Chennai Super Kings (CSK) kicked off their IPL 2025 campaign with a dominant four-wicket win over Mumbai Indians (MI) at Chepauk on Sunday.
Chasing a modest target of 156, CSK’s chase was powered by an unbeaten 65 from Rachin Ravindra and a fiery 53 from skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, sealing the victory in 19.1 overs.
Mumbai Indians, sent in to bat first, got off to a disastrous start with Rohit Sharma dismissed for a four-ball duck by Khaleel Ahmed, marking his 18th IPL duck, the joint-most in tournament history.
The top order struggled, but stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav (29) and Tilak Varma (31) steadied the innings with a 51-run partnership.
The match turned when debutant Noor Ahmad unleashed his mystery spin, taking 4/18 to tear through MI’s middle order. Khaleel Ahmed was also in fine form, finishing with 3/29. A late cameo from Deepak Chahar (28* off 15 balls) helped MI reach a somewhat competitive total of 155/9.
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In response, CSK’s chase was anchored by Ravindra and Gaikwad, who provided a strong foundation. Vignesh Puthur (3/32) briefly threatened to disrupt CSK’s momentum, but Ravindra’s calm head saw them over the line with five balls to spare, giving CSK a winning start to their season.