IPL 2018: MI vs CSK, Four Master Strokes from the IPL 2018 opener
It was the inaugural match of the much anticipated 11th edition of Indian Premier League that saw the league's two most successful sides in Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings lock horns at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Put into bat by Chennai, Mumbai didn't have a great start as they lost both their openers in the powerplay overs. Although, the innings saw some resurrection courtesy Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan in the middle overs as the men in blue reached a respectable total of 165 in their 20 overs.
Chasing an under par score, Chennai got off to a flier when the duo of Watson and Rayudu mustered runs at a brisk pace. This didn’t last for long as the Indians came back strongly to pick some quick wickets. CSK were choked with 56 for 4 at the half-way stage courtesy some good leg spin bowling from the young Mayank Markande. But it was lower-order contributions from Kedar Jadhav and an exceptional knock from DJ Bravo that sealed the game for his side by 1 wicket.
#1 Watson taking the new ball
It was only the 2nd over in the match when MS Dhoni took everyone by surprise when he asked Watson to take the new ball for the men in yellow. With Mark Wood already being in the playing XI, this indeed was a masterstroke from the captain cool as the T-20 veteran didn't disappoint his skipper. His ability to pitch the ball at required length along with his variations proved too good for the opposition skipper. Watto got the prized scalp of MI skipper Rohit Sharma to put them on the back foot in his first spell.
The ball was again handed to the experienced campaigner when Mumbai batsmen were going berserk in the middle overs, and to nobody's surprise, Watson delivered the goods for his team. He managed to send Surya Kumar Yadav back to the pavilion to finish with 2-29 in his quota of four overs.