"Battle is personal" - Fans react to Deepak Chahar's impactful knock in CSK vs MI match of IPL 2025

Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer Deepak Chahar played a crucial knock against his former team Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Sunday, March 23. The two sides squared off in their opening match of IPL 2025 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.

After being asked to bat first, MI were in deep trouble early. The side lost three wickets within the powerplay. To make matters worse, their middle-order batters also failed to register big scores, with Tilak Varma (31 runs off 25 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (29 runs of 26 balls) falling after decent starts.

Chahar delivered an impactful cameo towards the back end, helping MI register a fighting 155-run total. The lower-order batter remained unbeaten on 28 off 15 balls. He hit two fours and as many sixes.

Following his knock, several fans shared hilarious posts on social media about Chahar performing well against CSK, a franchise with whom he spent seven years before being released ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.

Here are some of the top reactions:

"Making CSK feel guilty," wrote a fan.

"BATTLE IS PERSONAL FOR DEEPAK CHAHAR," remarked a fan.

"Deepak Chahar hitting his new ball replacement in CSK," commented a fan.

"Looks like Deepak Chahar hates Khaleel Ahmed, understandable," chimed in yet another.

Chahar was roped in by Mumbai for ₹9.25 crore at the IPL 2025 auction. Not just with the bat, but he also hurt CSK with his bowling exploits in the encounter.

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Deepak Chahar gets the better of Rahul Tripathi to draw first blood for MI in IPL 2025 match against CSK

Chahar has a knack for picking up wickets with the new ball and he showed it once again. The pacer provided MI with an early breakthrough by dismissing CSK opener Rahul Tripathi in the second over of the run chase.

He welcomed Tripathi with a short-pitched delivery. The batter attempted to counter the bouncer with a pull shot but failed to get the connection right. The ball brushed his glove and went straight into the hands of the wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton.

Tripathi had to walk back after scoring just two runs off three balls during his stay at the crease. CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad walked out to bat at No. 3 following the dismissal.