Former champions CSK handled pressure quite well, as they secured a comfortable five-wicket win against defending champions MI in the opening game of the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. The win ended their five-game losing streak to MI.
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Match report: Winning the toss, CSK elected to bowl first, as MI were off to a strong start. It was Tiwary, whose fine knock of 42 ensured MI stay on track for a good score. However, the middle-order started to collapse, as MI finished on 1629, which was a par total on this track, thanks to Lungi Ngidi's 338.
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In reply, CSK were off to a shaky start, losing their opening two wickets in the first couple of overs. Nonetheless, Rayudu, along with du Plessis, played a patient knock each, as they slowly steered the side out of harm's way, while the latter finished things off, as they won by five wickets.
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With this win, CSK are at the top of the table, for now. Meanwhile, let us have a look at some of the records scripted in this tie.
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Rohit scripts an unwanted one: Since 2017, Rohit has become vulnerable to spinners, especially the leg-spinners. Following his dismissal to Piyush Chawla tonight, he has become the batsman to fall most against the leg-spinners, since 2017, in the tournament. Rohit has been dismissed on nine such occasions, going past AB de Villiers and Robin Uthappa.
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Chawla rises the wicket-taking chart: By claiming the only wicket of the match, Chawla has now become the third-highest wicket-taker of the tournament, with 151 scalps, going past CSK's Harbhajan Singh. He is led by Lasith Malinga (170) and Amit Mishra (157).
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Deepak Chahar scripts a special one: Pacer Deepak Chahar bowled the opening ball of the tournament. On the same note, he has done so three seasons in a row, while he has become the first bowler to do so in the tournament.
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MI lose their eighth opening game in a row: This was certainly not the start that MI were expecting. In fact, with this loss, they have now scripted an unwanted one, as they have registered their eighth opening loss in a row, since 2013. Of these eight loses, four defeats have come against the side MS Dhoni has featured in (CSK and Rising Pune Supergiant).
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Dhoni scripts some special ones: With this win, CSK registered their 100th win under Dhoni. As a result, he has now become the first captain in the tournament to attain the feat for a single side. He also completed 100 catches in the tournament, besides registering his 250th dismissal as wicketkeeper in T20 cricket.
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