Riding on Dwayne Bravo’s stunning knock, Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians by 1 wickets in the tournament-opener. The West Indies star scored 68 off just 30 balls to help his team pull off a stunning win
The Super Kings began their pursuit of 166 on a decent note. Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson mixed caution with aggression to add 27 runs before Hardik Pandya accounted for the latter. And even before they could recover, they suffered another huge setback. Hardik Pandya was once again the wicket-taker, removing the dangerous Suresh Raina.
Three balls later, Mayank Markande removed Rayudu to leave Chennai reeling at 43 for 3. The chase then came off the track when Markande struck again to dismiss MS Dhoni and leave the visitors reeling at 51 for 4.
Ravindra Jadeja and Kedar Jadhav then tried to revive the chase but failed. The duo could add only 24 runs after which Jadeja was dismissed by Mustafizur Rahman. But just when it seemed the game is as good as over, Dwayne Bravo revived Chennai’s hopes. He scored 20 runs off the 18th over to bring the equation down to 27 off last 2 overs. In the following over, he hit three sixes off Jasprit Bumrah before being dismissed. By then Chennai needed 7 off the last over but with just one wicket in hand. However, Kedar Jadhav sealed the deal with a six and a four.
Earlier in the game, Krunal Pandya’s quickfire knock propelled the hosts to a competitive total of 165 for 4. The reigning champions were off to a disastrous start as both their openers departed cheaply.
Evin Lewis was the first to depart. Deepak Chahar sent the West Indies star back for a duck before Shane Watson accounted for Rohit Sharma for 15. Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav then steadied and revived the innings. The duo added 78 runs for the third wicket before Watson struck again.
The former Australia allrounder dismissed Suryakumar to reduce the hosts to 98 for 3. Kishan departed soon after scoring 40 off 29. Pandya brothers – Krunal and Hardik then took the innings forward. Krunal was the aggressor during the stand, scoring 41 off just 22 to help his side post a decent total.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the match:
Bravo is a champion. What a great great start to the IPL.#CSKvsMI
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) April 7, 2018
D J Bravo on fire, high drama at the Wankhede just when it appeared Mumbai had wrapped up match #IPL
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 7, 2018
The Boss @ChennaiIPL is alive and kicking! When one stops believing, Chennai start believing. Champion team for a reason. They know to win, from any situation! #WhistlePodu
— Nikhil ? (@CricCrazyNIKS) April 7, 2018
The Yellow Army is back with a bang !!! Way to go !!! #kwalitywalls #goodbyeserious pic.twitter.com/8ybT63Xqxe
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) April 7, 2018
— gcg ⚰️ (@The_Sleigher) April 7, 2018
This is a seriously wow debut for Mayank Markande. A Bumrah kind of debut? Better at this stage……
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 7, 2018
Jadeja departs. Mustafizur resists the temptation of Naagin Dance. #IPL
— cricBC (@cricBC) April 7, 2018
MI always rises from the dead. Pakistan of IPL. Dil Dil Pakistan.
— gcg ⚰️ (@The_Sleigher) April 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/its_tabrez_/status/982664923472949248?
Q: Once Raina went to a bar but couldn't enter. Why ?
A: The sticker on the door read "Pull"
— The Lying Lama 2.0 (@KyaUkhaadLega) June 9, 2014
https://twitter.com/swing_seam/status/982657998966288385?
Rayudu taking as much strike as possible before Dhoni gets in #MIvCSK
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) April 7, 2018
Dhoni is like any Indian Boss. Whenever team performs good he promotes himself.
— mthn (@Being_Humor) April 7, 2018
Frnds – be ready at 9:15
Me at 9:15 pic.twitter.com/92EBlIRIoJ
— Arun Lol (@dhaikilokatweet) April 7, 2018
Much Awaited Moment. MS Dhoni Coming Back To TOSS After 3 Years And Winning It Like A BOSS. #MIvsCSK #MIvCSK #IPL2018 #IPL11 #Dhoni #MSDhoni pic.twitter.com/R3xsuIhIhb
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) April 7, 2018
Brothers of Destruction #KP & #HP is on the pitch so it's time for some Unorthodox but effective Cricket #CricketMeriJaan #MIvCSK
— Sanu Yadav (@ksyadauwanshi) April 7, 2018
Someone please break this Karan-Arjun 's jodi #IPL2018 #MIvCSK
— Mjölnir ? (@Kashyap_ocean) April 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/stevenelson45/status/982648380479254528
With Harbhajan playing for CSK ,Virat Kohli now remains the only player to have played for the same team(RCB) in all the 11 seasons in the IPL #IPL2018 #MIvCSK #RCB #ViratKohli
— Swapnil Shanbhag/ स्वप्निल शानभाग (@swapniltalks) April 7, 2018
Bhajji at the Wankhede bowling against Mumbai Indians. Who'd have thought?!
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 7, 2018
Wonder if Evin Lewis, so keen to play the IPL, was a bit over-awed. And there wasn't too much more than a bit of paint on the ball hitting the stumps.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 7, 2018
Did you see the great man @ImRo45 with @SORAI2018 on his bat this eve?
He’s as passionate as I am in saving our rhinos! pic.twitter.com/VZgtflaTkK
— Kevin Pietersen? (@KP24) April 7, 2018
Surya Yadav and Ishan Kishan in a sterling partnership to pull Mumbai Indians out of the woods. Chennai could be chasing 175+ now! #IPL2018
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 7, 2018
KRUNAL is the best Pandya. Period.
— z N e D (@MadMart05) April 7, 2018
A few surprises Chahar ,rayudu possibly opening the batting, Tahir in the line up, may be a little light on batting, but options plenty with ball ,and its already working #MIvCSK #IPL2018 #BESTvsBEST #BadriBytes
— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) April 7, 2018
This is some innings from Krunal Pandya! Front foot and, especially, back foot.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 7, 2018
hey little brother, watch and learn, that's how you do it #MIvCSK
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) April 7, 2018
At 11 years old, it seems IPL finally bada ho gaya hai. It doesn't need Bollywood and glitter to survive. Cricket alone is enough to sell it. Promising signs.
— cricBC (@cricBC) April 7, 2018