Rohit, Surya make mockery Of CSK’s 176-5; Mumbai win by 9 wickets with 26 balls to spare

Mumbai: This wasn’t a chase; it was a massacre. Wielding his willow like a murderous axe, Suryakumar Yadav (68* off 30 balls, 6x4, 5x6) clobbered Matheesha Pathirana for two consecutive sixes over extra cover and long-off in the 16th over to make a powerful statement for the Mumbai Indians, who notched up their third straight win.
Message delivered: Never underestimate the five-time IPL champions. Powered by scintillating half-centuries from India’s Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma (76* off 45 balls, 4x4, 5x6) and India’s T20 skipper Surya, and their blazing 114-run partnership off just 54 balls for the second wicket, Mumbai Indians continued their resurgence in IPL 2025, trouncing the beleaguered Chennai Super Kings by nine wickets with 26 balls to spare at a packed Wankhede. MI have now moved up to sixth on the points table, while CSK laguish at 10th.

Chasing 177, MI were off to an electrifying start with a 63-run opening stand in 40 balls between Rohit and South African ’keeper-batter Ryan Rickelton (24 off 19 balls, 3x4, 1x6), before Rohit and Surya went berserk against a clueless CSK attack, making a mockery of the target.
Rohit, turning back the clock, shrugged off his average form to bring up his maiden fifty of the season, treating the Wankhede faithful to vintage pull shots and elegant pick-ups. Surya, meanwhile, was in full flow, dismantling Noor Ahmad with savage sweeps to raise his half-century in just 26 balls.
Earlier, 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre, making his T20 and IPL debut at his home ground, became the latest Indian youngster to make a mark in IPL 2025. The Mumbai boy smashed a strokefilled 32 off just 15 balls, including four fours and two sixes, before fifties from Ravindra Jadeja (53* off 35 balls, 4x4, 2x6) and Shivam Dube (50 off 32 balls, 2x4, 4x6) powered CSK to 176 for five after being asked to bat first.
Walking in during the fourth over after Rachin Ravindra (5) was caught behind off Ashwani Kumar, Mhatre, the youngest-ever to debut for CSK at 17 years and 278 days, lit up Wankhede with three brutal hits in four balls — a sumptuous off-drive, a towering six over long-on, and a ferocious pull off the Punjab left-arm pacer.
He dominated a 41-run stand off 22 balls with Shaik Rashid (19 off 20 balls), before he was out to Deepak Chahar. The youngster, who like Prithvi Shaw hails from Virar, has long travelled by early morning trains to train in the maidans of South Mumbai — a journey that paid off with a pat from Surya himself as he walked back.

After Mhatre’s departure, CSK stuttered to 73 for three in 11 overs, with 26 dot balls in that stretch, before Dube and Jadeja powered a 79-run fourth-wicket stand in 50 balls, plundering 103 runs in the last nine overs. Jasprit Bumrah (2-25) was again the pick of the MI bowlers, including the wickets of Dube and MS Dhoni.