The Indian Premier League returned to India after being forced to stage a majority of the last two editions overseas. Moreover, the spectators returned to the stands, with Wankhede Stadium’s upper tiers virtually turning into a sea of yellow.
M.S. Dhoni’s unbeaten fifty gave the spectators more reason to rejoice than dancing to the beats of popular Bollywood numbers. Still, it was Umesh Yadav and Ajinkya Rahane who ensured that the night belonged to Kolkata Knight Riders.
Riding on Umesh’s fiery spell, Knight Riders stifled the Chennai Super Kings innings. So much was the impact of Umesh’s twin strikes up front and the good work of mystery spinners Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy in the middle that the Super Kings could never take off until the last three overs. Despite Dhoni and captain Ravindra Jadeja amassing 47 runs in the last three overs off Shivam Mavi and Andre Russell combined, all that the defending champion could manage was 131 for five.
