Mumbai rode on the back of half-centuries by Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma and some late heroics from Dwayne Smith to beat Chennai Super Kings by 2 wickets.
A mammoth 126-run stand for the second wicket between Sachin Tendulkar (74 off 44) and Rohit Sharma (60 off 46) was almost ruined before Dwayne Smith smashed two boundaries off the last two balls of the match to register a win against Chennai Super Kings by 2 wickets, here on Sunday.
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Chasing 174 to win, Mumbai Indians needed 16 off the last over and Smith proved up to the task hitting the hapless Ben Hilfenhaus for a six and couple of fours off the last three deliveries to script an improbable win.u00a0
It was not all tense when the chase began. Mumbai Indians could not have hoped for a better start despite Ben Hilfenhaus removing James Franklin (1 off 9) in the third over. Rohit Sharma and Sachin Tendulkar brought all their experience to the middle as they pushed Chennai on the back-foot with aggressive ease.
The two batsman spared none as Albie Morkel, Shadab Jakati and R Ashwin were dispatched to the boundary with ease. Sachin was the first to reach the fifty-run mark while Rohit followed it up, soon after.
Dwayne Smith celebrates after scoring the winning runs. Pic/AFP
Once Sachin was caught by Faf du Plessis off Ashwin's bowling in the 17th over, the match turned on its head. Ambatti Rayudu (0) was bowled by Ravindra Jadeja while in-form Rohit was cleaned up by the same bowler in the same over.
From here, Chennai tried hard to stop the hard hits but Smith had other ideas. The Caribbean smashed a six in the 19th over and followed it up with 14 runs in boundaries off the final over to register a stunning win.
Chennai had not had a bad day of cricket by any stretch of imagination as they posted a competitive 173 for 8 depite some lat wickets from Mumbai Indians.
RP Singh and Lasith Malinga each took three wickets apiece to try an peg CSK back.u00a0
Though the toss was lost, opener Murali Vijay managed to wreck the opening attack from Mumbai bowlers and though he lost his partner in Faf du Plessis to an unfortunate run-out, smacked a 29-ball 41 which had four boundaries and three sixes. He even took Munaf Patel for 24 runs off a single over.
Opener Murali Vijay managed to wreck the opening attack from Mumbai bowlers, smacking a 29-ball 41 which had four boundaries and three sixes. Even the loss of his partner, Faf du Plessis, to an unfortunate run-out didn't stop him.u00a0He even took Munaf Patel for 24 runs off a single over.u00a0
The slight slump came when Murali was bowled by RP Singh but Suresh Raina and Dwayne Bravo managed to get the score moving nonetheless.
Raina took just 21 balls for his 36 and had three boundaries and two sixes to his name before Mumbai's James Franklin was able to strike through.u00a0
But, MS Dhoni then took over, taking 10 runs off a Robin Peterson over to make his intentions clear. He could afford to take chances as Bravo at the other end was already well-set.
The Caribbean smashed a six off Munaf's comeback over and following it up with back-to-back boundaries off Malinga in the 18th over. He was bowled in the same over on 40 but the role had already been played out to perfection.
Dhoni (25 off 15), Albie Morkel (3 off 3), Ravindra Jadeja (9 off 5), R Ashwin were made to walk back in the ensuing two overs but Chennai still scraped the remains together to post a challenging total.
Brief Score:
Chennai Super Kings: 173 for 8 in 20 overs. (Murali Vijay 41, Dwayne Bravo 40; RP Singh 3/28, Lasith Malinga 3/25).
Mumbai Indians: 174 for 8 in 20 overs. (Sachin Tendlukar 74, Rohit Sharma 60; Dwayne Smith, Ravindra Jadeja 2/12).u00a0
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