MAY 7, 2019
Brief Scorecard: Mumbai Indians 132 for 4 (Suryakumar 71*, Kishan 28, Tahir 2-33) beat Chennai Super Kings 131 for 4 (Rayudu 42*, Dhoni 37*, Rahul Chahar 2-14) by six wickets
CHENNAI – Rahul Chahar starred with the ball while Suryakumar Yadav hit a classy 71 not out as Mumbai Indians defeated defending champions Chennai Super Kings by 6 wickets on Tuesday in Qualifier 1 of the 2019 Indian Premier League at Chepauk to reach their 5th final.
Mumbai Indians had first reached the final in 2010 when they lost to Chennai Super Kings. In 2013, 2015 and 2017, Mumbai Indians won the IPL.
Chennai Super Kings will play the winner of the Eliminator between Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 on May 10 for another shot at the title clash. This is the 3rd time season that Mumbai Indians defeated CSK this season and on Tuesday, they continued their 9-year unbeaten run at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
In 2019, Chennai Super Kings have relied on their spinners to waylay visiting teams on slow, low surfaces. But Mumbai Indians paid CSK back in their own coin in a high-stakes game. Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar picked 2 for 14 off 4 overs while Krunal Pandya and Jayant Yadav snared crucial wickets before the powerplay to pave the way for MI’s 5th final.
Chasing a modest 132, Mumbai Indians lost Rohit Sharma to Deepak Chahar in the 1st over while Harbhajan Singh dismissed Quinton de Kock the 4th over.
CSK would have hoped to make it a little more difficult for MI at that stage but Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan kept their calm and played some scintillating shots to in their 80-run partnership.
MS Dhoni tried everything – he got two slips when Ishan Kishan was facing up to Harbhajan Singh but Kishan responded with a huge six on the on-side and showed he was not going to be intimidated. At the other end, Suryakumar showed why he is among the best batsmen in domestic cricket. His footwork was top class, he found the gaps with precision, ran hard and kept the Super Kings under constant pressure.
There were a few dramatic moments in the game as CSK sought to fight back. Imran Tahir dismissed Ishan Kishan (28) and Krunal Pandya off successive deliveries. Ravindra Jadeja then induced an edge off Suryakumar Yadav but Shane Watson, at first slip, failed to hold on to a sharp chance.
After a few nervous moments, Suryakumar Yadav broke the shackles with a nicely timed boundary off Ravindra Jadeja in the 15th over. In the next over, Tahir’s last, Hardik Pandya got off the mark with a boundary and as the runs kept coming, CSK knew a flight to Vizag was imminent.
Earlier in the evening, Chennai Super Kings batted after MS Dhoni won the toss but they were unable to deal with the Mumbai Indians spinners. Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav and Krunal Pandya accounted for Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina and Shane Watson as CSK slipped to 32 for 3 off 6 overs.
Murali Vijay who replaced an injured Kedar Jadhav started off well but he fell to a terrific delivery from Rahul Chahar – the ball turned sharply and Quinton de Kock completed a brilliant stumping. Chepauk was stunned into silence for the better part of the first hour but there was a huge noise as MS Dhoni walked out to the middle.
MS Dhoni has papered over a lot of CSK’s batting flaws this summer but it was going to be an uphill task against MI’s spinners and Jasprit Bumrah. Dhoni looked to rattle the visitors when he charged down the track to hit Jayant Yadav for a six but there was not much else from his blade Tuesday night.
MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu added an unbroken 66-run stand for the 5th wicket which helped CSK post 131 for 4 off their 20 overs. But as they found out later, it was not going to be enough against a powerful batting line-up like Mumbai Indians.
CSK will now play the winner of the Eliminator between DC and SRH to try and make it to the final for the 8th time.
