| 0.0 : Hello, folks! Are you ready for Qualifier 1? It's going to be the battle of heavyweights with two of the most accomplished teams in the history of this League locking horns at the Chepauk Stadium. The build-up once again has been enormous and we are hoping that at least today, this El Clasico lives up to the expectations. On both occasions in their previous meetings this season, Mumbai emerged as the better side by registering thumping wins and would have the edge. For Chennai, they have dealt w |
| Pitch report - Sanjay Manjrekar observes a bit of sheen on the surface. Feels it could be a batting surface but does not reckon it will be a 200-score track. He expects some inconsistent bounce as well. (Also, there could be some sweat due the pitch being covered a few hours before the toss). |
| Toss - Rohit Sharma flips the coin, MS Dhoni calls it correctly and CHENNAI WILL BAT! |
| Chennai skipper, MS Dhoni says that they will bat first. Adds that they just look at the opposition and plan accordingly. Mentions that most of the teams are very dangerous and considers Mumbai as a very balanced side. Informs that Kedar Jadhav is out injured and is replaced by Murali Vijay. |
| Mumbai skipper, Rohit Sharma also wanted to bat first looking how the pitch behaved last time around. Tells that they have a good record here but that doesn't really matter as it depends on how they perform on a particular day. Wants to focus on the game and do well as a group. Informs that Jayant Yadav comes in place of Mitchell McClenaghan. |
| Mumbai (Playing XI) - Quinton de Kock(WK), Rohit Sharma(C), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Jayant Yadav (in for Mitchell McClenaghan), Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga. |
| Chennai (Playing XI) - Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay (in place of Kedar Jadhav), MS Dhoni(WK/C), Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir. |
| Suresh Raina is having a chat with Ian Bishop. 'Chinna Thala' says that both teams look confident but admits that Mumbai have looked stronger. Stresses that one needs to be confident and express oneself, especially in the playoffs. Credits the support staff for instilling that confidence. On Mumbai being the only team to beat them at Chepauk, Suresh just deflects the question and says that Chennai would be looking to go all guns blazing in this game. |
| Time to play the game. Chepauk is buzzing. Mumbai get into a huddle near the boundary line with Rohit Sharma sharing some last minute thoughts. Out come Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis to open for Chennai. The latter will face the first ball of Qualifier 1 from Lasith Malinga. All in readiness, here we go... |
| 0.1 : L Malinga to du Plessis, Starts with a out-swinging delivery. He lands it on a good length outside off, du Plessis watches the line closely and then shoulders arms. Good carry to the keeper. |
| 0.2 : L Malinga to du Plessis, Malinga goes closer to the off stump and once again takes it away off the seam. Du Plessis sticks back and pushes it out with an angled bat to point. |
| 0.3 : L Malinga to du Plessis, Once again du Plessis camps back inside the crease for an out-swinger and defends it towards point. |
| 0.4 : L Malinga to du Plessis, Action replay of the previous delivery. Du Plessis is very watchful at the moment as Malinga is bowling an impeccable line. It's on and around off, moving away, Faf plays it out to point. |
| 0.5 : L Malinga to du Plessis, Five out-swingers in a row. The line is around off and du Plessis can't do much as he just pushes it out on the off side. Looks for a run initially but it's not on. Will it be a maiden? |
| 0.6 : L Malinga to du Plessis, No, a single off the last ball. Du Plessis uses gentle hands to ease a length ball in the gap at cover-point. Chennai are underway. Outstanding first over by Lasith Malinga, setting the tone for Mumbai. |
| Who will bowl from the other end? A spinner or a pacer? It's Krunal Pandya to roll his arm... |
| 1.1 : K Pandya to du Plessis, Du Plessis has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 1.2 : K Pandya to du Plessis, FOUR! Up and just over short third man. Flighted and full, way wide outside off, du Plessis gets down on one knee before reaching out for this one. He throws his willow at it and it flies off the outside edge and just clears Bumrah inside the ring. It then races away to the fence. The replay shows that Bumrah got his fingertips on the ball. |
| 1.3 : K Pandya to du Plessis, Walks down the track and Krunal immediately shortens his length. The line is on off and Faf pushes it out towards cover-point. |
| 1.4 : K Pandya to du Plessis, Short in length and on middle, pulled across the line through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 1.5 : K Pandya to S Watson, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 1.6 : K Pandya to S Watson, Beauty of a delivery. Flatter and full around off, spinning away a bit, Watson rocks back to play the square cut but misses. That was too close to his body to attempt that shot. |
| Rahul Chahar to bowl the third over. Rohit ringing in quick changes. A slip in place... |
| 2.1 : R Chahar to du Plessis, OUT! Wicket number 11 for Rahul Chahar this season. His brilliance continues. What a start for Mumbai! They have got the prized scalp of Faf du Plessis. Chahar delivers it a touch flat and full wide outside off, du Plessis tries to slap it through the line but it spins away with some extra bounce and flies straight into the hands of backward point. Anmolpreet Singh (sub) crouches and takes the catch easily. Du Plessis is disappointed as he walks back. |
| Suresh Raina walks in at number 3, replacing Faf du Plessis. |
| 2.2 : R Chahar to S Raina, Down the leg side, Raina looks to flick but misses and is hit on the pads. |
| 2.3 : R Chahar to S Raina, Plenty of turn on this deck already. Tossed up around middle, spins in a long way, Suresh looks to defend but is beaten all ends up as the ball turns in a mile. Hits his thigh pad and goes over the leg stump and is partially stopped by Quinton de Kock behind. |
| 2.4 : R Chahar to S Raina, Miscued! Flighted leg spinner landing full around middle and turning back in, Raina goes for a big heave across the line but it takes the inner half of his blade and runs to the right of short fine leg. The fielder does well to stop the ball but cannot prevent the single. |
| 2.5 : R Chahar to S Watson, Whoa! That turned square. Rahul Chahar gives this one flight and lands it around off, Watson stays back and then makes the leave. After that the ball spins away viciously to surprise one and all. |
| 2.6 : R Chahar to S Watson, Compact! Tossed up ball on off, Watson has played that off the front foot and into the ground. Top over from the leggie, a wicket and a run from it. |
| Jayant Yadav is the fourth bowler used by Mumbai to bowl the fourth over! |
| 3.1 : J Yadav to S Raina, A NO BALL TO START. Full and around middle, 90 kph, Raina defends it towards cover. FREE HIT signalled. |
| Free Hit loading... hang on a second. Raina has clobbered a boundary down the ground but it has been signalled a DEAD BALL. We are awaiting the reason... |
| J Yadav to S Raina, FOUR! All timing! Yadav strays on the pads of the batsman and Raina easily lofts it by rotating his wrists. It flies over square leg and finds the fence. |
| 3.2 : J Yadav to S Raina, Floated and full around off, Raina lunges and defends it watchfully. |
| 3.3 : J Yadav to S Raina, OUT! Caught and bowled! Raina, the man in-form, departs as well. Chennai have both their in-form batsmen back in the dugout. Massive setback. Mumbai are roaring at the moment. A terrific move by Rohit Sharma to bowl an offie with the left-hander on strike. He serves an off spinning delivery, lands it full and on middle and gets it to spin away a shade. Raina kneels to slog sweep it across the line but gets a big top edge. Yadav calls for it, runs back a bit and then take |
| 3.4 : J Yadav to S Watson, Uses his feet, takes a couple of steps and then flicks it towards short mid-wicket. |
| 3.5 : J Yadav to S Watson, Extravagant turn again. Landed around off, spinning down a long way, Watto looks to flick but misses. The ball hits his pads and lobs wide of Rohit Sharma at leg slip. |
| 3.6 : J Yadav to S Watson, That ends another frugal over. Quicker delivery, flatter and fuller on off, Watson quietly plays it with soft hands towards cover-point for a brisk run. |
| Will we have the fifth bowler to bowl the 5th over? Oh yes, it's Jasprit Bumrah steaming in... |
| 4.1 : J Bumrah to S Watson, Bumrah starts by angling in a length ball on middle, Watson plays it off his pads to mid-wicket. |
| 4.2 : J Bumrah to S Watson, FOUR! Eased away! This one is drifting down the leg side and Watson works it with good timing behind square leg. The short fine leg fielder gives the chase but the ball wins the race. Last time these two sides met, Watson flicked a similar shot straight into the hands of short fine leg. But that didn't stop the Australian from going after this one. |
