England all-rounder Sam Curran's promotion in the batting order was one of the crucial factors responsible for Chennai Super Kings' victory against Mumbai Indians in the IPL opener held on Saturday.

The 22-year-old batsman's 6-ball 18 in the last few overs contributed towards the winning mark and Sam Curran has called the skipper MS Dhoni a 'genius' for setting up the batting order of the team in a manner that it ensured effortless success. The left-hander was sent in at 6, and played alongside Faf du Plessis, ahead of Dhoni himself and Kedhar Jadhav. Speaking about Dhoni's move, Sam Curran said, "To be honest, very surprised I went in at number six but he (Dhoni) is a genius, he obviously thought something. Great win in the end. I think the left-right combination was his plan. The 18th over from Krunal Pandya was the over we wanted to target – a six or out approach mentality. Take the risk, and if it comes off it comes off, if it doesn't, it doesn't."

On being asked about why he decided to promote Jadeja and Curran, Dhoni stated, "At some point, I thought we needed to give Jadeja and someone like Sam Curran a chance to go ahead in the batting order and express themselves. They still had two spinners remaining, and we tried to intimidate the bowler a bit, it was just a psychological aspect. We know we bat quite deep, and wanted them to go after the bowler. If you clear one or two sixes, then it is easier for the batsmen to follow." Meanwhile, CSK is currently preparing to face Rajasthan Royals on September 22 while Mumbai Indians will play their second match against Kolkata Knight Riders on September 23.