Mumbai Indians were in a desperate need for a win to keep their hopes alive for qualifying for the playoffs. They visited Chennai Super Kings at their newly designated home venue of the MCA Stadium, Pune for the 27 match of the season. More than CSK, the venue proved to be lucky for MI who ended up achieving their only second win of IPL 2018 from 7 games.
The visitors were asked to bat first after MS Dhoni lost the toss. The MI bowlers didn’t let the openers flourish at the top and Krunal Pandya bagged the prized wicket of Shane Watson for 12 in the 5th over. But that was the time when Ambati Rayudu broke the shackles and parked the ball into the crowds to take the score to 51/1 after 6 overs.
Suresh Raina provided good company and the score was hovering around the three-figure mark at the halfway stage. Krunal came back to claim his second wicket in the form of Rayudu for 46 in the 12th over. The MI bowlers were successful in applying the breaks after the wicket as, after 14 overs, CSK reached 106/2.
MS Dhoni started to open up and along with Raina, collected 37 runs from the next 3 overs. But Mitchell McClenaghan struck gold by removing Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo in the same over. The last 2 overs yielded 22 runs which meant CSK finished with a competitive 169/5 after 20 overs with Raina staying unbeaten at 75.
The opening pair of MI was subdued in the approach initially. Even though they didn’t find the boundaries consistently, yet they ensured the required run rate was well under control. While Evin Lewis struggled for timing, Suryakumar Yadav filled in for him to take the side to 50 without loss at the end of the powerplay.
Harbhajan Singh brought the first wicket for the visitors when he sent back Yadav for 44 in the 10th over. Lewis, who had found it hard until that point, decided to up the ante and he did manage to send a couple of strokes over the ropes. The skipper Rohit Sharma too hit his stripes quickly and struck a few classy shots as MI reached 114/1 after 14 overs.
Lewis departed in the 17th over to Bravo for 47 and the bowlers pulled back things a little. When 37 runs were required from the last 3 overs, Rohit and Hardik Pandya collected 15 runs from Watson’s over. Then, Rohit smashed 4 boundaries in the penultimate over bowled by Shardul Thakur to bring MI on the cusp of a win. With 5 needed from the last over, the batsmen got home without too much fuss and achieved the much-needed win to keep their campaign alive.
Match Summary
Mumbai Indians won the toss and opted to bowl first
Chennai Super Kings:Â 169/5 in 20 overs
Suresh Raina 75* (47), Ambati Rayudu 46 (35)
Mitchell McClenaghan 26/2 (4), Krunal Pandya 32/2 (4)
Mumbai Indians:Â 173/2 in 19.4 overs
Rohit Sharma 56* (33), Evin Lewis 47 (43)
Harbhajan Singh 20/1 (3.5), Dwayne Bravo 21/1 (3)
Mumbai Indians won by 8 wickets
Player of the Match: Rohit Sharma
Here’s how Twitter reacted to the desperate win of MI
https://twitter.com/mipaltan/status/990290687072522240
Bravo didn’t bowl the 19th or 20th. He had one left. Injury concern? #CSKvMI #IPL
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 28, 2018
#MumbaiIndians needed their captain to play the kind of innings he can. Top effort from #RohitSharma
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 28, 2018
https://twitter.com/gauravkapur/status/990290532931981312
Fantastic batting @ImRo45 excellent innings as captain under pressure. Huge win for @mipaltan
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) April 28, 2018
It’s back on for @mipaltan with a hard-fought win over @ChennaiIPL @IPL has a long way to go to the playoffs! #SelectDugout #KentCricketLive
— Alan Wilkins (@alanwilkins22) April 28, 2018
MS Dhoni possesses such a commanding presence that his dismissal seems a sad moment of the game @ChennaiIPL #CSKvsMI #VIVOIPL
— Anjum Chopra (@chopraanjum) April 28, 2018
Rohit said at the toss that MI will be enjoying the game today which was missing in all the previous ones.
You can see that today. You can see the difference it has made. #IPL2018
— Manya (@CSKian716) April 28, 2018
https://twitter.com/Downhellfromher/status/990290227552862208
https://twitter.com/Sajjanlaunda/status/990255039905120257
https://twitter.com/shriktweets/status/990249596780728320
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