| 4.3 : J Bumrah to S Watson, The line is straight again, Shane helps it in the gap on the leg side for one. |
| 4.4 : J Bumrah to M Vijay, Slants in a full ball on off, Vijay plays it close to his front pad and pushes it with fine timing to mid off. |
| 4.5 : J Bumrah to M Vijay, A slower off cutter by Bumrah this time, it's around off, Vijay dabs it down wide of backward point for a quick run. The fielder has a shy at the striker's end but misses. |
| 4.6 : J Bumrah to S Watson, FOUR! Bang! Short in length and on middle, Watson stays back to get on top of the bounce and pulls it to deep mid-wicket for a boundary. There was a sweeper on the leg side but he has no chance of cutting it off. 10 from the over, the best one so far for Chennai. |
| Krunal Pandya to bowl the last over of the Powerplay. |
| 5.1 : K Pandya to M Vijay, FOUR! Off the edge and understandably, Krunal is not happy. Full and outside off, Vijay looks to flick but the ball turns away, takes the leading edge and beats Jasprit Bumrah from short third man. |
| 5.2 : K Pandya to M Vijay, Outside off, played straight to point. |
| 5.3 : K Pandya to M Vijay, FOUR! Boundaries are coming now for Chennai. A tossed up ball landing full on middle, Vijay goes down on one knee and slog sweeps it over backward square leg. It nearly carries all the way. |
| 5.4 : K Pandya to M Vijay, Quicker and flatter on off, tapped down to covers for one. |
| 5.5 : K Pandya to S Watson, Quick again, the trajectory is flat and the line is around off and it skids back in, Watson punches it from the crease to covers. |
| 5.6 : K Pandya to S Watson, OUT! Watson departs and this is a massive, massive moment in the match. This is as much a wicket for the fielder as it is for the bowler. Short and around off, Watto rocks back and looks to pull, aiming to clear mid on. But he is not quite able to get enough off the bat. Jayant Yadav senses there is a chance at mid on, runs back, keeps his eyes on the ball and takes a spectacular catch. Throws the ball up in the air in celebration. Mumbai are pumped up and they are all |
| Powerplay done and the top three batsmen are also done for Chennai. This is the worst possible start they would have imagined. Ambati Rayudu is the new batsman who didn't open his account in both the games against Mumbai this season. How will he fare today? Rahul Chahar is back on... |
| 6.1 : R Chahar to A Rayudu, Off the mark! Full and flighted on off, Rayudu drives it off his front foot to long off for a single. |
| 6.2 : R Chahar to M Vijay, Vijay drives this through the covers. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 6.3 : R Chahar to A Rayudu, Tossed up ball on off, turning away, Rayudu is forward in defense but it spins away to beat the outside edge. |
| 6.4 : R Chahar to A Rayudu, Lets the ball to spin away from him and then taps it down wide of first slip for a single. |
| 6.5 : R Chahar to M Vijay, Beaten in air. Nicely looped up ball just outside off, Vijay with unsure footwork tries to play at it initially and then makes a leave at the last moment. |
| 6.6 : R Chahar to M Vijay, FOUR! Poor fielding in the deep by Kieron Pollard and he is disgusted with himself. Too full in length and outside off, Vijay goes hard at it and drills it over covers. Pollard runs across to his left to stop the ball but fails to do so cleanly as it ends up touching the rope. |
| Hardik Pandya time. |
| 7.1 : H Pandya to A Rayudu, Outside off, on a length, Rayudu arches back and dabs it late towards third man for a single. |
| 7.2 : H Pandya to M Vijay, On middle and off, flicked through mid-wicket for a run. |
| STAT ALERT - Whenever a side loses three wickets or more in the Powerplay, only thrice has it gone on to win. 10 times it has ended up on the losing side. Massive mountain to climb... |
| 7.3 : H Pandya to A Rayudu, Full and just outside off, watchfully pushed towards point. |
| 7.4 : H Pandya to A Rayudu, Nice batting. Rayudu walks across, then gets back and angles this length ball angling in from outside off, towards third man for a run. |
| 7.5 : H Pandya to M Vijay, Outside off, very full, placed straight to point. |
| 7.6 : H Pandya to M Vijay, Outside off again, flayed behind point for a couple. |
| Krunal Pandya is back on. |
| 8.1 : K Pandya to A Rayudu, Quicker and flatter on off, Rayudu remains on the back foot and pushes it out to covers. |
| 8.2 : K Pandya to A Rayudu, Turn and bounce around off, Ambati stays on the back foot and defends it back to the bowler. |
| 8.3 : K Pandya to A Rayudu, Loopy ball on middle, turning away a bit to square up the batsman. Rayudu keeps it out by opening his bat at the last moment. It rolls in the gap at covers and they pinch a single. |
| 8.4 : K Pandya to M Vijay, Flatter one, on off, defended from the back foot. |
| 8.5 : K Pandya to M Vijay, Played to the point region by the batsman. No run. |
| 8.6 : K Pandya to M Vijay, Straighter in line, probably an arm ball, Vijay eases it through the gap at mid-wicket for a run. Two from the over, another tidy one. |
| Strategic break. Chennai are crawling at the moment and are under immense pressure. They have lost the cream of their batting and are now reliant on their middle order to bail them out. The pitch is turning square and it's only going to get worse for batting. The yellow team would have gauged that by know and should not be aiming too high. One reckons a total around 140 will be quite challenging. Jayant Yadav returns into the attack after the mini-break. |
| 9.1 : J Yadav to M Vijay, Flatter and shorter delivery outside off, Vijay goes on the back foot and slaps it through point for a run. |
| 9.2 : J Yadav to A Rayudu, Flighted off spinner, landing outside off and turning back in, Rayudu pushes it with soft hands to covers and scampers across to the other end. |
| 9.3 : J Yadav to M Vijay, Knocks a full ball down to long on and rotates the strike. |
| 9.4 : J Yadav to A Rayudu, Uses his feet to come down the track and pushes a full ball through mid on for one. 50 comes up for Chennai after a lot of sweating. |
| 9.5 : J Yadav to M Vijay, Quicker delivery, short and wide outside off at 96.2 kph, Vijay mistimes his cut shot to covers. |
| 9.6 : J Yadav to M Vijay, Beaten all ends up! Sharp spin on this occasion from outside off. Vijay remains inside the crease to play at it but is completely foxed by the amount of spin. De Kock collects the ball near the off stump, believe me, it was very close. 50/3 at the halfway stage. |
| Lasith Malinga returns. 1-0-2-0 so far. |
| 10.1 : L Malinga to A Rayudu, WIDE. Starts off with a slower delivery but it is down the leg side. Rayudu misses his flick. |
| L Malinga to A Rayudu, On middle and leg, flicked uppishly through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 10.2 : L Malinga to M Vijay, Slower and fuller on middle, Vijay flicks it with soft hands towards mid-wicket and runs the first run hard. He, then, turns for the second but it's not on. |
| 10.3 : L Malinga to A Rayudu, No ball called for overstepping! A bouncer around leg, Rayudu allows it to go over his head. Time for Free Hit... |
| FREE HIT COMING... |
| L Malinga to A Rayudu, FOUR! Once again the Free Hit has gone for a boundary. Raina put it away earlier wristily and Rayudu has done exactly the same. Malinga strays on the pads and Ambati deflects it neatly down to fine leg. |
| 10.4 : L Malinga to A Rayudu, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads. One run added to the total. |
| 10.5 : L Malinga to M Vijay, Angling down the leg side, Vijay turns it towards square leg and takes a run. |
| 10.6 : L Malinga to A Rayudu, Yet another single on the leg side to close the over. 11 coming from it. |
| Jasprit Bumrah is back on. |
| 11.1 : J Bumrah to A Rayudu, Direct hit would have been close! Good length delivery on off, Rayudu plays it towards extra cover and scampers across to the other end. Rohit Sharma has a shy at the striker's end but misses. The replays show that Vijay would have been a goner in case of a direct hit. |
| 11.2 : J Bumrah to M Vijay, A length ball angling into the batsman, Vijay swings his bat across the line and chips it in the air over wide mid on. It falls safely in the deep and they take a brace. |
| 11.3 : J Bumrah to M Vijay, Shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 11.4 : J Bumrah to M Vijay, Back of a length ball on middle, Vijay goes on his toes and helps it straight to mid-wicket. Rayudu is outside his crease and the fielder has an immediate shy at the bowler's end. Misses. |
| 11.5 : J Bumrah to M Vijay, The batsman plays it with an angled bat and guides it to third man. One run added to the total. |
| 11.6 : J Bumrah to A Rayudu, Short in length and outside off, Ambati cuts it off his back foot but finds point. Very slow progress from Chennai! |
| Rahul Chahar returns. |
