Mumbai Indians (MI) opener Rohit Sharma surpassed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) stalwart batter Virat Kohli on Sunday to become the player with the most ‘Player of the Match’ (POTM) awards in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) so far. Rohit Sharma accomplished this milestone during the 38th clash of the ongoing 18th edition of the cash-rich league, where he played an unbeaten knock of 76 runs from 45 balls, including six maximums and four boundaries at a whopping strike rate of 168.89.
After playing this exceptional knock against the five-time champions, the right-hand batter Rohit Sharma went on to win his 20th Player of the Match award in his 264th IPL match. On the other hand, Kohli has 19 POTM awards in his 260 games so far.
Rohit Sharma’s blazing return to form (76* off 45) and his unbroken 114-run stand off just 54 balls with Suryakumar Yadav (68* off 30) ensured a third win on the trot for Mumbai Indians as they raced to a target of 177 with nine wickets in hand and 26 deliveries to spare against Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede stadium. The win took MI to the sixth spot on the points table while CSK continued to remain in the bottom, losing their sixth game in eight outings.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : “We are back on pitch number 8. The dimensions are quite significant – 60 meters on one side with a little breeze as well, 66 away to the Eastern side and 73 meters down town. 430 runs were produced last time a game was played on this pitch. It looks a little bit drier compared to what we saw on Thursday night, very similar grass covering in the middle of the wicket but these ends (near the fullish length) here are particularly drier.
You might see little more spin. I thought it was a tiny bit tacky for the team batting first the other night, I don’t think that is going to be the case today. It is a really good wicket. The perception here is you are going to get dew, so I would imagine both teams will look to chase. It is going to be a high-scoring pitch. Runs on the board are okay but dew does come in while batting second.” reckons Michael Clarke and Simon Doull in their pitch report
Toss : Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and chose to bowl with Ashwani Kumar in the playing XI for injured Karn Sharma. Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni batting first bought in 17 year old debutant Ayush Mhatre for Rahul Tripathi.
Fifties by Shivam Dube & Ravindra Jadeja & a rapid start by 17-year old debutant Ayush Mhatre powers CSK to a decent total
Barring some early swing, it appeared like a wicket conducive to strokeplay. Shaik Rasheed and Rachin Ravindra were driving the ball well, but they weren’t quite able to find the gap,s while the MI bowlers were also disciplined, with only 16 coming off the first three overs, with a solitary boundary.
This match was played on the pitch that produced 430 runs earlier in the season for MI and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The toss, as usual, was a big advantage at Wankhede. Which should make it important to look for above-par scores, but CSK took the pragmatic route: don’t risk 120 all out looking for 200. Consequently, their openers tested the waters for too long, timing shots straight to fielders. When Shaik Rasheed finally hit one in the air, and for a four, CSK had only 16 in three overs.
The pressure got to Rachin Ravindra who tried to force a shot but was caught-behind off Ashwani Kumar. The 17-year old debutant Ayush Mhatre finally got CSK going, slapping one past the bowler before flicking and pulling with ease for two sixes. Mhatre, an opener for Mumbai in domestic cricket, clubbed a four over Chahar’s head but an economical over from Mitchell Santner ensured CSK didn’t cross 50 in the powerplay.
Rachin Ravindra by now felt he had to target the change bowler without a sighter. He looked to go big down the ground, and edged the first ball by Ashwani Kumar. His replacement at the wicket, CSK’s youngest player ever, the 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre, injected some life into the innings with flair reminiscent of Dwayne Bravo. It still meant only 48 runs in the powerplay. An unperturbed MI stayed with Deepak Chahar for a fourth straight over, eventually resulting in the leg cutter that got Mhatre out for 32 off 15.
Chahar, who bowled all his four overs at one go, was struck for two fours by Mhatre but the youngster’s entertaining knock (32 off 15) came to an end in the same over as he was caught at long on. Rasheed fell in the next over, out stumped off Santner. Quiet overs from Jasprit Bumrah and Will Jacks meant CSK could only get 70 at the halfway stage of the innings – the fourth time CSK managed 70 or below in the first 10 overs in this IPL.
