Seasoned Ajinkya Rahane opened the CSK innings with young Rachin Ravindra and was out before adding much to the scoreboard. At 8/1 in the second over, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad came out to bat. He had a 52-run partnership with Ravindra. Then, in the eighth over, Rachin was out for 21 off 16 balls.

Shivam Dube came to the crease next and thrashed the Mumbai bowlers. Together with Ruturaj, he added 90 runs to the scoreboard. Mumbai captain Hardik Pandya dismissed his Chennai counterpart, who scored 69 off 40 balls. Hardik also took the wicket of Daryl Mitchell. It was the final over of Chennai’s batting innings. With four balls to go, MS Dhoni arrived at the crease.

Mahi, in his cameo, hit three consecutive sixes off Hardik and then a couple to score 20 off 4 balls, with a strike rate of 500.00, setting Mumbai a target of 207.

Rohit Sharma opened with Ishan Kishan and was in sublime form. Wankhede saw vintage Rohit as he hit eleven 4s and five 6s to score 105 off 63 balls. It was the third 100 of the season after Virat Kohli and Jos Buttler. Rohit’s second IPL century was his highest score since 2012.

However, Rohit needed support from the other end, which hardly came. Ishan Kishan was out for 23 off 15 balls, Suryakumar Yadav was out for a duck, and Hardik Pandya scored two off six balls. Matheesha Pathirana dismissed Ishan and Surya, while Tushar Deshpande dismissed Pandya.

Only Tilak Varma (31 off 20 balls) showed some resistance before Pathirana claimed his wicket. In the 16th over, Mumbai were 134/4, with Rohit Sharma still standing at the other end. Tim David (13 off 5 balls) could not do much after having a start with two 6s. Romario Shepherd (1 off 2 balls) was castled by Pathirana in the 18th over.

Mumbai needed 47 runs to win in two overs. Thanks to Rohit Sharma’s 6 off Mustafizur Rahman, MI scored 13 off the 19th over, but it was clearly not enough. Rohit reached his century in the 20th over with a 4. Mumbai could only get to 186/6, 20 runs short of Chennai’s score. In this IPL match, MS Dhoni’s quick-fire 20 in the last over made all the difference.

Player of the Match

Matheesha Pathirana was Chennai’s best bowler. He came as an Impact Player and took 4 wickets for 28 runs in 4 overs. He was awarded the Player of the Match.

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Published: 15 Apr 2024, 07:22 AM IST