| 12.1 : R Chahar to M Vijay, OUT! Wow, a delightful delivery from Rahul Chahar! Murali Vijay is stumped out and the brief 33-run resistance is broken. The leggie gives his delivery plenty of flight and lands it around leg. Seeing the line, Murali walks forward to play the flick shot but it turns viciously after that to beat the outside edge of his bat. Quinton de Kock does the rest and Rahul continues to impress. Despite of a wicket falling, there is a huge cheer from the crowd, reason? Well, of c |
| MS 'Thala' Dhoni is here. |
| 12.2 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, A touch short and on off, turning away, Dhoni goes back and taps it down to point for one. |
| 12.3 : R Chahar to A Rayudu, Hangs on the back foot to a short ball and punches it through covers for a single. |
| 12.4 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, Beaten! Chahar lands it full and outside off, a top spinner which skids on after landing, Dhoni stretches forward to play at it but misses. |
| 12.5 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, Leans forward to a full ball and pushes it with the spin to covers. |
| 12.6 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, Turning away from the batsman, Dhoni goes back and punches it through covers for a single. Another excellent over by the leggie. |
| Strategic break. Mumbai continue to be in a dominant position. They have also successfully dislodged the partnership between Rayudu and Vijay and are applying good pressure on Chennai. With 7 overs to go and MS Dhoni in the middle, things can change immediately and the blue team will be aware of that. Jayant Yadav to bowl after the break. Rohit is saving Bumrah for the death otherwise the pacer's record against MS would have tempted him surely. |
| 13.1 : J Yadav to MS Dhoni, Tossed up ball outside off, Dhoni tries sweeping but misses and is hit on the pads. Outside the line though. |
| 13.2 : J Yadav to MS Dhoni, SIX! This is the way to tackle spin on a turning pitch. Use your feet. MS Dhoni wears his skates to shimmy down the track, doesn't allow the ball to spin too much and launches it over the bowler's head for a biggie. The long on fielder stands there and watches it sail over. |
| 13.3 : J Yadav to MS Dhoni, Flatter and on off, shorter in length, Dhoni punches it to sweeper cover for a couple. |
| 13.4 : J Yadav to MS Dhoni, The batsman works it down the leg side. They pick up a single. |
| 13.5 : J Yadav to A Rayudu, Chance of a run out! A shortish ball on off, Rayudu pulls it across the line towards mid-wicket, without much timing and the placement is also not quite there. Hardik quickly rushes across to his right to stop the ball and Dhoni is outside the crease eyeing a run. He is sent back and reaches safely as the throw from Pandya is wide. Yadav also failed to collect it cleanly otherwise things could have been interesting. |
| 13.6 : J Yadav to A Rayudu, SIX! Is this the Dhoni effect on Rayudu? 15 from the over, easily the biggest of the innings so far. Tossed up, around middle and off, Rayudu jumps down the track and swings it massively over mid-wicket! |
| Hardik Pandya is back on. 1-0-5-0 so far. |
| 14.1 : H Pandya to MS Dhoni, Full and outside off, powered down to long off for a single. |
| 14.2 : H Pandya to A Rayudu, Walks across his stumps and awkwardly pushes this towards mid-wicket. |
| 14.3 : H Pandya to A Rayudu, FOUR! Up and over! With mid off up, Hardik bowls a length ball. Rayudu is more than happy to thump it over mid off. One bounce and into the ropes. |
| Mid off drops back now. Third man and fine leg come up inside the ring. |
| 14.4 : H Pandya to A Rayudu, A full toss, heaved through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 14.5 : H Pandya to MS Dhoni, Around off, worked through square leg for a run. |
| 14.6 : H Pandya to A Rayudu, Length ball wide outside off, Ambati flashes hard and gets it through cover. Dhoni wants the second but Rayudu loudly sends him back. |
| Krunal Pandya is back on. |
| 15.1 : K Pandya to A Rayudu, Quicker and flatter delivery on the pads, worked in front of square leg for a run. |
| 15.2 : K Pandya to MS Dhoni, Beaten! Pandya gets this one to land and break away from the batsman. Dhoni pushes inside the line and misses. |
| 15.3 : K Pandya to MS Dhoni, Lunges to a full ball and eases it through mid off for a single. |
| Some issue there. It seems that Krunal was trying to rush through his delivery and Rayudu was not ready. The batsman pulls out and the bowler will have to reload. |
| 15.4 : K Pandya to A Rayudu, Fires a full ball on middle, Rayudu goes down on one knee and top edges his attempted slog sweep behind square leg. It lands safely in the deep and they cross. |
| 15.5 : K Pandya to A Rayudu, A quicker delivery in the line of the stumps, Ambati tries playing the reverse sweep but misses and is hit on the pads. The bowler appeals but to no avail. Probably there was some under edge. |
| 15.6 : K Pandya to A Rayudu, Hangs on the back foot and punches it through mid-wicket for a single. Krunal has bowled out, 4-0-21-1! Fantastic performance. |
| Rahul Chahar is back on. 3-0-11-2 so far. |
| 16.1 : R Chahar to A Rayudu, A short ball, outside off, Rayudu pulls it down to long on for a single. |
| 16.2 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, Tossed up a bit wide outside off, Dhoni reaches out and drills it through cover for a run. |
| 16.3 : R Chahar to A Rayudu, Outside off, punched through the covers for one. |
| 16.4 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, Short and outside off, cut straight to short cover. |
| 16.5 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, Another dot. Short and outside off, spinning away, cut straight to point. |
| 16.6 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, Excellent over from the young man! Just 3 runs from it. 4-0-14-2 for Rahul Chahar. Tossed up outside off, MS reaches out and looks to drive but mistimes it back to the bowler. |
| Jasprit Bumrah returns. 2-0-14-0 so far. |
| 17.1 : J Bumrah to A Rayudu, FOUR! Rayudu moves across his stumps and Bumrah bowls it short. The Chennai batter pulls it over mid-wicket for a boundary. 100 UP FOR CHENNAI! |
| 17.2 : J Bumrah to A Rayudu, Full and outside off, driven through mid off for a single. |
| 17.3 : J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, Outside off, punched through long off for a run. |
| 17.4 : J Bumrah to A Rayudu, A low full toss, outside off, Ambati looks to play the reverse sweep but the ball hits the sticker on the bat and rolls wide of Quinton de Kock towards Rahul Chahar to short third man. A run taken. |
| 17.5 : J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, IN THE AIR... JUST SHORT! Good sportsmanship from Rohit, immediately signalling that the ball did not carry. A short ball, outside off, Dhoni punches it uppishly towards cover. Rohit Sharma there, dives ahead but the ball lands just in front of him. |
| 17.6 : J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. They pick up a single. |
| Lasith Malinga to bowl the 19th. 2-0-12-0 so far. |
| 18.1 : L Malinga to MS Dhoni, A yorker from around the wicket, around leg stump, worked through mid on for a single. |
| 18.2 : L Malinga to A Rayudu, Terrific keeping. Saved three runs there, Quinton de Kock. Full and down the leg side, Rayudu gets across to paddle but misses. The ball hits his pads and runs behind but de Kock dives full stretch to his left and makes a half stop. Dhoni quickly calls his partner through for a run. Leg bye signalled. |
| 18.3 : L Malinga to MS Dhoni, SIX! Malinga misses, Dhoni doesn't! That is a towering one. What a way to bring up the 50-run stand. Just inches short of a yorker and that is enough for the skipper. This is around middle and off and Dhoni smashes this over long on. |
| 18.4 : L Malinga to MS Dhoni, SIX MORE! Malinga misses his yorker again, goes full again, gets smashed again! This is around off, Dhoni gets underneath it nicely and hammers it over long on. Much straighter than the previous one. |
| Fine leg comes up now. Will Malinga take the pace off this ball? Third man drops back as well. Point drops back too. |
| 18.5 : L Malinga to MS Dhoni, Excellent comeback from the veteran to another veteran. A reverse-swinging low full toss, around middle, Mahi pushes it back down the ground and Malinga gets down to his right to stop. |
| 18.6 : L Malinga to MS Dhoni, Misses out on a full toss. It is curling down, MSD has a massive heave-ho, but only gets a thick inside edge onto his pads. The ball rolls to the off side and the batsmen take a single. 15 from the over and Malinga finishes with figures of 3-0-26-0. |
| Last over then. Dhoni in the middle. Bumrah with the ball. Boom-boom with the ball or with the bat? |
| Dhoni has been caught! But has Bumrah overstepped? YES! IT IS A NO BALL! A life to a tiger who already has 18 lives... |
| 19.1 : J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, NO BALL! Bumrah does not have his foot behind the line. He bowls a low full toss, outside off, Dhoni looks to swing hard but gets a thick outside edge behind. The ball goes wide of backward point where Ishan Kishan gets across to his left and takes it nicely. Also, MS loses his control over the bat and it flies somewhere at square leg. Mumbai celebrate but hang on. Nigel Llong wants a second look. And replays prove that Bumrah has overstepped... |
