CSK began IPL-13 with a win, beat MI by 5 wickets

Ambati Rayudu and Faf du Plesis scored gritty half-centuries as Chennai Super King(CSK) beat defended champions Mumbai Indians(MI) by five wickets.in the opening match of Indian Premier League(IPL)-2020 in Abu Dhabi.  Chasing 163 to win, CSK got off to a poor start as they lost both their openers Shane Watson and Murali Vijay cheaply in the first two overs of the innings. Watson got out to Trent Boult, while Murali Vijay was trapped leg before by James Pattinson. However, he must be ruing the fact that he didn't challenge the on-field decision as the replay suggested that the ball would have gone onto miss the stumps by some distance. 

Despite losing two wickets upfront, Rayudu and Du Plessis used all their experience to bail CSK out of trouble, by stitching together a solid 115-run partnership, that decided the course of the match. Boult and Pattinson bowled brilliantly in the first few overs and pushed CSK on the backfoot but when the dew settled in as the game progressed, it made things extremely difficult for them.

Apart from Rayudu and Du Plessis, another CSK player who stood out was Sam Curran who impressed with both bat and ball. He bowled an economical spell and picked up an important wicket of opener Quinton de Kock. With win in sight, Dhoni decided to send Curran to bat ahead of him and he didn't disappoint the skipper, scoring 18 off just six balls. He was awarded the Player of the Match award for his all-round show.

Earlier, CSK skipper M S Dhoni won the toss and opted to bowl. MI skipper Rohit Sharma (12 off 10) along with Quinton de Kock (33 off 20) gave the defending champions a bright start, adding 46 runs for the opening wicket inside five overs. However, they both got out in quick succession inside the powerplay. 

Suryakumar Yadav and Saurabh Tiwary (42 off 31) started the rebuilding process for the defending champions and took their total close to 100-mark, stitching a solid 44-run stand for the third wicket.Suryakumar couldn't covert his start into a big score and departed for 17. Next in was all-rounder Hardik Pandya whose short stay at the crease was studded with two hits over the fence.Just when Mumbai Indians were looking set to post a big total, Ravindra Jadeja struck twice in the 15th over to get rid of both Saurabh Tiwary and Hardik.