MI vs CSK

So, it's time to draw the curtains and recharge for some more cricket tomorrow. On that note, this is Pratyush Rohra, signing off on behalf of my friend, Soorya Sesha. We hope you enjoyed our coverage as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. Goodnight, adios!

It's only early days in the tournament, so the teams won't be pressing the panic button just yet. Tomorrow, it's another double header day in store with the defending champions taking center stage in the first game against the Kolkata Knight Riders, while the Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to get their duck in the second game against the Punjab Kings.

Right then. That draws the curtains on the Super Saturday with the Chennai Super Kings cruising home to victory against their fiercest rivals in the El Clasico after the Rajasthan Royals got the better of the Delhi Capitals in the first game. The two sides who emerged victorious today are at the right end of the table, while the two losers from the day are yet to get off the mark and are languishing at the bottom end.

Ravindra Jadeja is the Player of the Match for his stellar spell of 3/20. Here's what he has to say: When we were bowling the odd ball was spinning. Me and Mitch kept talking between overs to bowl in good areas. We knew they have big power hitters and if we went here or there we could get hit for runs. Every time we come here the wicket plays different. Sometimes it's very flat, sometimes sticky and sometimes dry. We have to prepare and then make up our minds. If he (Santner) starts bowling he comes and tells me how to bowl, whether to bowl slow or give it more air.

MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings captain): It feels good and not to forget we lost Deepak in the first over. He has been our new ball bowler. Magala, it was his first game. It was a challenge to shuffle the bowlers and who to bowl when. The good thign was the spinners bowled really well. Initial 6-7 overs it wasn't turning much and they were able to play the big shots. After that it started to turn a bit. And the fast bowlers came back well - Magala came back well in the last few overs and Pretorius was good. Overall it was a very good bowling effort. To come back and restrict them to 160 was a very good effort. We believe in him (Deshpande). Also what happens is when you're new you have a different sort of pressure. WHen you've played IPl for a few years it's a comeback and that's a different sort of pressure. He's very good at execution but the last few games he had bowled a few no balls. That's not a good feeling but he had a fantastic domestic season. The delivery that got Rohit out was a fantastic ball. He has the potential but he can be more consistent. (On Rahane) Me and Jinks spoke right at the start of our practice for CSK. He was simple and asked what I was looking from him. He has that ability to manipulate the field and is technically very sound. I told him to go and enjoy and not take stress. I told him he might not get the first game but when he gets a game we'll back him. I feel all the games are important. The first target is always to win enough games to get into the Qualifier and depending on where you stand in the league table always helps but that's too far ahead. The first thing is to look at the problems in front of you, solve them and win enough games.

Ajinkya Rahane: Really enjoyed it. I only got to know I'm playing before the toss. Unfortunately, Moeen was unwell. I was batting really well in the nets, and also had a good domestic season this year. (His knock today) That's my strength. I rely on my timing and that's all I wanted to back, instead of looking to slog it over. (Being ready for an opportunity) It's all about being prepared every time you're playing, you have to be ready. IPL is a long tournament, you never know when you get the opportunity. It's all about knowing your game, visualizing, and taking the opportunity. (Playing on his home ground) I haven't played a Test match here yet. I would love to play a Test match at Wankhede. I know the wicket really well, if you play your proper cricketing shots, you'll get value for your runs. (MSD and Fleming) The important thing about them is the freedom they give to each and every individual. When I came to CSK, they told me to prepare well. Luckily, I was ready. I visualize every time, and luckily, it paid off well. 

Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians captain): We lost our way in the middle and didn't capitalize on the start we got. It was a good pitch and we were 30-40 runs short. Got to give credit to their spinners. They kept us under pressure. You need to try out different things and attack, be brave. We have a couple of guys who are young. We've got to give some time to them. All we can do is back them and show enough trust in their ability. That's what we're trying to do. (Senior guys having to step up) Spot on. The senior guys need to step up, starting with me. We know the nature of the IPL. You have to get some momentum and if you don't it's tough. It's only two games, so all is not lost, but yes, some of the senior guys need to step up. You can win a few on the trot but if you lose, it's so hard to get momentum. We have to get out of this losing streak. I couldn't call it a streak, but we have to get the results. We're trying to figure it out. Things we're talking about in the dressing room, we haven't been able to execute on the field. So, it's about finding a way to do that. (Learnings from last season) We know we had a very disappointing last season. You start fresh. Even when we won the 5 trophies, we never thought about winning that. Every opponent is quality, and they will punish you. You can't change too much about it. We can learn from what has happened in these two games, and bring those learnings out on the field.