| FREE HIT TIME... Where will this go? |
| J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, Not long enough. Bumrah bangs in a short ball around off, Dhoni tries to get inside it to play the pull shot but the bounce gets big on him. He still goes on with his pull shot and plays it behind square leg for a couple of runs. |
| 19.2 : J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, A low full toss on middle and leg, Dhoni forces it down to long on for a run. |
| 19.3 : J Bumrah to A Rayudu, A length ball, around middle, Rayudu heaves it towards long on for a single. |
| 19.4 : J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, Another quality yorker, around middle, MS works it wide of long on and calls for two. Kieron Pollard has some ground to cover to his right and the couple is completed with ease. |
| 19.5 : J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, Very full outside off, squeezed through the covers for just a single. |
| Last ball... what can Rayudu do? Or can Bumrah finish this off well? |
| 19.6 : J Bumrah to A Rayudu, Superb. Simply superb from Bumrah. He overstepped on the first ball of the over but did not concede even a single boundary in the entire over. A full toss on middle and leg, Rayudu steps down, trying to heave but can only mistime it towards mid off for a run. CHENNAI FINISH ON 131/4! |
| We have a contest, folks. Halfway through the innings, this was threatening to become a dull one-sided encounter but Vijay, Rayudu and Dhoni have given their bowlers something to defend. Mumbai might still win this but they might not be able to do it in a canter. |
| After electing to bat on a tricky surface, the hosts never got going. They finished Powerplay at a score of 32/3 but then Vijay and Rayudu steadied them a bit. The 33-run stand ensured that there was no collapse and then Dhoni had a go at the end of the innings. Just 50 came in the first 10 while the next 10 yielded 81. |
| It was an evening for the spinners as no seamer got a wicket. The seamers were okay though. Krunal, Rahul and Jayant spun a web across the opposition and the Men In Yellow just could not find a way past the trio. 11-0-60-4 were their combined figures with Rahul Chahar being the most impressive. Here he is, talking to Ian Bishop... |
| Rahul Chahar says that it was a very important game for them and he just backed himself and concentrated on turning the ball. Adds that he just backed his plans that the support staff told him and bowled accordingly. Mentions that he was just trying to hit the right areas. |
| 132 needed for Mumbai to get a direct entry into Sunday's final. In a normal T20 game, this will be a walk in the park for Mumbai. Will it be so tonight? A rank turner, against Tahir, Bhajji and Jaddu. It surely will be spicy. The run chase is about to begin in a few moments... |
| 0.0 : Hello, folks! Are you ready for Qualifier 1? It's going to be the battle of heavyweights with two of the most accomplished teams in the history of this League locking horns at the Chepauk Stadium. The build-up once again has been enormous and we are hoping that at least today, this El Clasico lives up to the expectations. On both occasions in their previous meetings this season, Mumbai emerged as the better side by registering thumping wins and would have the edge. For Chennai, they have dealt w |
| Pitch report - Sanjay Manjrekar observes a bit of sheen on the surface. Feels it could be a batting surface but does not reckon it will be a 200-score track. He expects some inconsistent bounce as well. (Also, there could be some sweat due the pitch being covered a few hours before the toss). |
| Toss - Rohit Sharma flips the coin, MS Dhoni calls it correctly and CHENNAI WILL BAT! |
| Chennai skipper, MS Dhoni says that they will bat first. Adds that they just look at the opposition and plan accordingly. Mentions that most of the teams are very dangerous and considers Mumbai as a very balanced side. Informs that Kedar Jadhav is out injured and is replaced by Murali Vijay. |
| Mumbai skipper, Rohit Sharma also wanted to bat first looking how the pitch behaved last time around. Tells that they have a good record here but that doesn't really matter as it depends on how they perform on a particular day. Wants to focus on the game and do well as a group. Informs that Jayant Yadav comes in place of Mitchell McClenaghan. |
| Mumbai (Playing XI) - Quinton de Kock(WK), Rohit Sharma(C), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Jayant Yadav (in for Mitchell McClenaghan), Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga. |
| Chennai (Playing XI) - Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay (in place of Kedar Jadhav), MS Dhoni(WK/C), Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir. |
| Suresh Raina is having a chat with Ian Bishop. 'Chinna Thala' says that both teams look confident but admits that Mumbai have looked stronger. Stresses that one needs to be confident and express oneself, especially in the playoffs. Credits the support staff for instilling that confidence. On Mumbai being the only team to beat them at Chepauk, Suresh just deflects the question and says that Chennai would be looking to go all guns blazing in this game. |
| Time to play the game. Chepauk is buzzing. Mumbai get into a huddle near the boundary line with Rohit Sharma sharing some last minute thoughts. Out come Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis to open for Chennai. The latter will face the first ball of Qualifier 1 from Lasith Malinga. All in readiness, here we go... |
| 0.1 : L Malinga to du Plessis, Starts with a out-swinging delivery. He lands it on a good length outside off, du Plessis watches the line closely and then shoulders arms. Good carry to the keeper. |
| 0.2 : L Malinga to du Plessis, Malinga goes closer to the off stump and once again takes it away off the seam. Du Plessis sticks back and pushes it out with an angled bat to point. |
| 0.3 : L Malinga to du Plessis, Once again du Plessis camps back inside the crease for an out-swinger and defends it towards point. |
| 0.4 : L Malinga to du Plessis, Action replay of the previous delivery. Du Plessis is very watchful at the moment as Malinga is bowling an impeccable line. It's on and around off, moving away, Faf plays it out to point. |
| 0.5 : L Malinga to du Plessis, Five out-swingers in a row. The line is around off and du Plessis can't do much as he just pushes it out on the off side. Looks for a run initially but it's not on. Will it be a maiden? |
| 0.6 : L Malinga to du Plessis, No, a single off the last ball. Du Plessis uses gentle hands to ease a length ball in the gap at cover-point. Chennai are underway. Outstanding first over by Lasith Malinga, setting the tone for Mumbai. |
| Who will bowl from the other end? A spinner or a pacer? It's Krunal Pandya to roll his arm... |
| 1.1 : K Pandya to du Plessis, Du Plessis has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 1.2 : K Pandya to du Plessis, FOUR! Up and just over short third man. Flighted and full, way wide outside off, du Plessis gets down on one knee before reaching out for this one. He throws his willow at it and it flies off the outside edge and just clears Bumrah inside the ring. It then races away to the fence. The replay shows that Bumrah got his fingertips on the ball. |
| 1.3 : K Pandya to du Plessis, Walks down the track and Krunal immediately shortens his length. The line is on off and Faf pushes it out towards cover-point. |
| 1.4 : K Pandya to du Plessis, Short in length and on middle, pulled across the line through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 1.5 : K Pandya to S Watson, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 1.6 : K Pandya to S Watson, Beauty of a delivery. Flatter and full around off, spinning away a bit, Watson rocks back to play the square cut but misses. That was too close to his body to attempt that shot. |
| Rahul Chahar to bowl the third over. Rohit ringing in quick changes. A slip in place... |
| 2.1 : R Chahar to du Plessis, OUT! Wicket number 11 for Rahul Chahar this season. His brilliance continues. What a start for Mumbai! They have got the prized scalp of Faf du Plessis. Chahar delivers it a touch flat and full wide outside off, du Plessis tries to slap it through the line but it spins away with some extra bounce and flies straight into the hands of backward point. Anmolpreet Singh (sub) crouches and takes the catch easily. Du Plessis is disappointed as he walks back. |
| Suresh Raina walks in at number 3, replacing Faf du Plessis. |
| 2.2 : R Chahar to S Raina, Down the leg side, Raina looks to flick but misses and is hit on the pads. |
| 2.3 : R Chahar to S Raina, Plenty of turn on this deck already. Tossed up around middle, spins in a long way, Suresh looks to defend but is beaten all ends up as the ball turns in a mile. Hits his thigh pad and goes over the leg stump and is partially stopped by Quinton de Kock behind. |