Hardik Pandya, the seventh bowling option, also started with a tight over before Shivam Dube finally struck a four off Boult, CSK’s first boundary after 29 balls. Ravindra Jadeja’s first four came via a pull off Bumrah while Dube hit a Pandya delivery over mid-wicket for his first maximum to take CSK to 100 in the 14th over. Dube also drilled one down the ground for a four and top-edged a flick for a six off Boult.
Santner produced a beauty in the eighth over at 77kph to have Rasheed stumped on the defence, but that brought together Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja. They have batting behind these two, but those are MS Dhoni, Jamie Overton and Vijay Shankar. So these two decided not to hit anything even though their coming together meant Santner was taken off despite figures of 2-0-8-1. Put together, CSK didn’t make a boundary attempt between Mhatre’s dismissal and the return of Trent Boult in the 12th over.
Having scored at run-a-ball for his first 19 runs, Jadeja got going with an aerial shot over cover for a four off Ashwani. Bumrah grassed an opportunity at fine leg in the same over, resulting in Dube getting a six. Dube also struck a straight six en route to a 30-ball fifty before Jadeja ended the over with a straight six as the fourth wicket pair took 24 off the over. Dube, though, fell in the next over as he flicked one straight to deep midwicket to give Bumrah his first wicket, and the bowler gave away only three runs.
To be fair to CSK, they did well when they went after Boult and Ashwani, taking 85 in the six overs bowled by them. Dube raced away from 16 off 19 to a 30-ball fifty even as Jadeja hovered around a run-a-ball. However, when Bumrah got Dube with a slower ball, it allowed MI to bring back Santner for the 18th over because Dhoni and Jadeja were in the middle.
Santner bowled the 18th without a boundary, and it was only a late surge from Jadeja off Boult in the last over that took CSK to a modicum of respectability.
Santner kept Jadeja and MS Dhoni quiet in the 18th over, conceding only six. A misfield gave Jadeja a four off Bumrah before the bowler had Dhoni caught at backward square leg. Nine came off the over with Jamie Overton getting an inside edge for a four. Jadeja brought up a 34-ball fifty in a 16-run final over from Boult, which included a six and a four for the left-hander.
Rohit Sharma , Suryakumar Yadav fifties seal NRR-boosting win for MI vs toothless CSK by 9 wickets
Ryan Rickelton struck two fours off Khaleel Ahmed and was lucky that CSK didn’t opt for a review when he was rapped on the pads, with replays later revealing he would have been out. Rohit Sharma played a typical swivel pull for a six off Overton and a pick-up shot off Khaleel for a maximum. Rohit Sharma also played a crisp drive through extra cover for a four off Khaleel and another boundary in the same region, although he wasn’t in complete control.
Ravichandran Ashwin, the Impact sub, started with a three-run over but MI regained the momentum in the next over as Rickelton and Rohit struck a six apiece in an 18-run over to bring up their team’s first 50-run opening stand this season, with Rohit also crossing 30 for the first time. Although Ashwin conceded only 6 in the last over of the powerplay, it was a good stand for MI with their scoring rate of over 10.
MI have been resurgent in recent times, but they might feel this was the final missing piece in the puzzle: a sizeable opening partnership, and Rohit Sharma carrying on from a quick start. He was severe on early errors from the quick bowlers, haring away to 32 off 18 in the powerplay, hitting three sweetly timed sixes. Only R Ashwin managed to keep him quiet. However, he went on to get the better of Ashwin when he slog-swept him for a six in the eighth over.
Jadeja struck in the seventh over to end the opening stand, having Rickelton caught at deep midwicket, and gave away only three. Rohit, who struck a six off Ashwin, nearly handed a return catch to Jadeja but it was a good over for MI with Suryakumar Yadav hitting a four and a six. Noor Ahmad bowled a tidy 10th over but Suryakumar continued to attack Jadeja, hitting another six and four in the 11th over to take MI past 100.
