Hosts Mumbai Indians (MI) crossed swords with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Match 38 of the mega T20 cricket event, IPL 2025 (Indian Premier League), in Mumbai. Notably, MI captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and decided to take the field first. This thrilling game took place on a blockbuster Sunday, April 20.
Talking Points
1. MI contain CSK to a modest total
Mumbai Indians restricted Chennai Super Kings to 176. Despite Wankhede being a high-scoring venue, CSK lacked overall intensity in their batting. They struggled to find rhythm for nearly the entire game. Debutant Ayush Mhatre played a courageous knock (32 runs off 15 balls), while Shivam Dube (50 runs off 32 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (53* runs off 35 balls) scored fifties to steady the ship. Among notable bowling performances for Mumbai, pacer Jasprit Bumrah and spinner Mitchell Santner conceded just 91 runs in their combined effort across 14 overs.
2. Tactical brilliance from Mumbai
MI showed precision in their bowling plans by allowing their best bowlers of the day, Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Santner, to bowl the crucial 17th and 18th overs during the death stages of the innings. The duo did not allow CSK to get away and did not concede a single boundary in these two overs. MS Dhoni‘s dismissal in the 19th over led MI to bring back Trent Boult to bowl the final over. However, Jadeja’s late charge meant that Chennai finished with a respectable total. Quite surprisingly, skipper Pandya bowled only two overs, while Ashwani Kumar and Boult bowled their full quota of four overs each, which proved expensive for the side.
3. Rising star Mhatre and middle-over woes
The 17-year-old batting sensation Ayush Mhatre impressed on his debut for CSK with his thrilling knock during the powerplay phase, but a lack of intent in the middle overs proved costly for Chennai, as Shivam Dube took his time to get going — to the extent that CSK failed to score a single boundary for 27 balls. This also exposed Chennai Super Kings’ batting depth.
4. Solid opening stand sets the tone for MI
In reply to the run chase, the Mumbai Indians made a brisk start against the Chennai Super Kings. Impact player and star batter Rohit Sharma anchored MI’s batting with a fluent 45* runs off 32 balls and continued to attack the bowlers. His opening partner, Ryan Rickelton, played a role in providing initial stability as he fell to Ravindra Jadeja for 24 runs after facing 19 deliveries.
IPL 2025: Funniest Memes from MI vs CSK Mid-innings Match 38
5. Rohit-Suryakumar show seals the game
After Rickelton’s dismissal, Mr 360, aka Suryakumar Yadav, arrived at the crease. After 14.3 overs, MI were in a commanding position with 151/1 on the board. The CSK bowlers failed to stop the flow of runs. Rohit found his batting mojo as he got past the 50-run mark. Eventually, the pair stitched an unbeaten partnership of 114* runs to propel Mumbai Indians to a dominating victory over Chennai Super Kings by nine wickets. Notably, Rohit remained unbeaten on 76* off just 45 balls, while Suryakumar scored an unbeaten 68* off 30 balls.
Meanwhile, here’s what both the captains and the POTM (Player of the Match) had to say regarding tonight’s IPL 2025 clash:
Who Said What?
Hardik Pandya, MI (Winning captain) said,
The way we are playing the sport. We knew it was going to be high-scoring. The way Rohit and Suryakumar bat, it is a relief from outside. You don’t have to worry about Rohit’s form. He’s gonna come good like this. We knew when he comes good, the opposition will be out. SKY complemented him. People are stepping up. We have been sticking to basics. Percentage cricket is high, we are not trying magical stuff and sticking to simple cricket. Knew they were behind the game and wanted to keep it tight. The fast bowlers went for runs and we knew 175 was below par. We were not far from a good game. We had to figure out about closing the couple of balls that were costing us games.
MS Dhoni, CSK (Losing captain) said,
We were quite below par. Knew dew would come in the second half. Bumrah one of the best death bowlers in the world, MI started their death bowling early, we should have started our slog early. We should have capitalised and got those runs. [Mhatre] Batted well, he picked his shots well. Wanted to play his shots, we also haven’t seen him much. Odd ball was gripping. They played spin well. We never had a par score. If you give away too many in the first six. It wasn’t like it was coming on nicely. We need to realise, we are successful because we play good cricket. But we need not get too emotional. We need to see if we are playing the right form or cricket, trying to put right amount of runs. A few more catches will help, we are trying to plug in the holes. Take one game at a time. Look at the combinations for the next season, if we don’t qualify.
Rohit Sharma, Player of the Match said,
Wankhede wants to enjoy good cricket. After being here for a long time, it’s easy to start doubting yourself and start doing different things. It was important for me to practice well, hit the ball well. When you are clear in your mind, things like this can happen. It has been a while but if you doubt yourself, you put pressure on yourself. It is important to balance how you want to play. Today I wanted to hit the ball but was also important to hold the shape and extend the arms. And then if the ball is in the arc, I wanted to try what i always do. It has not been happening consistently but I am not going to doubt myself. [Impact Player] Something we spoke about. Two or three overs doesn’t make a huge difference. I came in in a few games and it doesn’t help, if you are not switched on. Don’t mind going for 4-5 overs as well, or if the team wants to me stay in the dugout and just bat. [Rohit Sharma Stand] Looks pretty far! Huge honour. I used to come here as a kid and watch the game. We were not allowed to come here at some stage. Grown up playing at this ground, now to have that stand, huge honour. Don’t know how I will react when it actually comes up. Satisfying part was to finish the game. We are peaking at the right time, winning three on the trot. Winning back-to-back is important, we stand in a good position.