| 2.4 : R Chahar to S Raina, Miscued! Flighted leg spinner landing full around middle and turning back in, Raina goes for a big heave across the line but it takes the inner half of his blade and runs to the right of short fine leg. The fielder does well to stop the ball but cannot prevent the single. |
| 2.5 : R Chahar to S Watson, Whoa! That turned square. Rahul Chahar gives this one flight and lands it around off, Watson stays back and then makes the leave. After that the ball spins away viciously to surprise one and all. |
| 2.6 : R Chahar to S Watson, Compact! Tossed up ball on off, Watson has played that off the front foot and into the ground. Top over from the leggie, a wicket and a run from it. |
| Jayant Yadav is the fourth bowler used by Mumbai to bowl the fourth over! |
| 3.1 : J Yadav to S Raina, A NO BALL TO START. Full and around middle, 90 kph, Raina defends it towards cover. FREE HIT signalled. |
| Free Hit loading... hang on a second. Raina has clobbered a boundary down the ground but it has been signalled a DEAD BALL. We are awaiting the reason... |
| J Yadav to S Raina, FOUR! All timing! Yadav strays on the pads of the batsman and Raina easily lofts it by rotating his wrists. It flies over square leg and finds the fence. |
| 3.2 : J Yadav to S Raina, Floated and full around off, Raina lunges and defends it watchfully. |
| 3.3 : J Yadav to S Raina, OUT! Caught and bowled! Raina, the man in-form, departs as well. Chennai have both their in-form batsmen back in the dugout. Massive setback. Mumbai are roaring at the moment. A terrific move by Rohit Sharma to bowl an offie with the left-hander on strike. He serves an off spinning delivery, lands it full and on middle and gets it to spin away a shade. Raina kneels to slog sweep it across the line but gets a big top edge. Yadav calls for it, runs back a bit and then take |
| 3.4 : J Yadav to S Watson, Uses his feet, takes a couple of steps and then flicks it towards short mid-wicket. |
| 3.5 : J Yadav to S Watson, Extravagant turn again. Landed around off, spinning down a long way, Watto looks to flick but misses. The ball hits his pads and lobs wide of Rohit Sharma at leg slip. |
| 3.6 : J Yadav to S Watson, That ends another frugal over. Quicker delivery, flatter and fuller on off, Watson quietly plays it with soft hands towards cover-point for a brisk run. |
| Will we have the fifth bowler to bowl the 5th over? Oh yes, it's Jasprit Bumrah steaming in... |
| 4.1 : J Bumrah to S Watson, Bumrah starts by angling in a length ball on middle, Watson plays it off his pads to mid-wicket. |
| 4.2 : J Bumrah to S Watson, FOUR! Eased away! This one is drifting down the leg side and Watson works it with good timing behind square leg. The short fine leg fielder gives the chase but the ball wins the race. Last time these two sides met, Watson flicked a similar shot straight into the hands of short fine leg. But that didn't stop the Australian from going after this one. |
| 4.3 : J Bumrah to S Watson, The line is straight again, Shane helps it in the gap on the leg side for one. |
| 4.4 : J Bumrah to M Vijay, Slants in a full ball on off, Vijay plays it close to his front pad and pushes it with fine timing to mid off. |
| 4.5 : J Bumrah to M Vijay, A slower off cutter by Bumrah this time, it's around off, Vijay dabs it down wide of backward point for a quick run. The fielder has a shy at the striker's end but misses. |
| 4.6 : J Bumrah to S Watson, FOUR! Bang! Short in length and on middle, Watson stays back to get on top of the bounce and pulls it to deep mid-wicket for a boundary. There was a sweeper on the leg side but he has no chance of cutting it off. 10 from the over, the best one so far for Chennai. |
| Krunal Pandya to bowl the last over of the Powerplay. |
| 5.1 : K Pandya to M Vijay, FOUR! Off the edge and understandably, Krunal is not happy. Full and outside off, Vijay looks to flick but the ball turns away, takes the leading edge and beats Jasprit Bumrah from short third man. |
| 5.2 : K Pandya to M Vijay, Outside off, played straight to point. |
| 5.3 : K Pandya to M Vijay, FOUR! Boundaries are coming now for Chennai. A tossed up ball landing full on middle, Vijay goes down on one knee and slog sweeps it over backward square leg. It nearly carries all the way. |
| 5.4 : K Pandya to M Vijay, Quicker and flatter on off, tapped down to covers for one. |
| 5.5 : K Pandya to S Watson, Quick again, the trajectory is flat and the line is around off and it skids back in, Watson punches it from the crease to covers. |
| 5.6 : K Pandya to S Watson, OUT! Watson departs and this is a massive, massive moment in the match. This is as much a wicket for the fielder as it is for the bowler. Short and around off, Watto rocks back and looks to pull, aiming to clear mid on. But he is not quite able to get enough off the bat. Jayant Yadav senses there is a chance at mid on, runs back, keeps his eyes on the ball and takes a spectacular catch. Throws the ball up in the air in celebration. Mumbai are pumped up and they are all |
| Powerplay done and the top three batsmen are also done for Chennai. This is the worst possible start they would have imagined. Ambati Rayudu is the new batsman who didn't open his account in both the games against Mumbai this season. How will he fare today? Rahul Chahar is back on... |
| 6.1 : R Chahar to A Rayudu, Off the mark! Full and flighted on off, Rayudu drives it off his front foot to long off for a single. |
| 6.2 : R Chahar to M Vijay, Vijay drives this through the covers. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 6.3 : R Chahar to A Rayudu, Tossed up ball on off, turning away, Rayudu is forward in defense but it spins away to beat the outside edge. |
| 6.4 : R Chahar to A Rayudu, Lets the ball to spin away from him and then taps it down wide of first slip for a single. |
| 6.5 : R Chahar to M Vijay, Beaten in air. Nicely looped up ball just outside off, Vijay with unsure footwork tries to play at it initially and then makes a leave at the last moment. |
| 6.6 : R Chahar to M Vijay, FOUR! Poor fielding in the deep by Kieron Pollard and he is disgusted with himself. Too full in length and outside off, Vijay goes hard at it and drills it over covers. Pollard runs across to his left to stop the ball but fails to do so cleanly as it ends up touching the rope. |
| Hardik Pandya time. |
| 7.1 : H Pandya to A Rayudu, Outside off, on a length, Rayudu arches back and dabs it late towards third man for a single. |
| 7.2 : H Pandya to M Vijay, On middle and off, flicked through mid-wicket for a run. |
| STAT ALERT - Whenever a side loses three wickets or more in the Powerplay, only thrice has it gone on to win. 10 times it has ended up on the losing side. Massive mountain to climb... |
| 7.3 : H Pandya to A Rayudu, Full and just outside off, watchfully pushed towards point. |
| 7.4 : H Pandya to A Rayudu, Nice batting. Rayudu walks across, then gets back and angles this length ball angling in from outside off, towards third man for a run. |
| 7.5 : H Pandya to M Vijay, Outside off, very full, placed straight to point. |
| 7.6 : H Pandya to M Vijay, Outside off again, flayed behind point for a couple. |
| Krunal Pandya is back on. |
| 8.1 : K Pandya to A Rayudu, Quicker and flatter on off, Rayudu remains on the back foot and pushes it out to covers. |
| 8.2 : K Pandya to A Rayudu, Turn and bounce around off, Ambati stays on the back foot and defends it back to the bowler. |
| 8.3 : K Pandya to A Rayudu, Loopy ball on middle, turning away a bit to square up the batsman. Rayudu keeps it out by opening his bat at the last moment. It rolls in the gap at covers and they pinch a single. |
| 8.4 : K Pandya to M Vijay, Flatter one, on off, defended from the back foot. |
| 8.5 : K Pandya to M Vijay, Played to the point region by the batsman. No run. |
| 8.6 : K Pandya to M Vijay, Straighter in line, probably an arm ball, Vijay eases it through the gap at mid-wicket for a run. Two from the over, another tidy one. |
| Strategic break. Chennai are crawling at the moment and are under immense pressure. They have lost the cream of their batting and are now reliant on their middle order to bail them out. The pitch is turning square and it's only going to get worse for batting. The yellow team would have gauged that by know and should not be aiming too high. One reckons a total around 140 will be quite challenging. Jayant Yadav returns into the attack after the mini-break. |
| 9.1 : J Yadav to M Vijay, Flatter and shorter delivery outside off, Vijay goes on the back foot and slaps it through point for a run. |
| 9.2 : J Yadav to A Rayudu, Flighted off spinner, landing outside off and turning back in, Rayudu pushes it with soft hands to covers and scampers across to the other end. |
| 9.3 : J Yadav to M Vijay, Knocks a full ball down to long on and rotates the strike. |
| 9.4 : J Yadav to A Rayudu, Uses his feet to come down the track and pushes a full ball through mid on for one. 50 comes up for Chennai after a lot of sweating. |
