CSK vs MI | Super Kings Outclass Mumbai Indians at Fortress Chepauk
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CSK defeated MI [iplt20.com]
Chennai Super Kings: 140-4 in 17.4 overs [Devon Conway 44 (42), Ruturaj Gaikwad 30 (16); Piyush Chawla 2-25 (4), Tristan Stubbs 1-14 (2) beat Mumbai Indians: 139-8 in 20 overs [Nehal Wadhera 64 (51), Suryakumar Yadav 26 (22); Matheesha Pathirana 3-15 (4), Deepak Chahar 2-18 (3)]
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) thumped arch-rivals Mumbai Indians (MI) by 6-wickets to get to the second place in the IPL points table.
A clinical bowling performance, led by Matheesha Pathirana was followed up by some sensible batting as the target of 140 was overhauled with utmost ease.
Pathirana dazzles at Chepauk!
MI sprung a surprise when they decided to send in Cameron Green to open alongside Ishan Kishan. But the new partnership didn't last long as Tushar Deshpande cleaned Cameron Green's stumps to give an early jolt.
Ishan Kishan followed his opening partner back to the pavilion, and soon Rohit Sharma departed for a three-ball duck as at one stage, MI were tottering at 14 for 3.
With no Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera got the opportunity to bat at number 4, and he didn't disappoint the MI team management. The youngster alongside the ever-dependable Suryakumar Yadav resurrected the innings and took the game to the opposition.
But just when SKY was looking dangerous, MSD pulled out his bag of tricks and introduced Ravindra Jadeja into the attack, a move that brought SKY's downfall for 26.
Wadhera continued to play the lone hand, but lost partners at the other end as he reached his maiden fifty in the IPL. With the intention to accelerate, Wadhera decided to switch gears, but the move failed as Pathirana bowled a pinpoint yorker to knock him over.
The Sri Lankan seamer, bowled three overs in the slog phase and gave away zero boundaries as MI faltered with the bat and could only get to 139 for 8. Pathirana finished with figures of 3 for 15.
Conway-Ruturaj set the tone for CSK win
CSK were off to a flier, courtesy, some sublime hitting from Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway. Ruturaj targeted MI's weak link - Arshad Khan and smashed him for 20 runs to set the tone for a famous win.
To counter the two batters, Rohit introduced Piyush Chawla, and he immediately got the wicket of Ruturaj Gaikwad.
With the platform set by the two CSK openers, the required rate came below 6 and batters played with ease. Despite losing Ajinkya Rahane (21) and Ambati Rayudu (12) in quick successions, Conway ensured that the target was never far off as he played with grit and determination.
Shivam Dube gave the finishing flurry as CSK won the game with utmost ease.
 "Anurag Dasgupta")
