Bravo's 68-run whirlwind snatches stunning one-wicket win for CSK

Defending champions Mumbai Indians and two-time winners Chennai Super Kings, the most successful teams of the Indian Premier League (IPL), will begin the 11th edition of the Twenty20 cricket tournament with a mouthwatering clash at the Wankhede Stadium here on Saturday.

Chennai Super Kings win a thrilling contest by one wicket and with one ball to go. What a match we've had here. Take a bow Dwayne Bravo for a 68-run knock off just 30 balls that included three sixes off Bumrah in the penultimate over. Not to forget Jadhav's six in the last over and that too on one leg. What a comeback by Chennai Super Kings.

Jadhav hits a six

Scooped it over short fine leg! Kedar Jadhav, you little beauty.

Bravo is out for 68

Bumrah strikes off the last ball. Oh Bravo what have you done? A single would have been enough. But what an innings. CSK need 7 in the last over.

Fifty for Bravo

#IPL2018: SIX! Bravo reaches his fifty off 25 balls and he is up to something special. CSK need 13 off 9 balls now pic.twitter.com/lB1I6TnpPP

— Wah Cricket (@ABPCricketHindi) April 7, 2018

It's not over yet

One over long-off, the next over mid-wicket, successive sixes for Bravo and he follows it up with another boundary through the mid-wicket and long on gap. McClenaghan at the receiving end of Bravo's wrath. 20 off the over, CSK need 27 off the last two with Bravo on strike.

Pandya has three

Pandya picks up another wicket. Slow ball on a good length around middle and leg, Wood gets in position and whips this to the deep square leg region. He gets it off the bottom of the bat and the ball goes straight to Rahman's throat stationed there.

McClenaghan joins the party

What was that from Harbhajan? A flat batted swaft? A tennins smash? Whatever it was, it wasn't successful at all. McClenaghan gets his name in the wickets column. A shortish delivery outside off stump that got big on Harbajan and gets himself into a tangle. Bumrah at thirdman makes no mistake.

Three for Markande

Markande gets his third wicket! What a debut he is having. Deepak charges down the wicket on his very first ball, Mayank bowls this slower through the air on off. Chahar misses the ball as he is beaten by the googly. It goes past his bat and Ishan takes the bails off in a flash. Chahar doesn't come back in time and an easy decision for the umpire as he doesn't go upstairs.

Jadeja falls in the line

Jadeja holes out trying to hit the boundaries. Rahman rolls his fingers to this one and serves on a good length outside off. Ravindra goes for the big swing and gets a top edge to this. The ball balloons towards mid off where Suryakumar Yadav comes a few steps ahead, settles under it and takes the skier. Chennai are now losing wickets at regular intervals. They need 91 more off 48 balls

Markande removes Dhoni

That is close, that is very close, but umpire Gaffeney shakes his head. Rohit immediately signals for the review. MS Dhoni will have to take the long walk back if he hasn't got an inside edge there. No he hasn't, no movement at all at the snickometer, three reds, Markande has his second, boy isn't the youngsster excited? Huge roar in the stadium. It was another googly, Dhoni was rooted to the crease and the flatter trajectory of the ball hastled Dhoni to trap him right in the front.  

Maiden wicket for Markande

Rayudu has a long long chat with Dhoni and rightly decides not to review it. It looked absolute dead. Young Markande strikes off his second ball in IPL. A flat googly foxes Rayudu completely, who went for an expansive slog sweep only to end up missing it completely. CSK have lost three for 42.

Raina goes

#IPL2018: It's caught Pandya bowled Pandya. Who says he is injured? Hardik Pandya strikes for the 2nd time and this time it's Raina. CSK lose two for 42 in 166-run chase. pic.twitter.com/hqEGdVWqDe

— Wah Cricket (@ABPCricketHindi) April 7, 2018

Pandya removes Watson

Shane Watson departs! Hardik Pandya draws first blood for his side. It was the knuckle ball from him. On a length and around middle and off, Watson just looks to flick it away. He mistimes it high in the air and holes out to Evin Lewis at deep square leg. Chennai need 139 from 98 balls.

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Chennai wouldn't be too disappointed with the way they pulled things back. The death specialist Dwayne Bravo was on song and made the run-scoring a difficult task. He was taken for 14 in his opening over but came back well to give away just 11 in the next three overs. Rest all were good but Mark Wood had a night to forget. Right then, there is something in the pitch for the bowlers and it would be interesting to see if the hosts can do what their counterparts did in the first innings. Which team will open its account tonight? Join us in a bit for the run chase to find out...

MS Dhoni then took a bold move to bring Watson back and that provided them the breakthrough in the name of Yadav. Tahir then removed the other set batsman Kishan in quick succession to help Chennai gain the upper hand. However, the Pandya brothers didn't let that hamper the momentum as they kept scoring freely. It was Krunal Pandya who stole the show with his 41 off 22 balls.

