‘Extraordinary Utilisation Of…’: Former Indian Spinner Lauds Kartik Sharma’s Knock In CSK’s Win Over MI
Last Updated:May 03, 2026, 13:33 IST
Ashwin touched up on the effective utilisation of youngster Kartik Sharma, who produced an unbeaten 54 runs to take CSK over the line.
Chennai Super Kings’ Kartik Sharma celebrates his fifty runs during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in Chennai, India, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo)
Chennai Super Kings clinched an 8-wicket victory over arch-rivals Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday, securing their second win of the season against the fellow five-time IPL champions.
CSK restricted MI to 159/7, led by a three-wicket haul from Anshul Kamboj, before captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and youngster Kartik Sharma struck half-centuries to chase down the target with 11 balls remaining.
Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin touched up on the effective utilisation of youngster Kartik Sharma, who produced an unbeaten 54 runs to take CSK over the line.
“Extraordinary utilisation of Kartik Sharma. CSK had three impact player options, including Matt Short, Sarfaraz Khan and Kartik for specific purposes.”
“Had they lost another wicket within the powerplay it would have been Matt Short, had it been outside the powerplay it would have been Sarfaraz Khan. But, if they wanted to take on the spinners and keep the momentum up, they had to bring in Kartik,” Ashwin said.
“He would have got a dose of confidence. CSK knew Allah Gazanfar and Raghu Sharma would be bowling, and they saw it as a perfect matchup for Kartik to give him confidence without dropping the scoring rate.”
“He smashed Ghazafar off the backfoot, stepped out to take on Sharma and closed the game out with an icing on the cake with the finishing boundary,” he added.
MI captain Hardik Pandya chose to bat, but CSK struck early as debutant Ramakrishna Ghosh took a brilliant catch to dismiss Will Jacks for 1 off Kamboj’s bowling. Ryan Rickelton and Naman Dhir steadied the innings with a 58-run stand before Rickelton fell to Noor Ahmed for 37 just after the powerplay.
Ghosh’s debut got better when he claimed his first wicket by removing Suryakumar Yadav for 21, and Noor then dismissed Tilak Varma for 5, with Ruturaj Gaikwad taking the catch. Naman anchored the innings, reaching his second fifty of the season, but was out to a slower ball from Jamie Overton, with Sarfaraz Khan taking a stunning catch. Kamboj completed his three-wicket haul by dismissing Robin Minz and Pandya for 5 and 18 respectively, as MI posted 159/7 in 20 overs.
In reply, CSK opened with Sanju Samson and Gaikwad. Samson, who had previously scored a century against MI at the Wankhede, fell for 11 to Jasprit Bumrah. Urvil Patel then hit a quick 24 off 12 before being bowled by Allah Ghazanfar. Gaikwad and Kartik Sharma then took control, building a composed partnership that took CSK past 100 shortly after the halfway mark.
Gaikwad registered his second consecutive fifty with a controlled 67* off 48, while Kartik kept the scoreboard moving and brought up his maiden CSK fifty with an unbeaten 54 off 40. The pair maintained full control of the chase, ensuring the required rate was never an issue, and sealed an 8-wicket win for CSK.
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