Ajinkya Rahane struck the fastest half-century in this edition of the IPL as Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians by seven wickets at the Wankhede in Mumbai on Saturday.
Chasing 158, Rahane who came in at No.3, completed his fifty off 19 balls inside the Powerplay overs. Rahane blazed away making use of the field restrictions as he hit three sixes and seven boundaries during his 61. His batting was pure class as he timed the ball beautifully and picked the gaps with ease.
Man of the Match Ravindra Jadeja celebrates after taking one of his three Mumbai Indians wickets on Saturday. Picture courtesy IPL
Ruturaj Gaikwad (40 not out) and Ambati Rayudu (20 not out) then completed the formalities within 18.1 overs.
Much of the credit should also go to the Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who pulled it back with the left-arm spin of Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner after the Mumbai Indians batters had threatened to cut loose. The ball was gripping and the spinners tied them down.
Spectators jostle to click a photograph of MS Dhoni as the CSK captain comes out after the team’s 7-wicket win over Mumbai Indians on Saturday. PTI picture
Dhoni also played a vital role behind the stumps by asking for a review when Suryakumar Yadav had nicked it. The umpire, who had called it a wide, had to overturn his decision as replays showed the ball flicked Suryakumar’s gloves before settling into Dhoni’s.
The Mumbai Indians batters failed to get their act together against a disciplined Chennai Super Kings attack. Put into bat, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan got their team off to a good start reaching 38 inside four overs, but once the Mumbai Indians captain was bowled out by Tushar Deshpande, the innings fell apart.
It was only in the later stages that Tim David struck some hefty blows to revive their challenge and reach 157 for eight. Hrithik Shokeen also provided some good support in the end.
CSK spinners Jadeja (3/20) and Santner (2/28) did the bulk of the damage in the middle overs to derail Mumbai Indians’ progress. They made up for the absence of strike bowler Deepak Chahar, who left the field with a left hamstring injury after managing to complete the first over.
The home team’s battery of young batters flopped again. Rohit hit the first six of the game off Deshpande (2/31) but the Mumbai bowler, playing for the Super Kings, had the final laugh, rattling the home captain off a delivery that held its line to crash onto the off and middle stump.
Mumbai Indians then collapsed to 84/5 in 10 overs, losing four wickets for 23 runs in 24 balls with Jadeja and Santner causing the damage.
