Stand-in MI skipper praises team’s fight and debutant Vignesh Puthur’s impact, but admits Gaikwad’s knock turned the tide for Chennai Super Kings.
Chennai, March 24: In the latest chapter of IPL’s iconic ‘El Clasico’, Mumbai Indians (MI) fell short against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by four wickets in a pulsating clash at Chepauk, and stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav believes they were 15-20 runs shy of a competitive total.
Batting first after CSK won the toss, MI suffered an early blow when Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a four-ball duck. The momentum further dipped as Noor Ahmad’s masterful spell dismantled the middle order. However, a fighting 51-run stand between Suryakumar (29) and Tilak Varma (31) helped MI crawl to 155/9 in their 20 overs.
“Absolutely. We were 15-20 runs short, but the fight the boys showed was commendable,” Suryakumar said in the post-match presentation.
Despite the underwhelming total, debutant Vignesh Puthur emerged as MI’s bright spark. Making his IPL debut without any prior domestic experience, the young pacer claimed three key wickets, including CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had earlier lit up the chase with a blazing 53 off 26 balls.
Vignesh then struck again to remove Shivam Dube and Deepak Hooda, keeping MI in the contest. Praising the youngster, Suryakumar added, “MI is known for giving youngsters a platform. Vignesh is a product of our scouting team, which works year-round. I saved one over for him in case the match went deep—it was a no-brainer to give him the 18th.”
While Rachin Ravindra remained unbeaten on 65 off 45 balls* and sealed the win with a towering six, Suryakumar admitted it was Gaikwad’s explosive start that proved decisive.
“There wasn’t any dew, but it was sticky. The way Ruturaj batted in the second innings took the game away from us,” he concluded.
With the loss, MI now looks to regroup as the tournament progresses, while CSK builds early momentum.