A good recovery from Mumbai after an early stutter. They lost both their openers inside the Powerplay as Watson and Chahar hit the right chords at the start. It was Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan who brought things back on track. The duo just unleashed and swatted the bowlers all around the park as they stitched a 78-run stand to leave the visitors thinking.

Brilliant last over

Only five runs off the Bravo last over and Mumbai Indians have ended up with 165/4 at the end of 20 overs. But there is an injury concern with Hardik Pandya there, it looks like he hurt his ankle while trying to hit the last ball for a six and he is being carried off the field. Hopefully, the injury is not that serious.

Krunal on fire

That's 19 off the over, Krunal Panday is on fire here, takes Mark Wood apart, hitting him for a six and two fours. The Mumbai innings is heading towards a strong finish, courtesy the Pandya brothers.

Tahir comesback to remove Kishan

Top edge and gone! Imran Tahir picks up a wicket after taken for aplenty in his first over. Bowls a googly, it keeps going away from the southpaw. Kishan gets down on one knee and tries to swing it across the line. A big fat top edge is taken which goes high in the air towards short third man where Mark Wood takes a dolly of a catch. Ishan walks back after playing a good hand.

Suryakumar falls for 43

#IPL2018: Watson does the trick with one of his potent bouncers. The 78-run partnership is broken, Suryakumar (43 off 29) falls short of a half-century. #MI: 98/3https://t.co/CMtOITW3Cz

— Wah Cricket (@ABPCricketHindi) April 7, 2018

Another expensive over

Good comeback from Bravo after conceeding a hat-trick of fours on his first three balls of the spell. Mumbai have scored 32 runs in the last 2 overs courtesy some good clean striking from both Suryakumar and Kishan.

Kishan takes 18 off Tahir's 1st over

4,6,4,1,1,2: Not the numbers Imran Tahir would have liked to see on his first over. Young Ishan Kishan took a liking off the experienced leggie, hitting him for a couple of fours and one flat six over long on. Mumbai have reached on 83 for 2 after 11.

MI pick up pace

The Mumbai innings is picking up pace slowly but surely. Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav have scored 23 runs in the last three overs and with the Pandya brothers and Pollard yet to come, Mumbai can hope for a decent score despite a torrid start.

Mumbai 39/2 after six

Brilliant from Suryakumar! Oh we have seen that before when he was in KKR. Lifts his backleg off the ground, closes the face of the bat as soon as the ball reaches him and boy does he time that ball. Lands it way deep into the crowd. Mumbai needs a big one from the local boy. They are 39 for 2 after 6 overs.

Rohit departs for 15

It goes miles up in the air, Rayudu settles in nicely and pouches it with ease. A very good catch from the right-hander, huge wicket for CSK. They have got the MI captain Rohit Sharma for 15. Went for another six but ended up getting a top edge. Credit to Watson, he was hit for a six in the previous delivery but kept his calm and bowled a very good outswinger to trap Rohit off guard. MI: 20/2

First Six of IPL 11

That was on the cards, Rohit had tried to take on Watson on a couple occasions earlier but he finally gets the desired result this time. An overpitched delivery, Rohit takes a giant stride and lets his arms do the rest. The ball sails over the cover boundary for a six!

Chahar on the money

GONE! Evin Lewis becomes the first victim of IPL 11 and that too after using up a DRS. First appeal and here comes the first review of IPL. So West Indies' Evin Leiws becomes the first batsman to opt for a DRS in IPL. Wow, what a delivery from young Chahar. The fuller length delivery tailed into the left-hander Lewis, who was late to bring his bat down and umpire Chris Gaffaney raised his finger even as Chahar takes a tumbling tour of the Wankhede pitch.

Cautious start for MI  

Rohit Sharma has come out in the middle to open MI innings along with Evin Lewis. There were speculations earlier that Rohit might bat in the middle overs but the management has decided that the captain will open the innings for the home team. MI are 5 without loss after the end of first over. 

MI XI: I Kishan, E Lewis, RG Sharma, S Yadav, K Pollard, H Pandya, K Pandya, J Bumrah, M Rahman, M McClenaghan, M Markande

CSK XI: A Rayudu, S Watson, S Raina, K Jadhav, MS Dhoni, DJ Bravo, R Jadeja, H Singh, D Chahar, I Tahir, M Wood

Team News: Mumbai have gone with a debutant named Mayank Markande along with Jaspirt Bumra and Mustafizur Rahman as the quicks. Chennai on the other hand have picked Mark Wood, Dwayne Bravo, Imran Tahir and Shane Watson as their four foreigner. 

