MS Dhoni was an elated captain as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) by five wickets in the IPL 2020 opener on Saturday (September 19) in Abu Dhabi.

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Asked to bat first, the defending champions posted 162/9 in 20 overs on the back of Saurabh Tiwary’s 31-ball 42 and Quinton de Kock’s 20-ball 33.

All the CSK bowlers did well with the ball. While Lungi Ngidi claimed three wickets by conceding 38 runs in his four overs, Deepak Chahar (2-32) and Ravindra Jadeja (2-42) picked up two scalps each. Piyus Chawla (1-21) and Sam Curran (1-28) were economical and took wicket apiece.

In reply, CSK rode on Ambati Rayudu’s 48-ball 71 and Faf du Plessis’ 44-ball 58* to overhaul the target with four deliveries to spare.

Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Dhoni said his team’s tremendous “experience” paid off during the victory over MI.

“The experience pays off, everyone talks about it. You get it only after you play a lot of games. 300 ODIs is a dream for anybody to play and when you put an XI on the field, you need a good mix of youngsters and experienced players,” quoted Dhoni.

“You need the experienced players to guide the youngsters on and off the field. The young players get 60-70 days with the seniors in the IPL.”

Dhoni also spoke about the lessons all the teams learnt from the first game itself.

“We may practice enough but when you go on the field you need to assess the conditions and give it your best. It took us time for the bowlers to find the right length on this pitch. Plenty of positives but still plenty of areas for us to improve.

“In the second half there is a bit of movement till the dew sets in. If you don’t lose wickets early, you have the upper hand. These are the learnings. Rayudu had a wonderful partnership with Faf. Most of us are retired so luckily no injuries as well.”

Super Kings will now face Rajasthan Royals in their second game on Tuesday (September 22) in Sharjah.