 "Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad raises his bat after completing his half-century against Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. PTI")
After narrowly missing out on the playoffs last year, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) got their 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign off to a ideal start with a four-wicket victory over arch-rivals Mumbai Indians in Chennai on Sunday. And playing a central role in their victory at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in the evening fixture of the Sunday double-header was Afghanistan left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad, who was adjudged the Player of the Match for his figures of 4/18 in his maiden appearance for the ‘Yellow Army’.
Another important development from Sunday’s ‘El Clasico’ meeting between the two five-time IPL champions was CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad coming out to bat at No 3 instead of opening alongside New Zealand batting sensation Rachin Ravindra.
Gaikwad had cemented his place in the CSK batting lineup as a first-choice opener shortly after making his IPL debut in 2020, initially walking out to bat alongside Faf du Plessis and later getting paired up with New Zealand top-order batters Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra.
Gaikwad highlights team balance as the reason behind change in batting position
On Sunday, it was ‘Impact Player’ Rahul Tripathi who got CSK’s chase of the 156-run target set by MI underway at Chepauk alongside Ravindra, and Gaikwad for one was “really happy” to bat at a lower position so long as it maintained a balance in Chennai’s team combination.
“That is the requirement of the team (talking about the move to bat at three) and that gives the team more balance and I am really happy to change my position,” Gaikwad said at the post-match presentation ceremony after his team defeated MI by four wickets.
Tripathi couldn’t really make the most of the opportunity, getting dismissed for 2 off Deepak Chahar’s bowling in the second over of the chase. CSK, however, quickly recovered from the early blow thanks to fifties from Ravindra (65 not out) and Gaikwad (53).
Impact Shorts
View AllThe two ended up adding 67 for the second wicket that ensured the Super Kings got over the line with nearly an over to spare despite suffering a wobble in the middle overs thanks to an inspired spell from MI ‘Impact Player’ Vignesh Puthur (3/32).