Gaikwad and Kartik Sharma seal CSK's eight-wicket double over Mumbai at Chepauk
Chennai Super Kings completed the season double over Mumbai Indians on Saturday night at Chepauk, chasing down 160 with eight wickets and overs to spare in match 44 of IPL 2026. Ruturaj Gaikwad anchored the chase with 67 not out, Kartik Sharma sealed it with a reverse lap for four, and CSK got the kind of clean finish their season has been missing.
Mumbai had won the toss and chosen to bat. The pitch slowed by the back end of their innings, the boundaries dried up, and the visitors closed on 159 for 7 after losing wickets in clusters through the middle and death overs.
Mumbai's collapse, Chennai's clinic
Ryan Rickelton looked the most fluent of the visitors, making 37 off 24 before Noor Ahmad had him caught at deep square leg. Suryakumar Yadav fell for 21, beaten by Ramakrishna Ghosh in the middle overs, and Hardik Pandya could only muster 18 off 23 before Anshul Kamboj had him caught. Kamboj finished with three wickets, Noor with two, and Jamie Overton applied the brakes through the middle. Mumbai never built the kind of partnership their playoff push needed.
Chennai's chase was different in tone from anything they have produced this season. Gaikwad batted long, picked his pockets, and brought up his fifty in 34 balls without a moment of risk. Sanju Samson fell early for 11 off 9, edging behind off Jasprit Bumrah after Will Jacks had spilled an earlier chance, but the platform held.
A finish that points the right way
Urvil Patel punished Krish Bhagat for boundaries before Allah Ghazanfar bowled him, and from there Kartik Sharma walked in and read the situation cleanly. His 54 not out came in 40 balls — four fours and three sixes — picking off the bad deliveries whenever Mumbai overpitched. The reverse lap that finished the chase was almost a celebration before the celebration: Gaikwad watched from the other end, helmet off, knowing CSK had just done the regulation work that has rarely come together in 2026.
Mumbai's playoff path is now thinner still, with their net run rate sliding further and the schedule tightening. Chennai add a second win over Mumbai after the 103-run hammering at Wankhede in match 33, when Sanju Samson's unbeaten 101 set up the largest margin in the rivalry. The double is one bright thread in a season that has otherwise pulled apart at the seams.
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