Chennai Super Kings bowlers took a little bit of pace off the ball on a tad slow pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The ploy certainly played a big part as it helped Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men register a comfortable six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians on Saturday.
Courtesy this comprehensive victory, the Super Kings are now second on the table with 13 points, just one shy of topper Gujarat Giants (14 points).
Since captain Dhoni won the toss and opted to bowl first, his bowlers hardly put a foot wrong, restricting the visitors to a modest 139/8. Given the current form of the Super Kings top order, the target was bread and butter for them as they overhauled the Mumbai total with 14 balls remaining.
Devon Conway scores 44 in Chennai Super Kings’ chase on Saturday. PTI picture
Talking of the CSK bowlers, Sri Lankan quick Matheesha Pathirana (3/15) starred again and finished with the best figures which also earned him the Man-of-the-Match award. Credit, however, should also go to quicks Deepak Chahar and Tushar Deshpande as they combined well to reduce Mumbai to 14/3 in the third over.
Five-time IPL champions Mumbai promoted all-rounder Cameron Green upfront while captain Rohit Sharma went in at No.3. The move didn’t work as Deshpande (2/26), for a change, got his length right and cleaned up the Australian in the game’s second over.
Tushar Deshpande (left) celebrates with Shivam Dube after dismissing Mumbai Indians’ Tim David for 2 in Chennai on Man of the Match Matheesha Pathirana of Chennai Super Saturday. PTI picture
Thereafter, Chahar varied his pace a little that made Ishan Kishan miscue one. In the same over, Chahar bowled it slower and Rohit’s attempted scoop spooned up in the air to bring about his dismissal.
The promising Nehal Wadhera, at No.4, and the back-in-form Suryakumar Yadav were doing a decent job during their fourth-wicket stand (of 55) to bring Mumbai’s innings back on track. But just as Surya looked to up the ante, Ravindra Jadeja’s stump-to-stump line got the better of him.
Mumbai badly missed the services of the injured Tilak Varma, who has been one of their consistent batters in the ongoing edition and on most occasions provided their innings the thrust they needed at crucial phases.
The left-handed Wadhera, though, remained resilient and showed the necessary composure at such a pressure situation.
His partner at the other end, Tristan Stubbs, who replaced Varma, didn’t look too comfortable initially. Yet, the pair put on 54 for the fifth wicket as Mumbai hoped for a better finish.
That’s when Pathirana took over. He unleashed a yorker to Wadhera first then struck twice in the final over of Mumbai’s innings, dismissing Arshad Khan and Stubbs.
Not a single boundary or maximum came off Pathirana’s bowling, which underlines his control and discipline.
In reply, openers Ruturaj Gaikwad (30) and Devon Conway (44) hit 46 off the first four overs, making the task simpler for CSK. For Mumbai, again barring spinner Piyush Chawla (2/25), hardly any other bowlers could make any impact.
