Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
On a day dominated mainly by bowlers, Mumbai Indians caused the elimination of Chennai Super Kings after defeating the latter by five wickets at iconic Wankhede Stadium on Thursday evening. Mumbai Indians' bowlers and non-availability of DRS due to power cut blew away Chennai's top-order, which the rest of the line-up could not rescue as it collapsed like a heap. Defending champions were bowled out for just 97 in a must-win game.
In response, Mumbai too struggled against the new ball, but a 48-run partnership between Tilak Varma and Hrithik Shokeen bailed out the side from a tough situation and emerged victorious. For MI, Daniel Sams was the wrecker-in-chief, picking up three wickets in the powerplay to finish with figures of 4-0-16-3. Riley Meredith took 2/27 and spearhead Jasprit Bumrah produced another fine effort of 1/13.
Non-availability of DRS due to power-cut worked as a party spoiler for the Chennai Super Kings as they informed opener David Conway was given LBW, even though the ball appeared to be going down the leg side.
But, as no DRS was available for the first four overs, the decision of the onfield umpire could not be questioned. For Chennai, Mukesh Choudhary picked three wickets, and Simarjeet Singh clinched one in the powerplay. Both the bowlers completed their quota of four overs right away but provided much-needed breakthroughs for their side.
After five overs, MI were 34/4. But they had 90 balls to get the remaining 64 runs. Varma, Shokeen and Tim David ensured them no further hiccups. With that loss, Chennai curtailed their last hopes for playoffs and became the only second team to eliminate from the league. Let's take a look at the points table after match number 59.
Changes in the points table
Despite winning the game, there is hardly any effect on Mumbai Indians' standings as the franchise remains at the bottom of the points table. They have 6 points after playing 12 games, with a net run rate of -0.613. Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings are placed 9th in the 10-team table with eight points after 12 games.
What did the captains say?
Winning captain Rohit Sharma was happy with the way bowlers pitched in and wreaked havoc to Chennai's batting line-up. "Bowlers did the fine job today for us; restricting such a quality side at 97 speaks volumes of their potential and talent we have. We got unlucky that things started to click for us a bit late, but we are taking too much positive from this game," Rohit said.
Meanwhile, Chennai skipper MS Dhoni was also delighted with the bowling effort of Mukesh Chaudhary and Simarjeet as he felt that both the bowlers showed a lot of character. "It didn't pay off today, but I think they bowled well. A bit of application was needed from our side, and a few of the batters got out on good deliveries; hopefully, they are learning with every game," Dhoni concluded.
Today's matchup
Inform Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on struggling Punjab Kings at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Friday evening. While Bangalore will look to come close to playoffs by winning the game, Punjab would like to stay relevant by outplaying star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore.