Mumbai: Chennai Super Kings put up a splendid all-round show headlined by Sanju Samson’s hundred and the bowling heroics of spinners Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad to consign Mumbai Indians to a massive and humiliating 103-run defeat in front of a teeming Wankhede Stadium crowd, here on Thursday.
Chasing a challenging 208 for victory, Mumbai Indians were bowled out for a paltry 104 in 19 overs with Hosein scalping a brilliant 4/17 and Ahmad picking 2/23 to propel Chennai Super Kings to a famous victory at the Wankhede.
The 73-run fourth-wicket partnership between Tilak Varma (37) and Suryakumar Yadav (35) was the only batting effort worth the note for Mumbai Indians on an otherwise forgetful night for the five-time champions where almost everything went wrong for them.
Earlier, Samson was the star of the show for Chennai Super Kings with a superb hundred that powered the visiting team to a healthy 207/6 in 20 overs.
Despite Samson’s fiery innings of 101 off 54 balls, the Super Kings would feel they fell short by 20-25 runs atleast and the Mumbai Indians bowlers led by Allah Ghazanfar, Jasprit Bumrah and Ashwani Kumar will take credit for pegging things back for the home side after CSK at one stage looked set for a total in the range of 225-230.
Samson’s sensational hundred was studded with 10 fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 187.03. To put Samson’s knock in perspective, the second highest score in the Super Kings line up came from skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad who struck 22.
Earlier, Jasprit Bumrah kept the first over tight for Mumbai Indians with Chennai Super Kings’ opener Sanju Samson finding it hard to put him away except for a four off the last ball which also turned out to be a no-ball.
The second over from Hardik Pandya turned out to be an expensive one as the Mumbai Indians skipper conceded 19 runs off the over including two fours and a six plus a wide and a no ball.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was the more aggressive of the openers as he smashed a quickfire 22 off 14 balls comprising three fours and a six at a strike rate of 157.14 before getting out caught by Tilak Varma off Allah Ghazanfar off the last ball of the third over.
Samson then got his act together as he slammed Pandya for 4, 6, 4 off the third, fourth and fifth ball of the fourth over as Super Kings ensured there was no let up in their momentum after Gaikwad’s departure.
The visitors reached 51/1 in four overs in 23 minutes with Samson and new batter Sarfaraz Khan in the middle.
After five overs, Chennai Super Kings had reached 64/1 in five overs with Samson on 31 off 14 balls with four fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 221.42.
Sarfaraz Khan came to the party in the last over of the powerplay as he cracked two fours off the first two balls of Mitchell Santner’s first over.
However, Santner had the last laugh as he had him castled off the fourth ball of the same over. At the end of powerplay, CSK were 73/2 going at a very healthy rate of over 12 runs per over.
Samson was simply unstoppable as he struck a six off Ghazanfar in the seventh over and a four off Ashwani Kumar in the eighth as the Super Kings chugged along nicely.
Shivam Dube didn’t last long becoming Ghazanfar’s victim off the first ball of the ninth over as the visitors slipped to 91/3.
Super Kings brought up their 100 in 9.1 overs with Samson on 47 off 23 balls and new batter Dewald Brevis hoisting Santner for a six over his head off the first ball of the over and then the fifth ball.
Samson brought up his fifty off just 26 balls in the 11th over while Brevis continued to attack as well but Ashwani Kumar sent the South African packing on the last ball of the 11th over caught at deep third man by Bumrah.
It was then Kartik Sharma’s turn to torment Santner as he slammed the New Zealand all-rounder for two sixes in the 14th over as Super Kings reached 145/4.
Samson then started using the long handle against Krish Bhagat who was taken apart for a six and two fours in the 16th over with 15 runs coming off it.
Bumrah saw the back of Kartik when the latter holed out to Santner at deep square leg where he picked up a brilliant catch leaping ahead.
Jamie Overton played a nice little cameo of 15 off seven balls with two fours and a six at a strike rate of 214 but was eventually out off the last ball of the 18th over.
