Mumbai Indians (MI) were defeated by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on Thursday, April 23, at the Wankhede Stadium.
The host team won the toss and decided to bowl first. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson added 32 runs inside three overs before being dismissed by AM Ghazanfar. Sarfaraz Khan showed great intentions by contributing 14 runs during his eight-ball stay. However, he failed to capitalize on his promising start.
Shivam Dubey came to bat at number four and it was expected that he would face the Ghazanfar-Santner pair. However, before he could make his mark, the Afghanistan spinner overpowered him. Samson led the innings by forming important partnerships with Dewald Brewis, Karthik Sharma, Jamie Overton and Akeal Hosein.
The 31-year-old remained unbeaten on 101 off 54 balls, his second century this season. He hit 10 fours and six sixes, helping the visitors finish at 207/6.
In reply, Mumbai Indians lost three wickets inside the first three overs as Akeal Hosein and Mukul Chaudhary wreaked havoc. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Verma tried to weather the storm as they added 73 runs off 56 balls. However, CSK bowlers, led by Akil, made a comeback in the middle overs and took the last seven wickets for just 20 runs.
This stunning collapse meant that Mumbai were bowled out for 104 in 19 overs and lost the match by 103 runs. Akeel was the star of the show, taking 4 wickets for 17 runs in four overs.
1. Sanju Samson stands strong at Wankhede
sanju samson Showed tremendous maturity on Thursday. He was hitting the ball very well, but once he saw that other batsmen around him were not matching him, he dropped down a gear and focused on batting deeper into the innings. However, whenever Mumbai looked to create some pressure, he hit boundaries. In the end, the wicketkeeper-batsman scored 101 runs in 54 balls with the help of 10 fours and six sixes.
2. Akeal Hossein stuns the home fans
Akeal Hosein, playing his fourth IPL match, bowled magically at the Wankhede Stadium. He broke the back of Mumbai's batting by taking two wickets with the new ball. With Mukesh also contributing, the home team faced a tough challenge. When Suryakumar and Tilak finished grinding and were thinking of changing gears, Akil came back and sent both of them back to the hut. Akeel's combination with Noor Ahmed, who took two wickets, could help CSK win many more matches in the future.
3. Captain Hardik Pandya disappointed once again
Hardik Pandya won the toss, but from that moment onwards nothing went his way. He shared the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah. However, 38 runs were scored in his two overs. Hardik was out while batting after the Tilak-Suryakumar partnership broke in the 12th over. The home fans will be expecting some magic from their captain. However, the Baroda all-rounder could only score one run off two balls.
MI vs CSK: Who said what?
Hardik Pandya, MI captain
I think it is always difficult to lose early wickets in the powerplay. You always chase the game and we couldn't compete after that. (Did the pitch change in any way?) I wouldn't say that. I'm not a person who would want to say that. He batted well, he scored 207 runs. It was the same track, it's the same soil. We just had to bat well. (The spinners got hold of the ball, right?) Yes, I think our spinners also bowled very well. The only thing is that Sanju played a brilliant innings. At the same time, their batsmen kept coming and performing well and took them to a good score. I think about more than a good total on that track. To chase this, we needed a good powerplay and the momentum should have been with us, but it did not happen. (Will there be more personnel changes in upcoming games?) I think this will be the conversation where we go back again, move forward and figure out what we need to do. We have a few days. We just have to see what we can do best.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, CSK captain
(On Mukesh Chaudhary) Yes, there is a lot of strictness on him, I would definitely like to dedicate this victory to him. Hats off to him, he had to work very hard mentally to come out of that tragic situation and I think he came back for the team, came back for the franchise. He knew we needed him, so of course, all the glory goes to him. And even before we came out to bowl we talked about how we wanted to win this game for him. And I'm glad everyone embraced it and just wanted to be there for her. Feeling good (on this win). At the time of the toss I was still at 50-50. My mind was saying that we should bat first. I thought it was a little green, but I also thought it was a little dry. Always, you have to assess in the first few overs. And Sanju and I said that this is not happening properly. So anywhere around 200-210 would be a really good score. And then Akil coming to bowl, it helps a lot. So I think everyone has done a great job. Even those 20 runs from Brevis, Karthik really helped a lot. Just kept the momentum going. And, Sanju again played this brilliant innings, taking us home again. And really thanks for that. He is in great touch. And as I said, our bowling was improving from the first and second games. We are doing really well. We're trying to stay calm, do the basics right. And I think it's just starting to click. (On the bowling attack) We are kind of going in that direction where we are trying to cover all the bases. Khalil was not available, but, Mukesh started the first over, especially Quinton, and I thought that really set the pace. And even with the likes of Surya and Tilak bowling three overs in the powerplay, they got off to a really good start. Anshul is always performing well. And Jamie, whenever there is some pace and bounce in the wicket, it is Jamie and Gurjapaneet who can take wickets for us even in the middle. And you always have Noor and then if we have a chance then having Akil is always a blessing. So as I said, overall, everyone is coming into their roles. Everyone is settling in and everyone is calm and collected and knows what to do. (Next two matches at home) Yes, we start from zero, start by assessing how the pitch is. We've also got a day's play. Just a few more days and we have a day's play. So, make sure we enjoy this win and put it aside and make sure we are ready for the next win.
Sanju Samson, Player of the Match
(On his innings) It feels really good to score a century against MI at Wankhede. This is definitely a special moment for me and the team. Actually I have kept things very simple these days. I am just looking at the situations. Looking at today's wicket, it seemed that it was not an ordinary Wankhede wicket. The ball was swinging here and there. The ball was a little stuck. From there I think it's important to assess what the team demands and that gives you clarity. Right after the powerplay, I knew what kind of wicket it was. Actually we kept losing wickets here and there. Whenever we wanted to score big, I felt that we were losing some wickets. So I thought it was very important for a composed batsman to stay till the end. So I tried the same and the same thing happened today. The game tells you what to do. You don't have to come in with a preconceived mindset or you don't have to do any premeditation to tell you this is the way I play or this is the way I want to do. So with the experience I have, I think definitely the team comes first. You can definitely tell that's the way I play. I think I may or may not get out. But the experience and responsibility has been shown on me, so it is my responsibility to understand the game situation and what the team demands and put that first and then make my game plan accordingly. So like I said, I'm definitely going in with a very open mindset. But I think if we had wickets, if we didn't have many wickets falling, I would have gone a little earlier. So after the wicket fell, it was very important for us to finish the innings well. (Forward batting key for CSK) As we all know, this is a very young team. But the attitude and character we have shown even after three defeats in this tournament, I think the character the youngsters in the team have shown is really commendable. Therefore, we would like to continue moving forward with the momentum we have gained from here. But we know that every game is important. Every team comes with great intensity. So we have to be prepared and enjoy what is happening at the moment. (On CSK getting huge support at Wankhede) I am wearing yellow for the first time. This is all a little new to me. I think I have never seen so much yellow in Wankhede in my life. So I am very grateful to play for this franchise.
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