Rohit Sharma went on to bring up a 33-ball half-century, his ninth against CSK, before Suryakumar struck a hat-trick of fours off Noor. Rohit Sharma got his fifth six when Khaleel, attempting to take a catch off Matheesha Pathirana, touched the ropes as he attempted to throw the ball in. Suryakumar then brought up a 26-ball fifty in a 16-run over off Noor, which included a six and a four for the No.3 and a boundary for Rohit Sharma.
That six still didn’t take Rohit Sharma to a run-a-ball in his head-to-head against Ashwin in all these years, but it must have provided him a sense of victory against his old foe.
Rohit Sharma was not the only one getting better of nemeses. Suryakumar entered this match with just 50 runs and four dismissals off 65 Jadeja deliveries. It was Jadeja that brought Suryakumar into the middle with the wicket of Rickleton in the seventh over. In the ninth over, Suryakumar drove Jadeja over extra cover for four followed by a swept six, his first career six off Jadeja.
They only needed 20 to win off the last five overs but MI’s second wicket pair decided to finish it off a lot quicker. It just took them four deliveries in the 16th over to get to the target, with Rohit Sharma hitting a six off Pathirana and Suryakumar finishing off with two more maximums. Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar combined struck 10 fours and 11 sixes as the blazing finish ensured a massive NRR boost for MI.
This was only a harbinger of what was to come. In all, Suryakumar played nine sweeps for a whopping 35 runs. Three of them flew over the ropes, four others ended in the advertising boards. He outpaced Rohit Sharma with ease, and his flourish made sure MI got a big net-run-rate boost, winning with 4.2 overs to spare.
In the first 10 overs of the first innings, there were as many as eight overs which yielded nine runs or less, with CSK getting five or less in six of those overs. This meant they could only get 70 in their first half of their innings while MI got 23 more at that stage. Thanks to Rohit Sharma’s prolific hitting, with Ryan Rickelton and Suryakumar also contributing, there were only four single-digit overs in MI’s first half of their batting. With the foundation in place, MI raced away in the second half as well, eventually taking just 15.4 overs to get over the line.
Presentations and Road Ahead
MS Dhoni the losing CSK skipper said : I think we were quite below par, because we all knew that dew will come in the second half and we were in a position to exploit the middle overs, and I just felt that Bumrah being one of the best death bowlers in the world right now,
I felt once they started their death bowling early, that was the time we should have capitalized and started our slog slightly early and after that even if Bumrah also goes for runs it’s a plus point, I think there were a few overs there we could have got slightly more runs.
We needed those runs because 175 with the dew around is not a par score. (Ayush Mhatre) I think as a youngster he batted really well, and that’s the kind of approach that is needed where you play your shots and at the same time you pick your shots that is your strength and I feel right from the start, he went and played his shots and we also haven’t seen him much.
So, it is a good sign for us at the top of the order that if he can keep playing the shots, it will become slightly easier for the middle and lower order. I think the odd ball was still gripping and for us what was most important was the first 6 overs, and if you give away too many in the first 6 it becomes slightly easy and Surya is a brilliant player of spin bowling and with the dew it was doing slightly less, but it wasn’t like it was coming on nicely.
What we need to realize is that we are successful because we play good cricket and at the same time when we are not playing good cricket what is important is not to get too emotional about it and at the same time you want to be practical. There have been instances, one of the seasons I think 2020 has not been great for us but we need to see whether we are playing the right form of cricket, whether we are applying ourselves.
Those are the question marks we have got, few catches and that will help. Other than that we are just trying to plug in the holes, with all the games that are in front of us that we are supposed to win, we just take it one game at a time and if we lose a few, what will be important for us is to get the right combination for next year.
You don’t want too many players getting changed, what will be important is to try and qualify, but if not get a secured 11 for next year and come back strong.
Hardik Pandya the winning MI skipper said : The way I think we are playing the sport, we knew it was going to be a high-scoring game and we took the percentage. The way Rohit & Suryakumar bat, it’s a relief from outside. You don’t have to worry about Rohit’s form, when he comes good, we know the opposition will be out of the game and the way Surya batted it was great as well, that partnership took the game away. We are sticking to basics.
