Abu Dhabi: Taking perfect revenge for the last year's final, three-time champions Chennai Super Kings defeated the arch-rivals and defending champions Mumbai Indians by five wickets and four balls to spare in the curtain season of the 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium here on Saturday.
South African Faf du Plessis (58 not out) and Ambati Rayudu (71) were involved in a 115-run partnership for the third wicket that ensured 'Yellow Brigade' registered an easy win over the Rohit Sharma-led side. Chennai bowlers Lungi Ngidi (3/38), Deepak Chahar (2/32), and Ravindra Jadeja's 2/42) helped restrict the Mumbai Indians to 162 or nine wickets in 20 overs.
CSK overhauled the target with four balls to spare, finishing at 166 for five in 19.2 overs.
Chasing the 163-run target, Chennai were off to a poor start as both of their openers -- Shane Watson (4) and Murali Vijay (1) were back in the dug-out in the first couple of overs. While James Pattinson (1/27) accounted for the wicket of Vijay, Watson was trapped before the wicket by Trent Boult (1/23). With just six runs on the scorecard, the Chennai team looked in deep trouble, but Rayudu and du Plessis steadied the ship.
Without much hiccup, the two helped their team touch the three-digit mark in 13.1 overs. With nothing seemed to going Mumbai's way, Rahul Chahar gave his side some relief as he picked Rayudu in the 16th over. But it was too late as the CSK had already reached 121 runs. Incoming batsman Ravindra Jadeja fell cheaply, thanks to Krunal Pandya who trapped him leg before the wicket.
South African du Plessis, however, kept the scoreboard ticking and was joined by Sam Curran, who played a cameo of six-ball 18 before departing off a Jasprit Bumrah delivery in the 19th over. Du Plessis hammered Boult for two consecutive boundaries off the first two deliveries of the final over to help his side cross the line with ease.