Rayudu was the Man of the Match in CSK's win over Mumbai Indians.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batsman Ambati Rayudu played a sensible knock against Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2020 opening match. He helped CSK chase down 163 with ease despite them losing 2 wickets on just 6 runs.
The 34-year-old controlled the chase with the support of Faf du Plessis and piled up a partnership of 116 runs. He was awarded Man of the Match for scoring 71 runs which turned the game in CSK's favor.
Rayudu said practicing in Chennai before flying to UAE helped him a lot. "We were training in lockdown, we were really eager and as we get older, we need to train so we were training. The pitch was good, once the dew came on, the pitch quickened a bit, it was doing a bit with the new ball," Rayudu said.
"We practiced in Chennai, it really helped and we then practiced in Dubai, so I was feeling good," he added after CSK's win over MI by 5 wickets.
Rayudu was instrumental in CSK's IPL 2018 title victory. But had a below-average outing in the last season and scored just 282 runs in 17 matches. His average was just 23.50 and strike-rate was ordinary 93.06.
(With ANI Inputs)