Match Summary: Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets.

Ajinkya Rahane 61 (27) | Ravindra Jadeja 3/20 (4)
Ishan Kishan 32 (21) | Kumar Kartikeya 1/24 (4)

Professional, clinical and dominant. This was a throwback to the good old days of yore for the Chennai Super Kings. That they've managed to do so against their arch-rivals away from home is bound to add a spring into their step as the campaign rolls along. And weren't they at their very best today at the Wankhede Stadium!

It all began when Mitchell Santner and Ravindra Jadeja took control of the situation with the ball to stifle the Mumbai Indians and break the back of their batting lineup. 157 was a score to play with but it wasn't going to be enough without early wickets. Jason Behrendorff got Devon Conway to chop one onto his stumps, but then came Ajinkya Rahane. As the colloquial saying goes, he came 'out of syllabus'.

Rahane was replacing an unwell Moeen Ali but knew this wicket as well as anybody in that CSK team. The way he came out tearing into the pacers in the powerplay though, he batted like a man possessed. Anything on the pads was picked up over the short boundary backward of square while anything short and wide was cut with disdain. Special treatment was reserved for young Arshad Khan, who took an absolute hammering in the fourth over of the innings as it completely swung the momentum in favor of the Men in Yellow. They racked up 50 halfway through the fifth over and without Jofra Archer, MI were left with a lot of soul-searching to do.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, the man who bossed the last two CSK games with the bat, was confined to the status of a mere spectator. He took his time and was happy to play second fiddle to Rahane, who raced away to a 19-ball half-century, which was easily his fastest in the league. While he perished, he ensured that CSK were in pole position to wrap things up.

Shivam Dube scratched around even as he dumped the ones in his zone away. Gaikwad did much the same with MI's spinners continuing to bowl tight lines and lengths. Kumar Kartikeya was subbed in and he did a fine job, although it was always CSK's game to lose. They just slowed down a bit once Ambati Rayudu was substituted into the game and he took his time but in the end, they managed to wrap things up with considerable time to spare, surging into the top half of the points table. The Wankhede crowd was left disappointed with chants of 'We Want Dhoni' not coming true. If they were fans of the Men in Yellow though, they'll be chuffed to bits with this win. Stick around for the presentation...

A clinical dispatch of their bogey team without a fuss. What a professional display this by the Men in Yellow as they surge to back-to-back victories in IPL 2023. Chennai Super Kings win by 7 wickets!

18.1 Arshad Khan to Ambati Rayudu, THEY CAME, THEY SAW, THEY CONQUERED! CSK have cruised home without a fuss. Overpitched outside the off-stump, Rayudu smacks it up and over extra cover to beat the fielder at wide long-off, despite his best efforts. So, CSK win by 7 wickets with 11 balls to spare! It's back-to-back wins for them now.

18.1 Arshad Khan to Ruturaj Gaikwad, wide. Searching for the wide yorker but this was wayward. Dube did well to dive to his right and get a glove on it

As Simon Katich mentions on air, Rohit Sharma has missed a trick in not giving Behrendorff another go earlier, perhaps an extra over in the powerplay. Just the final rites remain now, even as chants of 'we want Dhoni!' continue to ring around the Wankhede!

17.6 Jason Behrendorff to Ruturaj Gaikwad, full toss on the off-stump line, angling into Gaikwad. He gently pushes it down to long-on for a run

17.4 Jason Behrendorff to Ambati Rayudu, slower one on the good length outside off. Rayudu steps out to mistime his chop back to Behrendorff, no run