We are playing simple cricket and we are sticking to our plans. On the hindsight yes, the fast bowlers did go for some runs but at the end of the day, 175-180 was below-par. I think we weren’t really far away from a win but we had to put things together.
Rohit Sharma Player of the Match for his 76 runs said : (On some fans in yellow jersey cheering for him as well) Those are fans who love cricket, that’s what’s special about Wankhede, they want to enjoy good cricket and today was a very good game for us. After being here for such a long period of time, it’s easy to start doubting yourself and start doing different things. For me, it was important to do simple things and have a clear mindset.
It is important, that’s how we want to play and plan our innings. It was important for me to hold my shape and extend my arms, and when the ball was in my area, I had to do what I have been doing. (On coming in as the Impact player in the last 2-3 overs) It’s something we spoke about but 2-3 overs doesn’t make huge difference but it’s not easy when you haven’t fielded for 17 overs, that’s the thought process but I don’t mind that if I my team wants me to come straightaway and bat.
(On hitting the ball to Rohit Sharma stand) Looks far away that stand, I enjoyed being out there, for me it’s about staying out there and finishing the game, that’s what gives me the most satisfaction. We are peaking at the right time, we have won three games in a row.
It’s a huge honour, I mentioned about it as a young kid, we weren’t allowed to come to the stadium at some stage. But, having played all my cricket here, and now to have that stand, it’s a big honour. Whenever that name comes up, I don’t know how to react.
Mumbai Indians (MI) put up a third straight win in IPL 2025 as they outgunned a Chennai Super Kings (CSK) side shorn of hitting power. The lack of batting showed in how they played a highly cagey brand of cricket, only targeting certain pockets and conceding match-ups without protest. It took them three overs to hit a boundary, then they went 27 balls in the middle overs without even attempting one, only to cap it off with no boundary in the 17th and 18th overs, bowled by MI’s best bowlers on the night: Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Santner.
Not only did MI manage a run-rate boost with the win that takes them to eight points in eight matches, they also welcomed Rohit Sharma back to runs. Rohit Sharma scored his first fifty this IPL – his previous highest was 26 – and put up MI’s first half-century opening stand this IPL with Ryan Rickelton, and Suryakumar Yadav got the better of CSK’s spin threat with his various sweeps.
MI have coasted along to victory with consummate ease. Their batters have stamped their authority tonight. CSK never really got going after being inserted to bat. They were good in patches, but they needed more firepower to breach the 200-run mark. A blazing cameo from Ayush Mhatre on his IPL debut and fifties from Dube and Jadeja helped CSK to post a fighting total, but it was never going to be enough.
On a good batting surface and with small boundaries and the dew factor to deal with, the visitors were always up against it. Rohit was switched on from the word go tonight and took his side off to a flyer. Rickelton also got a star,t but he fell to Jadeja. SKY was promoted to No. 3 tonight, and he did the utmost justice to Hardik’s call.
Rohit dropped anchor after he had blazed away, while SKY kept finding the boundaries consistently. The CSK bowlers didn’t have any answers to the onslaught. Once Rohit raised his fifty, he switched gears once again and smashed the bowlers to all corners. SKY also raised a quickfire fifty of his own. The duo stitched the first century partnership for MI this season and finished it off in a canter. MI have won three games in a row and are on an upsurge…
As Rohit Sharma mentioned in the post-match interview, “We are peaking at the right time” – these are great signs for MI. They have moved to sixth position on the points table with three wins in a row, and when they get on a roll, they are a tough side to stop. CSK, on the other hand, are languishing at the bottom of the table.
They broke their winless drought against LSG after losing five games in a row, but have once again faltered. Things are looking gloomy for the men in yellow – they more or less need to win every game from here on if they are to keep their playoff chances alive. Mumbai Indians will travel to Hyderabad, where they take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 23. Chennai Super Kings will face the same team at Chepauk two days later.
Also Read:Â MI vs CSK: MI’s Thumping Victory Over Arch-Rivals CSK Breaks Records