Published 23:54 IST, September 19th 2020
Dream11 IPL 2020: Chennai draw first blood, beat arch-rivals Mumbai in the curtain-raiser
The MS Dhoni-led Chennai beat Rohit Sharma's Mumbai in the curtain-raiser of the Dream11 IPL 2020 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
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The MS Dhoni-led Chennai beat Rohit Sharma's Mumbai in the curtain-raiser of the Dream11 IPL 2020 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Chennai restrict Mumbai to 162/9
After being put into bat, by Chennai skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the four-time champions got off to a brisk start as openers Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock added 46 runs for the opening wicket before the duo was dismissed in quick successions after which Suryakumar Yadav (17) and Saurabh Tiwary (42) stitched together a 44-run stand for the third wicket. The defending champions found themselves in a spot of bother once those two departed.
Faf du Plessis took three outstanding catches in the deep and brought Chennai right back into the contest. Even the Chennai bowlers came back well at the backend of the innings as they accounted for Mumbai's big-hitters and the title-holders were restricted to 162/3 in their 20 overs.
Rayudu-du Plessis anchor Chennai run chase
In reply, the former champions were off to a disastrous start as they lost the wickets of openers Shane Watson and Murali Vijay to find themselves in a spot of bother at 6/2 in the first two overs. However, Ambati Rayudu and Faf du Plessis had other ideas as they ensured that the 'Yellow Army' did not face any further hiccups in their run chase. The duo added 115 runs for the third-wicket stand before Rayudu had to depart for a spectacular 48-ball 71 at a strike rate of 147.92 that included six boundaries and three maximums.
Faf got a reprieve in the 16th over when Suryakumar had misjudged one at long-on. He made the four-time champions pay for their sloppy fielding by scoring his 13th IPL half-century and helping Chennai get past the finish line by five wickets with four balls to spare.
23:54 IST, September 19th 2020