- Mumbai Indians 116 for 0 (Kishan 68*, de Kock 46*) beat Chennai Super Kings 114 for 9 (Curran 52, Boult 4-18, Bumrah 2-25, Rahul Chahar 2-22) by 10 wickets.
IPL 2020 had begun with the Chennai Super Kings surging to a five-wicket win from Your Mumbai Indians. The return fixture between both with more than two thirds of the league stage gone exemplified how divergently the tournament has gone for every side. Mumbai demolished the Super Kings by 10 wickets at 12.2 overs, with put a clinical bowling display and followed it up with a dominant opening stand between Ishan Kishan and Quinton de Kock.
Mumbai combined the Delhi Capitals and also the Royal Challengers Bangalore on 14 points, but with all the very best internet run rate to top the table. Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah wrecked the Super Kings top order after putting them with high quality, precise seam bowling. The Super Kings floundered to 3 to 4 in the next over, the second-lowest score at four wickets down in IPL history. That was only one of the lows that the Super Kings touched – and there was no coming back in a powerplay score of 24 for 5, the third-most wickets dropped in a powerplay ever.
Boult and Bumrah were irresistible at the top, and Mumbai didn’t even believe the lack of regular captain Rohit Sharma, sitting out with a hamstring strain that gave Kieron Pollard his second match in charge in the IPL. Even the Super Kings had made a host of changes, bringing back Ruturaj Gaikwad and N Jagadeesan and yanking Imran Tahir his first game of the championship, but not one of them bore much effect. Boult struck in his first two overs, Bumrah took two in two balls in his first over. Boult would go on to take one more powerplay wicket and finished the Super Kings innings by getting his fourth for a career-best 4 for 18 from the IPL.
Sam Curran – back to No.7 in the batting order was the sole purpose of immunity for its Super Kings using a well-compiled 52, but all he would do was ensure the total went to triple figures. With Sharma absent, Mumbai sent Kishan to partner de Kock in the top and he promptly smashed the bowlers around in his 68off 37, while de Kock played the perfect supporting role using a 37-ball 46.
Powerplay pandemonium
Boult began by swinging the ball away from Gaikwad, before bringing one back into rap him on the pads. He successfully convinced Pollard to pick the inspection, and the decision went the bowler’s way. Pollard gave Bumrah the ball to share – something Bumrah has done just once before in IPL 2020 – and he immediately delivered a one-two punch. Ambati Rayudu was caught behind off the glove, the ball becoming large on him after being banged in brief. Jagadeesan got one at the channel he poked at, to be gobbled up in a wide slide. Boult then struck a crucial blow getting Faf du Plessis to edge behind also with feet chained into the crease. There has been a change of endings for Boult inside the powerplay but made no difference to his wicket-taking, together with Ravindra Jadeja yanking a brief ball straight to short midwicket.
Trent Boult pinned down Ruturaj Gaikwad in the first over of the game BCCIThere was nowhere to hide for the Super Kings after that burst, and the remaining innings was about trying to salvage things rather than get bowled out.
Curran’s resistance
He had been back in No. 7 but found himself batting at the powerplay nonetheless. Together with the innings floundering, Curran opted to bat wisely and try to bat through, reining in his natural attacking instincts in the shortest arrangement. He discovered partners who could stick around with him, Shardul Thakur and Tahir, as the Super Kings started the laborious process of padding the score up to whatever extent was possible.
He picked up the border where possible as Pollard deployed the spinners and Nathan Coulter-Nile throughout the middle overs, and in the end, Tahir even awakened Bumrah to get a four on the wicketkeeper, however, moment and Curran getting to fifty were the ones that brought any cheer in the Super Kings innings. Rahul Chahar continued his good run too, getting two wickets, including that of first cousin Deepak Chahar – the very first time he was bowling to Deepak in the IPL.
Kishan, de Kock land devastating blows
What the Super Kings needed up high was tight bowling and quick wickets from the powerplay. What they got was Kishan’s flashing blade penalizing any mistakes in line or length. De Kock was pleased to play the supporting role as Kishan began blazing away from the beginning, deflating whatever small chance of contest was there in the game.
Kishan’s first ball was crashed through the covers when Josh Hazlewood was short and wide outside off. From the fifth over, he required Deepak Chahar for 14 runs in three balls. When Tahir came on to bowlKishan – who’d fallen to him five times earlier – showed no fear, hitting him for a six per straight back in the eighth and tenth overs. In between, he must fifty with back sixes away Jadeja.
By then, the game had become a batting exhibition for Mumbai’s openers, and also a chance to swell their unique tallies while bumping up the group’s net run rate significantly too.
