IPL 2018, Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings: Bravo's heroics leads CSK to victory

Mumbai: Chennai Super Kings pulled off a thrilling one-wicket victory over defending champions Mumbai Indians in the opener of the 2018 Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

After the hosts set a total of 165-4 in the first half, MS Dhoni and co endured a bad start. Hardik Pandya got the Paltans off to a flyer with the wickets of Shane Watson and Suresh Raina in the powerplay. Troubles continued for the visitors as wickets of Rayudu, Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja soon followed.

Despite wickets tumbling at the other end, Bravo had some other plans for the Yellow Brigade. The West Indian struck a massive knock of 68 to keep the chase alive and Kedar Jadhav struck big in the last over to steer the Yellow Brigade over the line.

CSK 106-7 after 15 overs:

The visitors are failing to come up with any steady partnership at the crease. Losing 3 quick wickets in a less than 4 overs has not been a good sign.

CSK 44-3 after 7 overs:

WICKET! Markande traps Ambati Rayadu and the umpire raises his finger straightaway.

CSK 42-2 after 6 overs:

WICKET! Another huge wicket before the powerplay and it's that man again, Hardik Pandya. Raina aims to go big but fails to connect with the bouncer, handing it straight to Krunal at mid-on.

CSK 31-1 after 4 overs:

WICKET! Hardik gets his revenge on Watson. After being smacked for a six, the youngster tricks the Australian with a slower delivery.

MI 165-4 after 20 overs:

After being put to bat, Mumbai Indians posted 165-4 on board against Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 opener at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. The Yellow Brigade struck early on with the wicket of Evin Lewis and that soon followed with the precious wicket of Rohit Sharma.

From thereon, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav steered the innings with a crucial 79-run partnership to the pressure back on MS Dhoni’s side. However, the visitors made a comeback into the batsmen by removing both the set batsmen.

Krunal and Hardik Pandya proved their worth once again and made the most of the last few overs. Krunal, in particular, played the anchor's role with some big shots as the hosts finished at 165-4.

MI 117-4 after 15 overs:

Kishan falls for the googly trick. Switches across the track, bends on one knee with an aim to smack it over deep mid-wicket. But the southpaw gets a thick edge which lands to Mark Wood at short third man.

MI 101-3 after 13 overs:

WICKET! Change of pace does the trick for Watson. Banged in short, off-cutter and Suryakumar fails to read it as he goes for a pull. Harbhajan at long leg takes it comfortably.

MI 83-2 after 11 overs:

FIFTY! Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav have got the momentum back in the hosts' favour with a crucial 50-run stand.

MI 22-2 after 4 overs:

WICKET! CSK on a roll here. Watson bowls a good length delivery shaping away from the right-hander and Rohit miscues his shot in an attempt to clobber it over mid-wicket. Gets a top edge and Ambati Rayudu at backward point takes a safe catch.

MI 12-3 after 3 overs:

WICKET! CSK get the first breakthrough and it's a duck for the West Indian on his IPL debut. Chahar bowls it full, swinging into the left-hander, who misses after an attempt to flick it towards the on-side. Umpire raises his finger and DRS review show the ball hitting the leg stump.

Toss:

Chennai Super Kings have won the toss and elected to bowl. Here's how both the teams line up -

Preview:

After a two-year return from a spot-fixing ban, all eyes will be on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as they clash with defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in the opener of the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) season at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

Two of the most decorated teams since the decade-long inception, MS Dhoni’s Yellow Brigade and the Paltans share a fierce rivalry. CSK claimed the first title in the cash-rich Twenty20 league by beating MI in the finals, back in 2010. However, Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai avenged defeat by defeating CSK in two subsequent finals later on.

The two franchises boast one of the strongest squads and would ensure to start their campaign with a bang. Mumbai will once again rely on Rohit Sharma, whose experience and captaincy has brought them immense success.

The likes of Elvin Lewis and Kieron Pollard, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Siddesh Lad add more firepower to the batting order. Pandya brothers – Hardik and Krunal will also have a major role to play.

Though the spin department doesn’t come with much experience, pacers Pat Cummins, Mustafizur Rahman and Jasprit Bumrah will spearhead the attack.

CSK, on the other hand, have a more balanced team having retained their core of Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja. Names like Murali Vijay, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo, Faf Du Plessis, Sam Billings and Shane Watson are the other big names that can make a huge difference to the game.

Squads:

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Mustafizur Rahman, Pat Cummins, Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Rahul Chahar, Evin Lewis, Saurabh Tiwary, Ben Cutting, Pradeep Sangwan, Jean-Paul Duminy, Tajinder Singh, Sharad Lumba, Siddhesh Lad, Aditya Tare, Mayank Markande, Akila Dananjaya, Anukul Roy, Mohsin Khan, MD Nidheesh, Mitchell McClenaghan.

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (C), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Faf du Plessis, Harbhajan Singh, Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Kanishk Seth, Lungi Ngidi, Dhruv Shorey, Murali Vijay, Sam Billings, Mark Wood, Kshitiz Sharma, Monu Kumar, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Imran Tahir, Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur, N Jagadeesan.

When is the match?

The match is scheduled to start at 8 pm IST on Saturday (April 7)

Where is the match?

The match will take place at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

Live telecast and timings:

With Star India now acquiring the media rights from Sony Pictures Network India for the upcoming season, the matches will be telecast on various Star Sports channels.

Live streaming:

The matches can be viewed live on Hotstar.com or on the Hotstar app.