| 9.5 : J Yadav to M Vijay, Quicker delivery, short and wide outside off at 96.2 kph, Vijay mistimes his cut shot to covers. |
| 9.6 : J Yadav to M Vijay, Beaten all ends up! Sharp spin on this occasion from outside off. Vijay remains inside the crease to play at it but is completely foxed by the amount of spin. De Kock collects the ball near the off stump, believe me, it was very close. 50/3 at the halfway stage. |
| Lasith Malinga returns. 1-0-2-0 so far. |
| 10.1 : L Malinga to A Rayudu, WIDE. Starts off with a slower delivery but it is down the leg side. Rayudu misses his flick. |
| L Malinga to A Rayudu, On middle and leg, flicked uppishly through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 10.2 : L Malinga to M Vijay, Slower and fuller on middle, Vijay flicks it with soft hands towards mid-wicket and runs the first run hard. He, then, turns for the second but it's not on. |
| 10.3 : L Malinga to A Rayudu, No ball called for overstepping! A bouncer around leg, Rayudu allows it to go over his head. Time for Free Hit... |
| FREE HIT COMING... |
| L Malinga to A Rayudu, FOUR! Once again the Free Hit has gone for a boundary. Raina put it away earlier wristily and Rayudu has done exactly the same. Malinga strays on the pads and Ambati deflects it neatly down to fine leg. |
| 10.4 : L Malinga to A Rayudu, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads. One run added to the total. |
| 10.5 : L Malinga to M Vijay, Angling down the leg side, Vijay turns it towards square leg and takes a run. |
| 10.6 : L Malinga to A Rayudu, Yet another single on the leg side to close the over. 11 coming from it. |
| Jasprit Bumrah is back on. |
| 11.1 : J Bumrah to A Rayudu, Direct hit would have been close! Good length delivery on off, Rayudu plays it towards extra cover and scampers across to the other end. Rohit Sharma has a shy at the striker's end but misses. The replays show that Vijay would have been a goner in case of a direct hit. |
| 11.2 : J Bumrah to M Vijay, A length ball angling into the batsman, Vijay swings his bat across the line and chips it in the air over wide mid on. It falls safely in the deep and they take a brace. |
| 11.3 : J Bumrah to M Vijay, Shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 11.4 : J Bumrah to M Vijay, Back of a length ball on middle, Vijay goes on his toes and helps it straight to mid-wicket. Rayudu is outside his crease and the fielder has an immediate shy at the bowler's end. Misses. |
| 11.5 : J Bumrah to M Vijay, The batsman plays it with an angled bat and guides it to third man. One run added to the total. |
| 11.6 : J Bumrah to A Rayudu, Short in length and outside off, Ambati cuts it off his back foot but finds point. Very slow progress from Chennai! |
| Rahul Chahar returns. |
| 12.1 : R Chahar to M Vijay, OUT! Wow, a delightful delivery from Rahul Chahar! Murali Vijay is stumped out and the brief 33-run resistance is broken. The leggie gives his delivery plenty of flight and lands it around leg. Seeing the line, Murali walks forward to play the flick shot but it turns viciously after that to beat the outside edge of his bat. Quinton de Kock does the rest and Rahul continues to impress. Despite of a wicket falling, there is a huge cheer from the crowd, reason? Well, of c |
| MS 'Thala' Dhoni is here. |
| 12.2 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, A touch short and on off, turning away, Dhoni goes back and taps it down to point for one. |
| 12.3 : R Chahar to A Rayudu, Hangs on the back foot to a short ball and punches it through covers for a single. |
| 12.4 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, Beaten! Chahar lands it full and outside off, a top spinner which skids on after landing, Dhoni stretches forward to play at it but misses. |
| 12.5 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, Leans forward to a full ball and pushes it with the spin to covers. |
| 12.6 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, Turning away from the batsman, Dhoni goes back and punches it through covers for a single. Another excellent over by the leggie. |
| Strategic break. Mumbai continue to be in a dominant position. They have also successfully dislodged the partnership between Rayudu and Vijay and are applying good pressure on Chennai. With 7 overs to go and MS Dhoni in the middle, things can change immediately and the blue team will be aware of that. Jayant Yadav to bowl after the break. Rohit is saving Bumrah for the death otherwise the pacer's record against MS would have tempted him surely. |
| 13.1 : J Yadav to MS Dhoni, Tossed up ball outside off, Dhoni tries sweeping but misses and is hit on the pads. Outside the line though. |
| 13.2 : J Yadav to MS Dhoni, SIX! This is the way to tackle spin on a turning pitch. Use your feet. MS Dhoni wears his skates to shimmy down the track, doesn't allow the ball to spin too much and launches it over the bowler's head for a biggie. The long on fielder stands there and watches it sail over. |
| 13.3 : J Yadav to MS Dhoni, Flatter and on off, shorter in length, Dhoni punches it to sweeper cover for a couple. |
| 13.4 : J Yadav to MS Dhoni, The batsman works it down the leg side. They pick up a single. |
| 13.5 : J Yadav to A Rayudu, Chance of a run out! A shortish ball on off, Rayudu pulls it across the line towards mid-wicket, without much timing and the placement is also not quite there. Hardik quickly rushes across to his right to stop the ball and Dhoni is outside the crease eyeing a run. He is sent back and reaches safely as the throw from Pandya is wide. Yadav also failed to collect it cleanly otherwise things could have been interesting. |
| 13.6 : J Yadav to A Rayudu, SIX! Is this the Dhoni effect on Rayudu? 15 from the over, easily the biggest of the innings so far. Tossed up, around middle and off, Rayudu jumps down the track and swings it massively over mid-wicket! |
| Hardik Pandya is back on. 1-0-5-0 so far. |
| 14.1 : H Pandya to MS Dhoni, Full and outside off, powered down to long off for a single. |
| 14.2 : H Pandya to A Rayudu, Walks across his stumps and awkwardly pushes this towards mid-wicket. |
| 14.3 : H Pandya to A Rayudu, FOUR! Up and over! With mid off up, Hardik bowls a length ball. Rayudu is more than happy to thump it over mid off. One bounce and into the ropes. |
| Mid off drops back now. Third man and fine leg come up inside the ring. |
| 14.4 : H Pandya to A Rayudu, A full toss, heaved through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 14.5 : H Pandya to MS Dhoni, Around off, worked through square leg for a run. |
| 14.6 : H Pandya to A Rayudu, Length ball wide outside off, Ambati flashes hard and gets it through cover. Dhoni wants the second but Rayudu loudly sends him back. |
| Krunal Pandya is back on. |
| 15.1 : K Pandya to A Rayudu, Quicker and flatter delivery on the pads, worked in front of square leg for a run. |
| 15.2 : K Pandya to MS Dhoni, Beaten! Pandya gets this one to land and break away from the batsman. Dhoni pushes inside the line and misses. |
| 15.3 : K Pandya to MS Dhoni, Lunges to a full ball and eases it through mid off for a single. |
| Some issue there. It seems that Krunal was trying to rush through his delivery and Rayudu was not ready. The batsman pulls out and the bowler will have to reload. |
| 15.4 : K Pandya to A Rayudu, Fires a full ball on middle, Rayudu goes down on one knee and top edges his attempted slog sweep behind square leg. It lands safely in the deep and they cross. |
| 15.5 : K Pandya to A Rayudu, A quicker delivery in the line of the stumps, Ambati tries playing the reverse sweep but misses and is hit on the pads. The bowler appeals but to no avail. Probably there was some under edge. |
| 15.6 : K Pandya to A Rayudu, Hangs on the back foot and punches it through mid-wicket for a single. Krunal has bowled out, 4-0-21-1! Fantastic performance. |
| Rahul Chahar is back on. 3-0-11-2 so far. |
| 16.1 : R Chahar to A Rayudu, A short ball, outside off, Rayudu pulls it down to long on for a single. |
| 16.2 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, Tossed up a bit wide outside off, Dhoni reaches out and drills it through cover for a run. |
| 16.3 : R Chahar to A Rayudu, Outside off, punched through the covers for one. |
| 16.4 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, Short and outside off, cut straight to short cover. |
| 16.5 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, Another dot. Short and outside off, spinning away, cut straight to point. |
| 16.6 : R Chahar to MS Dhoni, Excellent over from the young man! Just 3 runs from it. 4-0-14-2 for Rahul Chahar. Tossed up outside off, MS reaches out and looks to drive but mistimes it back to the bowler. |
| Jasprit Bumrah returns. 2-0-14-0 so far. |
| 17.1 : J Bumrah to A Rayudu, FOUR! Rayudu moves across his stumps and Bumrah bowls it short. The Chennai batter pulls it over mid-wicket for a boundary. 100 UP FOR CHENNAI! |