Toss: Chennai Super Kings wins the toss and opts to field first against Mumbai Indians in match 1 of IPL 11 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai 

Hello and Welcome to the LIVE coverage of the opening encounter of the IPL 11. Defending champions Mumbai Indians will lock horns against resurrected Chennai Super Kngs at the famous Wankhade Stadium in Mumbai. Making a comeback after serving a ban of two years CSK under captain cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni will look forward to a winning start in the season opener . On the other hand three time champions will to break the 5-time losing streak which they have carried since past five seasons. 

Preview

Defending champions Mumbai Indians and two-time winners Chennai Super Kings, the most successful teams of the Indian Premier League (IPL), will begin the 11th edition of the Twenty20 cricket tournament with a mouthwatering clash at the Wankhede Stadium here on Saturday.

Hosts Mumbai, who have laid their hands on the coveted crown thrice (2013, 2015, 2017) will be led by India opener Rohit Sharma who is the most successful captain in the cash-rich T20 league having led Mumbai to a treble of titles.

But on Saturday, his wards will be up against a team who will be eager to re-establish their dominance after returning to the tournament following a two-year ban.

CSK have a formidable track record in the IPL and have notched up the most number of appearances in the final. Apart from winning the title twice, they have finished runners-up on four occasions.

Chennai are led by India's 50-over and T20 World Cup winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who will himself have a point to prove in his twilight days. The southern outfit has a formidable batting and bowling line up with the likes of Suresh Raina, back in the Chennai Super Kings yellow jersey, South Africa captain Faf du Plessis adding teeth to their batting.

In the bowling department, England pacer Mark Wood and South Africa fast bowler Lungi Ngidi will lead the pace battery with veteran offie Harbhajan Singh and celebrated South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir taking care of the spin unit.

For Mumbai, apart from Rohit, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, West Indies star Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya have been retained from last year and are all a force to reckon with.

The Mumbai pace bowling department is also promising this year with the likes of Bumrah, Pat Cummins and Mustafizur Rahman.

This edition will miss the presence of star Australian players Steve Smith and David Warner who are serving a one-year ban due to the ball tampering incident in South Africa.

While Smith has been replaced by Ajinkya Rahane at Rajasthan Royals, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in place of Warner.

This edition of the IPL will see seven Indians captaining their franchises, barring Hyderabad. Virat Kohli, Rohit, Dinesh Karthik, Rahane, Gautam Gambhir and Ravichandran Ashwin will fight against each other to grab the top prize.

Coming to other teams, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), led by India skipper Kohli, will again hold the aces owing to their team strength.

Aiming to break their final jinx, RCB have what it takes to lift the trophy once again. Besides the run machine that is Kohli, the Bengaluru team boasts of players of the ilk of swashbuckling batsman AB de Villiers and promising player Sarfaraz Khan who were retained.

The franchise bought as many as 21 players in the auction, among them Chris Woakes (Rs 7.4 crore), the most expensive purchase of the franchise. The others includes New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum and South Africa's stumper Quinton De Kock, as also keeper Parthiv Patel, Mandeep Singh and Manan Vohra.

Besides Woakes, their bowling has wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar in the spin front and Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj leading the pace attack. England's Moeen Ali and Kiwi Colin De Grandhomme are seasoned all-rounders too.

Their first match is against two-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who will be led by Dinesh Karthik this time. KKR do not boast of a very strong side on paper with star Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc being ruled out with injury.

But the likes of big-hitter Chris Lynn, all-rounder Andre Russell and Mitchell Johnson should provide some teeth in the batting department besides Karthik who is in good form.

Gautam Gambhir, who led KKR to two titles (2012, 2014) will be leading Delhi Daredevils this time and the for perennial underachievers will be looking to shine under him.

In the last five seasons, Delhi finished at the bottom of the points table. In 2013, they finished ninth, in 2014 eighth, in 2015 seventh, in 2016 sixth and in 2017 sixth.

Rajastan Royals, back after a two-year hiatus, have also not performed that well since winning the inaugural IPL in 2008. Royals, led by Rahane, will miss the batting prowess of Smith but the likes of Ben Stokes and most expensive Indian buy pacer Jaydev Unadkat will look to help the Jaipur-based team fare well.

Hyderabad too will miss Warner, the highest run-getter in the 2017, but in Williamson they will not only get a quality batsman but also a stable leader. Star India opener Shikhar Dhawan and in-form pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the key players for the former champions.

Last but not the least, Kings XI Punjab under Ashwin have a good-looking team on paper. Out of white-ball cricket, Ashwin will have a point to prove while his team will hope to ride on veterans Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle, David Miller, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, and Mayank Agarwal to guide them to an elusive title.

The Punjab-based franchise managed to reach the top four only on a couple of occasions. They finished third in the inaugural edition and then came agonisingly close to winning the title in 2014 but were denied by Kolkata Knight Riders.