Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 21 (ANI): Following the loss against the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming praised the young right-hand batter Ayush Mhatre's maiden appearance for the five-time champions in the ongoing 18th edition of the cash-rich league.

Impressive half-centuries from Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav powered Mumbai Indians (MI) to a powerful nine-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a one-sided Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.

At the IPL 2025 mega auction, Ayush Mhatre remained unsold, but he was called up a replacement of Ruturaj Gaikwad before the clash against the Hardik Pandya-led side.

Mhatre had an exceptional start to his IPL career as he played a quickfire knock of 32 runs from just 15 balls with the help of four boundaries and two maximums in his innings at a staggering strike rate of 213.33.

Speaking at the post-match press conference about the youngster's performance, Flemming said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo, 'We've had a few players through at our training sessions and he was a player that stood out. It's still very hard when you're in a nets situation to get a true gauge of a player, but from a skillset [point of view], he was very impressive and a very composed young man, which is often just as important. So both MS and I were very impressed with the way he held himself together for the trial. And then when the opportunity came up, we've obviously got a view to the future, and he was the name that was pretty easy to pick.'

'It's probably the position we are in [CSK are bottom of the table] and with the injury to Rutu and the form of others made it quite an easy decision to get him in there he stage seems big but it's one that's familiar. We banked on him being comfortable with his surroundings [at Wankhede] and he certainly looked all that, so it was an impressive debut,' Fleming added.

Mhatre, at 17 years and 278 days, became the youngest to represent the rich history of the Super Kings in the cash-rich league. He surpassed Abhinav Mukund, who made his debut for CSK at the age of 18 years and 139 days against Rajasthan Royals in 2008.

In his debut for one of the most successful franchises, Mhatre upped the ante by unleashing a blitzkrieg after Rachin Ravindra fell early in the innings. When runs had dried up for Chennai, Mhatre provided the much-needed impetus in the innings with his flashy cameo of 32(15).

Mhatre found his first boundary by sending the ball through the line on his second delivery of the match, moments after Rachin lost his wicket to young seamer Ashwani Kumar.

Ashwani continued to receive a bashing from the 17-year-old. The young Mhatre topped it up by sending the ball sailing past the boundary rope for a maximum. Ashwani tried to close it on a high by testing Mhatre with a short-length delivery. Mhatre picked up the length early, got into the position and pulled the ball into the deep square leg stand.

Mhatre's rollicking display helped Chennai to race to 48/1 at the end of the powerplay. He continued to deal with boundaries even after the field restrictions were lifted. He made Deepak Chahar go wayward in his line and lengths with his shot selection.

On the first ball after the powerplay, he slapped the ball wide of cover, turning the fielders into mere spectators. On the fourth delivery, he beat MI captain Hardik Pandya near extra cover to find the fence for a four.

But Chahar had the last laugh after deceiving Mhatre with a short-length delivery. The length prompted the youngster to go for a pull, a shot he had no control over. The ball went high in the air and safely landed in Mitchell Santner's hands. His stellar cameo played a massive part in lifting Chennai to 176/5. (ANI)