| 17.2 : J Bumrah to A Rayudu, Full and outside off, driven through mid off for a single. |
| 17.3 : J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, Outside off, punched through long off for a run. |
| 17.4 : J Bumrah to A Rayudu, A low full toss, outside off, Ambati looks to play the reverse sweep but the ball hits the sticker on the bat and rolls wide of Quinton de Kock towards Rahul Chahar to short third man. A run taken. |
| 17.5 : J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, IN THE AIR... JUST SHORT! Good sportsmanship from Rohit, immediately signalling that the ball did not carry. A short ball, outside off, Dhoni punches it uppishly towards cover. Rohit Sharma there, dives ahead but the ball lands just in front of him. |
| 17.6 : J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. They pick up a single. |
| Lasith Malinga to bowl the 19th. 2-0-12-0 so far. |
| 18.1 : L Malinga to MS Dhoni, A yorker from around the wicket, around leg stump, worked through mid on for a single. |
| 18.2 : L Malinga to A Rayudu, Terrific keeping. Saved three runs there, Quinton de Kock. Full and down the leg side, Rayudu gets across to paddle but misses. The ball hits his pads and runs behind but de Kock dives full stretch to his left and makes a half stop. Dhoni quickly calls his partner through for a run. Leg bye signalled. |
| 18.3 : L Malinga to MS Dhoni, SIX! Malinga misses, Dhoni doesn't! That is a towering one. What a way to bring up the 50-run stand. Just inches short of a yorker and that is enough for the skipper. This is around middle and off and Dhoni smashes this over long on. |
| 18.4 : L Malinga to MS Dhoni, SIX MORE! Malinga misses his yorker again, goes full again, gets smashed again! This is around off, Dhoni gets underneath it nicely and hammers it over long on. Much straighter than the previous one. |
| Fine leg comes up now. Will Malinga take the pace off this ball? Third man drops back as well. Point drops back too. |
| 18.5 : L Malinga to MS Dhoni, Excellent comeback from the veteran to another veteran. A reverse-swinging low full toss, around middle, Mahi pushes it back down the ground and Malinga gets down to his right to stop. |
| 18.6 : L Malinga to MS Dhoni, Misses out on a full toss. It is curling down, MSD has a massive heave-ho, but only gets a thick inside edge onto his pads. The ball rolls to the off side and the batsmen take a single. 15 from the over and Malinga finishes with figures of 3-0-26-0. |
| Last over then. Dhoni in the middle. Bumrah with the ball. Boom-boom with the ball or with the bat? |
| Dhoni has been caught! But has Bumrah overstepped? YES! IT IS A NO BALL! A life to a tiger who already has 18 lives... |
| 19.1 : J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, NO BALL! Bumrah does not have his foot behind the line. He bowls a low full toss, outside off, Dhoni looks to swing hard but gets a thick outside edge behind. The ball goes wide of backward point where Ishan Kishan gets across to his left and takes it nicely. Also, MS loses his control over the bat and it flies somewhere at square leg. Mumbai celebrate but hang on. Nigel Llong wants a second look. And replays prove that Bumrah has overstepped... |
| FREE HIT TIME... Where will this go? |
| J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, Not long enough. Bumrah bangs in a short ball around off, Dhoni tries to get inside it to play the pull shot but the bounce gets big on him. He still goes on with his pull shot and plays it behind square leg for a couple of runs. |
| 19.2 : J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, A low full toss on middle and leg, Dhoni forces it down to long on for a run. |
| 19.3 : J Bumrah to A Rayudu, A length ball, around middle, Rayudu heaves it towards long on for a single. |
| 19.4 : J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, Another quality yorker, around middle, MS works it wide of long on and calls for two. Kieron Pollard has some ground to cover to his right and the couple is completed with ease. |
| 19.5 : J Bumrah to MS Dhoni, Very full outside off, squeezed through the covers for just a single. |
| Last ball... what can Rayudu do? Or can Bumrah finish this off well? |
| 19.6 : J Bumrah to A Rayudu, Superb. Simply superb from Bumrah. He overstepped on the first ball of the over but did not concede even a single boundary in the entire over. A full toss on middle and leg, Rayudu steps down, trying to heave but can only mistime it towards mid off for a run. CHENNAI FINISH ON 131/4! |
| We have a contest, folks. Halfway through the innings, this was threatening to become a dull one-sided encounter but Vijay, Rayudu and Dhoni have given their bowlers something to defend. Mumbai might still win this but they might not be able to do it in a canter. |
| After electing to bat on a tricky surface, the hosts never got going. They finished Powerplay at a score of 32/3 but then Vijay and Rayudu steadied them a bit. The 33-run stand ensured that there was no collapse and then Dhoni had a go at the end of the innings. Just 50 came in the first 10 while the next 10 yielded 81. |
| It was an evening for the spinners as no seamer got a wicket. The seamers were okay though. Krunal, Rahul and Jayant spun a web across the opposition and the Men In Yellow just could not find a way past the trio. 11-0-60-4 were their combined figures with Rahul Chahar being the most impressive. Here he is, talking to Ian Bishop... |
| Rahul Chahar says that it was a very important game for them and he just backed himself and concentrated on turning the ball. Adds that he just backed his plans that the support staff told him and bowled accordingly. Mentions that he was just trying to hit the right areas. |
| 132 needed for Mumbai to get a direct entry into Sunday's final. In a normal T20 game, this will be a walk in the park for Mumbai. Will it be so tonight? A rank turner, against Tahir, Bhajji and Jaddu. It surely will be spicy. The run chase is about to begin in a few moments... |
| 0.0 : Back for the run chase. Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock are the Mumbai openers. They have provided solid starts so far this season and the blue team will be hoping for the same in this crunch encounter. Deepak Chahar to begin proceedings as always. A wide slip in place. Let's play... |
| 0.1 : D Chahar to R Sharma, FOUR! This is how you begin your chase! A perfectly timed back foot punch from the bat of skipper Rohit Sharma. Back of a length delivery outside off, Sharma gets off the mark with a thumping shot through the line. Right in the gap at covers and away she runs to the fence. |
| Shout for an lbw! The finger has gone up and Rohit takes the referral after consulting his partner. Looks close... |
| 0.2 : D Chahar to R Sharma, OUT! It's hitting the top of the leg stump and Rohit Sharma has to depart. He averages around 14 in the playoffs and bags yet another low score. Perfect delivery by Chahar after conceding a boundary first ball. He hits a length ball around leg and gets it to straighten from there. Sharma is caught inside the crease trying to work it on the leg side. He misses the ball completely and is hit flush on the back pad. The appeal is made and the finger goes up. Rohit takes th |
| Suryakumar Yadav is the number 3 batsman. |
| 0.3 : D Chahar to S Yadav, Shortish and on off, an out-swinger, defended off the back foot by Yadav. |
| 0.4 : D Chahar to S Yadav, Angles in a length ball on middle and off, Suryakumar gets behind the line and defends it to mid-wicket. |
| 0.5 : D Chahar to S Yadav, Pitches this one up and outside off, Yadav leans into the drive but finds the mid off fielder. |
| 0.6 : D Chahar to S Yadav, UPPISH... SAFE... FOUR! Risky way to get off the mark, SKY! Chahar delivers a shortish length ball outside off, Yadav camps back to slap it square of the wicket on the off side but it takes the outside edge and flies wide of first slip and a diving short third man fielder for a boundary. End of an eventful first over by Chahar. |
| No brainer. Harbhajan Singh to operate from the other end and he has a southpaw in Quinton de Kock to bowl at... |
| 1.1 : H Singh to de Kock, Flighted and full outside off, de Kock leans forward and pushes it to covers. |
| 1.2 : H Singh to de Kock, Tossed up ball close to off stump, de Kock drives it off his front foot to covers again. |
| 1.3 : H Singh to de Kock, Fullish and on off, driven off the front foot to covers once more. |
| 1.4 : H Singh to de Kock, Three wides! Harbhajan fires this one down the leg side, de Kock tries to work it on the leg side but misses. Dhoni also fails to collect and they cross a couple of times. |
| H Singh to de Kock, FOUR! Well played! Although it was a shade risky. Shortish and on off, skidding back in, de Kock camps back and plays a late cut shot. It goes very closely past first slip and runs away to the fence at third man. |
| 1.5 : H Singh to de Kock, Beaten! Loopy off spinner landing full on off, de Kock tries to slog sweep but it turns at the last moment to beat the bat. |
