed to post 162/9.

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was expensive but provided CSK with two crucial breakthroughs to shift the momentum. He picked up two wickets for 42 runs.