An MS Dhoni masterclass in strategising was front and centre of the IPL tournament-opener as CSK outclasses Mumbai Indians by 5 wickets in Abu Dhabi.
Mumbai were put into bat first by MS Dhoni, who was playing his first match in over 400 days, and Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock got the team a solid start posting 45/0 in 4 overs. Piyush Chawla got MS Dhoni the big break, sending back Rohit on 12. Mumbai’s middle order steading things but two sharp catches by Faf du Plessis near the boundary line got Mumbai spiralling from 121/3 in 14 overs to 162/9 in 20.
In reply, CSK lost opener Shane Watson and Murali Vijay early and were reduced to 6/2 in 2 overs but a solid 115-run partnership between Faf du Plessis and Ambati Rayudu got the team close to the finish line. Jadeja and Sam Curran added runs to the board but it was eventually MS Dhoni out in the middle as the winnings runs were…