Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
The El Classico of Indian cricket lived up to its reputation. Chennai Super Kings snatched away victory from the jaws of Mumbai Indians after former skipper MS Dhoni turned the clock back by hitting a last-ball boundary to keep the realistic chance of Chennai making it into the IPL playoffs. MI bowlers were at their best as they made things difficult for Chennai batters during the run chase.
Daniel Sams' four wickets, an economical spell from Riley Meredith and two wickets from Jaydev Unadkat kept CSK under pressure, but Dwaine Pretorius' 22 in just 14 balls and Dhoni with his unbeaten 28 off 13 sealed the game for Yellow Army.
CSK needed 17 runs in 6 balls to win the game, and Rohit trusted experienced Unadkat to finish things for Mumbai Indians. MI bowlers did well as he picked Pretorius' wicket on the very first delivery, but later Dhoni, who was back to what he loves to do, shut down his critics in style as he hit one six, ran double and two boundaries to chase down 16 off four balls.
Earlier, Ravindra Jadeja invited Rohit Sharma & Co. to bat first, and Mukesh Choudhary rattled Mumbai with early wickets. But Tilak Varma hit an unbeaten 51 off 43 to help Mumbai post a fighting total, and they almost registered their first win. Unfortunately for them, though, the greatest finisher in the game was still there. Daniel Sams bowled his heart out and took four wickets in a losing cause.
Let's take a look at some of the highlights from the game.
1. Mumbai Indians reeling at 2-2 in 0.5 overs
In a must-win game, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan continued their poor form as both the batters failed even to open their accounts in the first innings. Mukesh Chaudhary was the man on a mission, as he wreaked havoc on Mumbai's top-order as he dismissed Rohit on the second ball of the first over of the game. Kishan, too, followed the path of his senior pro as he was left clueless with an inswinger as the ball went to dislodge the stumps and brought Kishan to knees. After the first over in the first innings, Mumbai was tottering at 2-2.
2. Tilak Verma's unbeaten 51
While Mumbai Indians were again in a situation to suffer mini-collapse, young Tilak Verma came to the rescue as he anchored the innings from one end, with the change of batters on the non-strikers end. Verma added 51 runs on board to take Mumbai's score to a respective total, and his innings were studded with two maximums and three boundaries.
3. Daniel Sams' four-wicket haul
In response to Mumbai's 155, Chennai, too, had a troublesome start as their opener Ruturaj Gaikwad was dismissed by Sams on the very first ball of the second innings. After showing some return to his form in the previous match, Gaikwad was out on a golden duck against Mumbai Indians. Daniel Sams single-handedly destroyed Chennai's middle-order as he hunted down players like Mitchell Santner (11 off 9) in 2.3, Robin Uthappa (30 off 25) in 8.6, and Shivam Dube (13 off 14) in 12.5 overs. Unfortunately, Sam's four-wicket haul could not win the game for his side.
4. MS Dhoni's last over heroics
With the help of Ambati Rayudu's 40 in 35 balls and Dwaine Pretorius' 22 off 14, CSK was still in the game and needed 17 in 6 balls to win their second game of the season. Jaydev Unadkat dismissed Pretorius on the very first ball, and Bravo joined the party in the middle. The Caribbean rotated the strike with Dhoni and fastened his seatbelt to witness the greatest finisher of all time winning the game in his trademark style. 16 off 4, and Dhoni went for a maximum, followed by another boundary, double and final boundary to seal the deal. After winning the game, Ravindra Jadeja didn't shy away from bowing down to Dhoni to show his respect for the best finisher of all time.