On a slightly tacky surface in Chennai, Naman Dhir was a cut above the rest as his fluent half-century helped MI post a fighting 159/7 in 20 overs. Naman Dhir had luck on his side when he was dropped on 19 by Shivam Dube, but he took advantage of it by playing so well. Others played decently while CSK came back well post power play to keep MI under 160 runs, with Anshul Kamboj picking up 3 wickets, while Noor Ahmad picked up 2 wickets. The game is nicely poised at this stage.
MI gets off to a solid start despite losing Will Jacks early in the power play.Â
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Will Jacks and Ryan Rickelton came out to open for MI while Mukesh Choudhary had the ball in hand for CSK. Mukesh started with a tight first over. Anshul Kamboj shared the new ball from the other end. Kamboj drew first blood for CSK as he dismissed Will Jacks early for 1 off 5 balls, as Ramakrishna Ghosh took a blinder running from the boundary to take the catch inches from the ground.
Naman Dhir came out to bat next and got off the mark with a streaky boundary as the batter tried to work it to midwicket, but the inside half of the bat went away to the vacant deep fine leg fence.
Mukesh continued as Rickelton broke his shackles as he charged at the bowler’s end and lofted it inside out over extra cover for the maximum. Rickelton was not done yet as he rocked back and pulled it away over deep midwicket for the maximum. Kamboj continued as Naman took him on and whacked it away over midwicket for the maximum. Rickelton survived a run-out scare, as well as the direct hit that was missed at the striker’s end.
Prashant Veer came into the attack for the first time next. Rickelton took him on by getting down on one knee and getting inside the line to slog it over deep backward square leg for the maximum. Rickelton went again as he went straight down the ground over long-on for the maximum. Rickelton went big again for the third time in the over as he went straight over the bowler’s head for the maximum.
Mukesh Choudhary changed ends and came to bowl the final over of the power play. Naman took him on as the ball was on the pads, and he flicked it away over deep midwicket for the maximum as the 50-run stand came up between the two players. At the end of the power play, MI were well-placed at 57/1 in 6 overs with Rickelton unbeaten on 36 off 21 balls and Naman Dhir unbeaten on 19 off 10 balls.
CSK pulls things back with regular wickets in the middle phase of the game.Â
Noor Ahmad came into the attack post the power play. A big moment in the game came then. Naman was batting on 19, and the score for MI was 58/1 when the batter Naman got a lifeline off Noor as Shivam Dube put down a sitter at short third man. How costly will the miss be? Only time will tell. CSK crowds were shocked by this development. Noor finally got a wicket to his name as he dismissed the well-set Rickelton for 37 off 24 balls with 5 sixes to his name, as Urvil Patel made no mistake at deep backward square leg.
Suryakumar Yadav came out to bat next. He got off the mark straightaway with a boundary as he hung back and played it late by opening the bat face and guiding it past first slip for a boundary. Prashant Veer came back into the attack as Naman showed his class. He played an exquisite shot to go inside out over extra covers for a boundary.
Ramakrishna Ghosh, on debut, came into the attack next. Surya slammed the ball through deep third man for a boundary. MI were 77/2 in 9 overs when we paused for the Strategic Time Out, the second of the innings. Noor continued as Surya slapped him away past the backward point and away to the fence for a boundary. Surya then took on Noor and lunged forward to hit it straight over the bowler’s head for the maximum. At the halfway stage of the game, MI were 90/2 and well-placed to get close to 200 from here.
Ramakrishna Ghosh came back into the attack and was welcomed back into the attack by Naman as he flayed it away over covers for a boundary. Naman thumped him away again by staying deep in his crease and got underneath it by slamming it towards long-off for a boundary. Ghosh then had a moment to savour as he dismissed Surya for 21 off 12 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name as the cut shot went to Brevis at deep point, who made no mistake. Tilak Varma came out to bat next as the 100 came up for MI in 10.5 overs, with Tilak getting off the mark.
Jamie Overton came into the attack next as Tilak survived a close call as the ball was miscued to Dube at covers, with the fielder diving forward and not getting to the ball. Naman managed to get a triple as Gaikwad did well to dive inside the circle at mid-off and then did well to cut off the boundary as well. Overton bowled a good first over. Noor came back into the attack as Naman survived a close stumping chance as the foot was just inside the line when Samson whipped off the bails.
Noor got another as he dismissed Tilak for 5 off 8 balls, as the miscue across the line was calmly taken by Gaikwad, even as Ghosh almost distracted the skipper. Captain Hardik Pandya came into the attack next. Jamie Overton came to bowl his second over. A chance at the batter’s end was missed as the run-out chance was missed but Overton did well to get to the ball. Overton bowled a tight over.
Ramakrishna Ghosh came to bowl the 15th over of the innings. Hardik got the outside edge wide of the keeper and away to the third man fence after beating the diving Samson. Ghosh came back well after the boundary. After 15 overs, MI were 120/4 with Naman Dhir batting on 46* off 31 balls alongside captain Hardik Pandya, unbeaten on 8 off 10 balls. The match was now very much in the balance with 5 overs to go in the innings.
Excellent death bowling helps CSK restrict MI to 159/7 in 20 overs.Â
Noor Ahmad continued as Hardik survived a close stumping chance as well. Noor completed his spell as he finished with 2/26, as the second strategic time out was taken with the score at 124/4. Naman was then dropped by Samson as the ball went through the hands, and they got a couple of runs as he got to his fifty as well. Naman took on Overton and whipped it away over deep backward square leg for the maximum.
Jamie hit back as he dismissed Naman for 57 off 37 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to his name as Sarfaraz Khan took a brilliant catch at extra cover region. Robin Minz came out to bat next and got off the mark as well. Kamboj came to bowl next as Minz caressed through the covers for a boundary. Kamboj came back and dismissed Minz for 5 off 3 balls with one four to his name as he chopped it back onto the stumps. Krish Bhagat came out to bat next.
He got off the mark soon. Overton continued and bowled a quiet 19th over. Kamboj came to bowl the final over of the innings as Hardik stayed deep in his crease and flicked it away in front of square for a boundary. Kamboj struck again as he dismissed Hardik for 18 off 23 balls with 2 fours to his name as he miscued the shot to Brevis in the deep. Trent Boult came out to bat next and smashed Kamboj over deep midwicket for the maximum to get off the mark.
So, MI finished with 159/7 in 20 overs with Boult unbeaten on 7 off 2 balls with one six to his name, while Krish Bhagat made an unbeaten 3 off 6 balls. 5 extras given by CSK.
Anshul Kamboj was the pick of the bowlers for CSK with figures of 3/32 in 4 overs. Noor Ahmad bowled well for his 2/26 in 4 overs. Jamie Overton bowled well for his 1/23 in 4 overs. Ramakrishna Ghosh finished with 1/24 in 3 overs. Mukesh Choudhary bowled 3 overs for 25 runs while Prashant Veer finished with 0/25 in 2 overs. The target for CSK will be 160 runs in 20 overs. The pitch is challenging for the batters.
Who’s Winning, CSK or MI?Â
MI won the toss and elected to bat first and have put up 159 on the board on a tacky surface. 160 looks gettable, but won’t be easy for the home team when they come out to chase. This promises to be a low-scoring contest. MI gets early wickets; they can win this. CSK gets a solid start; they might as well chase this down. The game is up for grabs. CSK will be the happier side in the interval, but Mumbai is not out of it.
Let’s see how this game pans out in the chase in Chennai.
Also Read:Â CSK VS MI: CSK, MI Clash In Must-Win Situation.