Chennai Super Kings (CSK) registered a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians (MI) in their must-win IPL 2026 clash at Chepauk on Saturday (May 2).

After losing the toss, CSK put up an impressive bowling performance to restrict MI to a modest 159/7 in 20 overs. Anshul Kamboj took three wickets and Noor Ahmad bagged two, while debutant Ramakrishna Ghosh and Jamie Overton returned with scalp apiece.

In reply, the hosts lost Sanju Samson (11) cheaply but Ruturaj Gaikwad put up a spirited performance. The CSK captain added 49 runs for the second wicket with Urvil Patel, who scored 24 off 12 balls.

Following the dismissal of Patel, Gaikwad joined forces with Kartik Sharma and took CSK over the finishing line with 11 deliveries to spare. While the skipper remained unbeaten on 67 off 48 balls, Kartik finished with 54 not out off 40 balls.

After hitting the winning boundary off Trent Boult, Kartik pulled off a gunshot celebration, which was notably similar to the controversial gesture made by Pakistan's Sahibzada Farhan during the 2025 Asia Cup. The CSK youngster’s celebration went viral and became a talking point on social media.

Here’s the video:

This result kept CSK's playoff hopes alive, whereas MI’s chances are hanging by a thread with 4 points from 9 matches. To stay in contention, the Hardik Pandya-led side must likely win all their 5 remaining games to reach 14 points, while also relying on favorable results from other matches to improve their poor Net Run Rate.