Fans witnessed the El Clásico of IPL in just the third match of IPL 2025. Many expected MI to finally break their opening-match losing streak and start the season with a win. However, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra ensured the tradition continued.
CSK won the crucial toss and chose to bowl first. They made the right decision, as Khaleel Ahmed dismissed Rohit Sharma for a duck without opening his account. The left-arm pacer also quickly removed the dangerous Ryan Rickelton. Tilak Verma tried to stabilize the innings, but wickets kept falling at the other end. With support from former CSK player Deepak Chahar‘s late surge, MI set a respectable target of 156 runs for CSK.
The five-time champions started the chase comfortably, with Rachin providing a solid start. However, Rahul Tripathi failed to make an impact, bringing the captain to the crease. He and the young Kiwi batsman built a match-winning partnership, scoring crucial half-centuries. Although Shivam Dube, Deepak Hooda, and Sam Curran fell cheaply, it was too little too late for MI to stage a comeback. Even though it was Chennai’s home ground, fans cheered when Jadeja got out—because it meant Mahendra Singh Dhoni was coming to bat.
However, the match’s star was Rachin, who led his team to victory with a flurry of sixes. Mumbai’s debutant bowler, Vignesh Puthur, made an impression by taking three key wickets. With a comfortable win, Chennai earned 2 points and joined RCB and SRH on the points table. Afghan spinner Noor Ahmed got the Man of the Match award for his brilliant spell in the CSK jersey for the first time.
Fans react to CSK’s dominant victory over their arch-rivals Mumbai Indians in the 3rd game of the IPL 2025
The cricketing world was excited to witness the battle between two giants, CSK and MI. While some fans were happy with their team’s victory, others found the match “boring.” Many players stood out, but most fans chose Noor Ahmed as their hero, with some also mentioning Rachin and Gaikwad.
One fan joked that Dhoni did all that practice just to face two balls. There is no doubt that fans wanted to see more of the legendary player. Another fan pointed out that MI had lost their 12th opening match. Here are some of the top fan reactions:
One user gave full credit for the successful chase to Rachin. An MI fan expressed confidence that the team would bounce back. Some fans believed Ruturaj’s innings were crucial to CSK’s win, while others were deeply disappointed with MI’s batting. Another fan mentioned that the Mumbai Indians would now be more determined to win their 6th IPL trophy.