Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad led from the front with an unbeaten half-century as CSK completed the double over MI this season. Ruturaj Gaikwad dazzled in Chennai as his unbeaten knock held the innings together. But before that, he captained the side really well. Firstly, he marshalled his troops for them to restrict the powerful MI to 159/7 in 20 overs despite Naman Dhir’s 57 and others playing around him. Anshul Kamboj picked up 3 wickets, while Noor Ahmad got a couple of wickets to his name, and Jamie Overton bowled well as well.
In reply, CSK rode on a masterclass from captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and a debut fifty from Kartik Sharma as the Men in Yellow chased down 160 in 18.1 overs. The duo put on 98 for the third wicket, an unbroken stand after Sanju Samson fell early and Urvil Patel fell after a quickfire knock in the power play overs. Jasprit Bumrah and Allah Ghazanfar picked up one wicket each. But it was not enough as CSK climbed to 6th in the points table while MI stays in 9th place as we speak. Gaikwad was given the Player of the Match award.
Anshul Kamboj’s 3-wicket haul restricts MI to 159/7 in 20 overs.Â
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Will Jacks and Ryan Rickelton came out to open for MI while Mukesh Choudhary had the ball in hand for CSK. CSK made a great start as Will Jacks was dismissed for 1 off 5 balls to Anshul Kamboj. Naman Dhir came to the crease next. Rickelton and Naman upped the ante in the power play, with Rickelton going after Prashant Veer, hitting him for three sixes in the over. The duo forged a solid stand and took MI to 57/1 in the power play, a solid start by the visitors.
Naman was given a lifeline when Shivam Dube dropped him on 19, and the score was 58 as the batter made CSK pay later on. But Noor had a wicket and got the breakthrough for CSK as he removed Ryan Rickelton, breaking a 58-run stand for the second wicket. The score was 59 when Rickelton went for 37 off 24 balls with 5 sixes to his name as Urvil Patel made no mistake. Suryakumar Yadav came out to bat next and got off the mark with a boundary. Surya got a start and played some good shots in his short stay at the crease.
The duo added 40 runs for the third wicket before Surya fell for 21 off 12 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to debutant Ramakrishna Ghosh. Tilak Varma came out to bat next. Just 10 runs were added to the tally before Tilak fell for 5 off 8 balls to Noor Ahmad. Captain Hardik Pandya came out to bat next. Naman kept the fight going for MI as he took full advantage of the let-off he got. He was the most fluent batter out there in the middle.
The duo added 25 runs for the 5th wicket before Dhir, who reached his fifty, fell for 57 off 37 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to his name. Robin Minz came out to bat next. Minz hit a boundary as well to get himself going. Just 5 runs were added to the tally before Minz fell for 5 off 3 balls with one boundary to his name to Kamboj, who cleaned him up. Krish Bhagat came out to bat next.
Hardik managed to get a boundary away here and there but struggled for timing for most parts and was denying the single as well. The duo of Pandya and Bhagat added 12 runs for the 7th wicket before Hardik fell for a pain-staking 18 off 23 balls with 2 fours to his name to Kamboj. Trent Boult came out to bat next and got off the mark with a maximum. They got a single after that and a bye as well.
8 runs were added off the last 3 balls for the 8th wicket before the innings came to an end. MI finished with 159/7 in 20 overs. Bhagat was unbeaten on 3 off 6 balls, while Boult was unbeaten on 7 off 2 balls, with one six to his name. 5 extras given by the fielding side.
For CSK, Anshul Kamboj was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/32 in 4 overs. Noor Ahmad was brilliant with his 2/26 in 4 overs. Jamie Overton finished with figures of 1/23 in 4 overs. Ramakrishna Ghosh, the debutant, finished with 1/24 in 3 overs. Mukesh Choudhary finished with 0/25 in 3 overs. Prashant Veer bowled 2 overs for 25 runs. This meant the target for CSK was 160 runs in 20 overs.
Ruturaj Gaikwad & Kartik Sharma guide CSK to an impressive win with 11 balls to spare
Chasing 160 for the win, keeper batter Sanju Samson came out to open the batting with captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, while Trent Boult opened the bowling for MI. Boult gave away 7 in his first over as Samson hit him for a boundary. Samson was given a reprieve by Will Jacks at first slip with Samson on 6. But that drop did not prove costly. Samson hit a boundary, but with the score at 13, Samson got the outside edge through to the keeper as Bumrah had the wicket. Samson fell for 11 off 9 balls with 2 fours to his name.
Urvil Patel came out to bat next. Urvil came out all guns blazing and took advantage of the power play. Gaikwad looked fluent out there and showed his class, and CSK stayed ahead of the run rate all the time. The duo put on 49 off 22 balls for the second wicket before Patel gave his wicket away by slogging across the line and getting clean bowled. Patel fell for 24 off 12 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name against Allah Ghazanfar.
Kartik Sharma came out to bat next as the power play score was 62/2 in 6 overs for CSK. With the required rate not an issue, the duo played sensible cricket. Kartik Sharma took his time initially, going at a run after a ball. Gaikwad went about his merry ways. There was no chance created, and both played chanceless knocks. The duo aced the middle phase and took the score to 92/2 in 10 overs at the halfway stage of the chase. They just paced their innings to perfection as Gaikwad completed back-to-back fifties in style with a mature knock.
The duo made sure not to give MI any glimmer of hope and paced the innings accordingly. Overs 11-15 were important, and at the end of it all, CSK were 129/2 in 15 overs and needed just 31 runs off 30 balls with 8 wickets in hand. The game was as good as over at this stage. CSK soon upped the ante and completed the formalities. Kartik completed his half-century and showed a lot of promise out there.
Gaikwad carried his bat while Sharma was the one who hit the winning runs with an innovative boundary towards the third man region. Gaikwad was unbeaten on 67 off 48 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes to his name, while Kartik was unbeaten on 54 off 40 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to his name. 4 extras given by the fielding side as CSK ended up with 160/2 in 18.1 overs, thanks to a match-winning partnership of 98 runs off 75 balls unbeaten.
For MI, their best bowler was Jasprit Bumrah, who finished with figures of 1/20 in 3 overs. Allah Ghazanfar finished with 1/40 in 4 overs. Raghu Sharma, the Impact Player, finished with figures of 0/24 in 4 overs. Trent Boult finished with 0/37 in 3.1 overs. Krish Bhagat finished with 0/22 in 3 overs. Captain Hardik Pandya finished with figures of 0/17 in 2 overs. So, CSK thrashed MI by 8 wickets with 11 balls to spare. Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, CSK thrashed MI by 8 wickets and climbed upwards to 6th in the points table. MI stays in 9th place. CSK will next face DC in New Delhi on Tuesday night. While MI will face LSG in Mumbai on Monday night, both teams are in 9th and 10th place in the points table. So, MI has a lot of work to do while CSK lives to fight for another day.
Two games are coming your way on Super Sunday. First up, it’s SRH taking on KKR in Hyderabad, which will be followed by GT hosting PBKS in Ahmedabad. So, double the action, double the fun on Super Sunday in IPL 2026. Let’s see how things go in the matches taking place on Super Sunday.
Also Read: CSK VS MI: Naman Dhir’s Fluent Half-Century Helps MI Post Fighting 159/7.