Chennai Super Kings may have suffered a heavy defeat against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede, but they unearthed a bright spot in 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre. Making both his IPL and T20 debut, the youngster showed no signs of nerves as he walked out to bat at No. 3 and scored a quickfire 32 off just 15 balls. Mhatre smashed two sixes and four boundaries in his brief but entertaining stay at the crease. The 17-year-old's first boundary came in the second ball he faced. A straight drive off Ashwani Kumar, followed by two sixes in two balls, launched over deep midwicket and square leg. He added three more boundaries off Deepak Chahar before eventually falling to the pacer, caught at long-on. 𝙁𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙗𝙤𝙮𝙖𝙣𝙩 🤩How about that for a start 🔥Ayush Mhatre's #TATAIPL career is up and away in some fashion 💛#CSK 52/1 after 6 overs. Updates ▶ https://t.co/v2k7Y5sIdi#MIvCSK | @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/UVvmdWotvY — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 20, 2025 Speaking about the youngster's impact, Dhoni pointed out how Mhatre wanted to play his shot right from the first ball. He also admitted that the youngster batted well. "I think as a youngster, he batted really well. And you know, that's the kind of approach that is needed where you play your shots but, at the same time, you pick the shots that are your strength. I feel right from the start he just wanted to play his shots. We also haven't seen him much, so it's a good sign for us. Top of the order, [if] you can keep playing the shots, it becomes slightly easy for the middle and the lower order," Dhoni said during the Post-match Presentation. Also Read: Sehwag Slams Maxwell & Livingstone Before RCB vs PBKS Clash ‘Very composed young man’: Stephen Fleming on Ayush Mhatre CSK head coach Stephen Fleming also spoke highly of the Mumbai-born cricketer, recalling how both he and Dhoni had been impressed by Mhatre during trials ahead of the season. "We've had a few players through at our training and he was a player that stood out," Fleming said at the post-match press conference. He also pointed out how, from a skillset point of view, the youngster had impressed everyone during the trial. "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." Mhatre had gone unsold at the IPL auction but got a surprise call-up as a replacement for injured CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad. "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," Fleming added. Despite the team’s current struggles, Mhatre’s emergence could be one of the few silver linings CSK take forward from this season. The five-time champions are currently in the bottom of the table with two wins from eight matches.