On This Day in 2018: Chennai Super Kings Clinch Nail-Biter Against Mumbai Indians in IPL Opener

Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have been battling each other for supremacy and their rivalry is one of the most enthralling ones in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). MI and CSK are the two most successful IPL franchises with each lifting the trophy five times so far.

The two IPL giants faced each other in a nail-biting fixture on this day in 2018. It was the opening contest of the IPL 2018 season and fans could not have asked for a better start to the T20 cricket extravaganza. The IPL 2018 opening game between MI and CSK took place at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The-then CSK skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bowl first.

Rohit Sharma and Evin Lewis opened the innings for MI. Lewis fell to Deepak Chahar on the second ball of the third over for a duck, giving CSK the ideal start in the game.

MI captain Rohit Sharma soon followed Evin Lewis to the pavilion, falling to Shane Watson on 15 in the fourth over. New recruits Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav steadied the ship with a counter-attacking partnership of 78 runs for the third wicket.

Shane Watson broke the partnership by picking up the crucial wicket of Suryakumar Yadav, who was dismissed for 43. Ishan Kishan departed soon having produced an important innings of 40.

With both the set batsmen now dismissed, the responsibility of finishing the innings on a high was taken over by the Pandya brothers- Krunal and Hardik. The latter looked tentative and out of touch, scoring 22 runs off 20 balls but his elder brother took debutant Mark Wood to the cleaners. MI eventually finished at 165 runs losing four wickets in 20 overs.

Shane Watson emerged as CSK’s highest wicket-taker of the game having earned two scalps giving away 29 runs in four overs.

CSK did not have an impressive start to the run chase having lost Shane Watson for 16 in the third over. Suresh Raina was the next to depart in the sixth over scoring four runs.

Spinner Mayank Markande, making his debut, spun a web of chaos and doubt by dismissing CSK legends Ambati Rayudu and MS Dhoni in successive overs, leaving the Men in Yellow reeling at 51-4 after 8.3 overs. There appeared to be a quick conclusion when Kedar Jadhav pulled out due to an injured hamstring.

Yet CSK were lifted a second time by Dwayne Bravo, who dominated the last part of the run chase. Bravo, accompanied by Imran Tahir, predicted the blockhole lengths Mitchell McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah were seeking and got deep in his crease to hit five sixes, three over midwicket and two over long-off, between the beginning of the 18th over and the conclusion of the 19th.

Dwayne Bravo scored 68 runs off 30 balls to turn the tide of the game single-handedly, hitting as many as seven sixes. That was before he sliced a Jasprit Bumrah delivery straight to Rohit Sharma at extra cover, leaving CSK with seven runs to win and just one wicket in hand.

Kedar Jadhav returned to earn a chance for his team. The first three balls of the final over, bowled by Mustafizur Rahman, went for zero runs. CSK needed seven runs to win with three balls remaining. On the fourth ball, Jadhav shuffled across the off stump, got down on one knee and ramped the delivery over short fine leg for a maximum. Everyone in the stadium must have believed that the game was done and dusted after Dwayne Bravo’s dismissal, but that shot from Jadhav ensured that CSK would at least not lose the game, if not win it.

On the next ball, Mustafizur Rahman pitched it fuller and outside off stump. Kedar Jadhav used the depth of his crease and hammered the ball through the cover region to find a boundary and win the game for CSK. The MS Dhoni-led side scripted a memorable one-run win with just a ball to spare.