Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
The opening game of UAE leg of IPL 2021 came out as per the expectations of the spectators. The two most successful teams of the mega event- Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians- were up against each other at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, in which MS Dhoni's men registered a 20-run win over the Rohit Sharma-less side.
Notably, Dhoni won the toss against stand-in MI captain Kieron Pollard and decided to bat first. The decision seemed to have backfired the Captain Cool when the scorecard read 24/4 after 6 overs with Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina and Dhoni going back to the pavilion. Amid this, number 4 batsman Ambati Rayudu was retired hurt.
The only positive for CSK among all was the existence of Ruturaj Gaikwad at the crease. The star opener not only held one end tight but also took the innings deeper to eventually capitalise on his good start. Gaikwad, who had started the innings cautiously, capped off with a swashbuckling sweep shot that too against Jasprit Bumrah for a six. By the time, he carried his bat to the pavilion, his score was unbeaten 88 off 58 balls.
A target of 157 runs to Mumbai Indians was definitely not going to be a cakewalk and a disciplined bowling line-up of CSK along with some amazing calls and field placements from MS Dhoni made it an uphill task for MI, who stayed 20-run short of the target by the end of the game.
Meanwhile, from CSK's fall to the turnaround in the game, the Twitterati didn't miss out on a single opportunity to enjoy commenting on the players and the game with their hilarious and humorous memes and texts.