| 1.6 : H Singh to de Kock, Pushed to the cover region by the batsman. No run to end the over. |
| 2.1 : D Chahar to S Yadav, Good length delivery sliding down the leg side, Yadav flicks it off his pads and it goes straight to Harbhajan Singh at deep backward square leg. One run added to the total. |
| 2.2 : D Chahar to de Kock, Fails to find the gap. Back of a length delivery outside off, plenty of room there, de Kock flat-bats it through the line but finds Jadeja at backward point. |
| 2.3 : D Chahar to de Kock, Delivers this one in the line of the stumps, de Kock defends it close to his body and keeps it out off the inner half of his bat. |
| 2.4 : D Chahar to de Kock, FOUR! Lovely use of the wrists. Chahar bowls according to his field but it's the sheer class of this batsman. Quinton fetches a length ball from outside off and turns it behind square leg for a boundary. |
| Deep mid-wicket and fine leg in place, standing a bit squarer. The off side field is up. There is a gully and short third man too. Interesting from MS Dhoni. |
| 2.5 : D Chahar to de Kock, Short in length and outside off, pulled down to mid on. |
| 2.6 : D Chahar to de Kock, Width on offer outside off, de Kock once again fails to pierce the off side field with his square cut. Just 5 from the over, Mumbai are 20/1, needing 112 off 102 balls. |
| 3.1 : H Singh to S Yadav, In the air... SAFE! Tossed up ball on middle, stopping a bit onto the batsman as it spins back in, Yadav flicks it in the air towards mid-wicket and takes a single. |
| 3.2 : H Singh to de Kock, OUT! A wicket well planned by Harbhajan Singh! Brilliant field setting from MS Dhoni. So good when the plan works out superbly. Bhajji has his arms up in celebration. Even before the ball is delivered, de Kock premeditates his movement by moving back. Harbhajan watches it and then delivers a flighted full ball in the line of the stumps. Quinton thinks he has outfoxed the bowler there as he gets enough room to play his favoured inside-out shot. But what the South African |
| Ishan Kishan is the new batsman. He is known to play spin well and Mumbai need him to fire this evening. |
| 3.3 : H Singh to S Yadav, Around middle and off, Yadav walks across and tucks it through square leg for a single. |
| 3.4 : H Singh to I Kishan, Full and around off, watchfully pushed towards cover. |
| 3.5 : H Singh to I Kishan, Outside off, turning away, Kishan taps it towards short third man but Shane Watson dives from first slip to his left to stop the ball. |
| 3.6 : H Singh to I Kishan, Almost a run out! Full and outside off, Ishan drives it towards cover and initially calls for the single. Surya responds but then Kishan stops. Jadeja quickly gets across from cover to his left and wants to have a shy but then realizes that there is no one backing up at the bowler's end. 2 runs and a wicket from Harbhajan's second. |
| 4.1 : D Chahar to S Yadav, On a length and angling back into the batsman, Suryakumar sticks inside the crease and pushes it back to the bowler. Chahar does well to stop it to his left. |
| 4.2 : D Chahar to S Yadav, FOUR! Easily done. Chahar errs in his line and delivers a length ball down the leg side, Suryakumar picks it up off his pads and tickles it fine down the leg side for a boundary. |
| 4.3 : D Chahar to S Yadav, DROPPED BY VIJAY! FOUR! A good attempt though. Should have been taken after he got his hands to it. Back of a length delivery outside off, Suryakumar stays back to power it over the infield on the leg side but fails to get enough elevation. It goes flying to the right of mid on where Vijay stretches his hands out but it bursts through and races behind for a boundary. Chahar is not amused. |
| 4.4 : D Chahar to S Yadav, The batsman works it down the leg side. They pick up a single. |
| 4.5 : D Chahar to I Kishan, Back of a length ball on middle, pulled through square leg and Tahir ran across to his right from fine leg. Stopped the ball and the batsmen take a couple. |
| 4.6 : D Chahar to I Kishan, Kishan has played that off the front foot and into the ground. 11 from the penultimate over of the Powerplay. |
| 5.1 : H Singh to S Yadav, Tossed up ball around leg, Yadav helps it off his pads to mid-wicket. |
| 5.2 : H Singh to S Yadav, Helps it with the spin through backward square leg and takes a single. |
| 5.3 : H Singh to I Kishan, Beaten! An off spinning delivery from around off, Kishan lunges to defend but it curves away to beat the outside edge. |
| 5.4 : H Singh to I Kishan, EDGY FOUR! Flighted off spinner landing full on off Kishan steps out for a big shot but it turns away to take a fat outside edge. Watson flies to his left at first slip but it goes wide of him and speeds behind. Bravo gives the chase in the deep, tries to flick it in but misses and it makes connection with the rope. |
| 5.5 : H Singh to I Kishan, Tossed up ball on off, tapped down with the spin to point. |
| 5.6 : H Singh to I Kishan, SIX! Boom! Kishan has sent this one packing over mid-wicket. Lovely extension of his arms as he kneels down to play that shot. He goes against the spin but nails it handsomely. 22 from the last two overs and Mumbai have managed to score 44 in the Powerplay, 12 more than Chennai at this stage. |
| Ravindra Jadeja is into the attack. |
| 6.1 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Landed outside off, pushed towards point. |
| 6.2 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Comes down the track and flicks it through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 6.3 : R Jadeja to I Kishan, Around off, spinning in, worked straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 6.4 : R Jadeja to I Kishan, Tucks it past that man at short mid-wicket for a run now. |
| 6.5 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Floated outside off, worked through mid-wicket for a couple. |
| 6.6 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Ripper! Sharp turn to end the over. Tossed up outside off, Surya looks to defend but the ball spins away past the outside edge. |
| Dwayne Bravo to bowl now. |
| 7.1 : D Bravo to I Kishan, Starts with a fuller length ball wide outside off, Kishan drives it square of the wicket on the off side and takes a single. |
| 7.2 : D Bravo to S Yadav, Lands it on a length around middle, Yadav helps it through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 7.3 : D Bravo to I Kishan, A low dipping full toss around leg, Kishan gets down on one knee and sweeps it towards long leg for two. Bravo for some reason decided to appeal but it came from the bat. |
| 7.4 : D Bravo to I Kishan, A cutter, around off and moving away, Kishan steers it through backward point for a single. |
| 7.5 : D Bravo to S Yadav, Knocks a full ball down to long on and rotates the strike. |
| 7.6 : D Bravo to I Kishan, Angling away from the batsman, on a length, Kishan defends it from the back foot towards the bowler. |
| Time for some leg spin. Imran Tahir to roll his arm with a slip in place... |
| 8.1 : I Tahir to S Yadav, Flighted ball on middle, helped on the leg side through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 8.2 : I Tahir to I Kishan, Floated one, landing a touch short on middle, Kishan moves back and eases it with the spin through square leg for a single. |
| 8.3 : I Tahir to S Yadav, Tossed up and wide outside off, spinning away, Yadav reaches out for it and hits it towards backward point. |
| 8.4 : I Tahir to S Yadav, A little short in length on middle at 87 kph, Yadav hangs back and muscles it over wide mid on. Takes a single, wants the second but it's not available. |
| 8.5 : I Tahir to I Kishan, Slower and fuller outside off, at 84 kph, Kishan presses forward and drives it to long off for a run. |
| 8.6 : I Tahir to S Yadav, Full and outside off, Yadav drives it on the up through extra cover for one. 5 from Tahir's first over. |
| STRATEGIC BREAK. Interesting stage set. Mumbai can be considered as cruising but a wicket or two can set the cat free amongst the pigeons. The pitch is turning square but it is also true that Mumbai have better batsmen against spin as compared to Chennai. |
| 9.1 : D Bravo to S Yadav, Full and down the leg side, flicked through square leg for a couple. |
| 9.2 : D Bravo to S Yadav, FOUR! FANTASTIC! Such good timing. A length ball, outside off, Surya drives this on the up, through the covers. Deepak Chahar dives to his left from mid off but in vain. |
| 9.3 : D Bravo to S Yadav, Angles in a length ball on middle, Yadav gets across the stumps and flicks it through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 9.4 : D Bravo to I Kishan, Pitches it up and around off, Kishan drives it straight down the ground and by the time mid off gets to the ball, they take a run. |
| 9.5 : D Bravo to S Yadav, Well played! A yorker outside off, Yadav squeezes it out down to third man and takes a single. |
| 9.6 : D Bravo to I Kishan, On a length and around off, Kishan winds up for a shot across the line but ends up clubbing it down to long on for a single. 10 from the over, 63 needed off 60 balls. |
| 10.1 : I Tahir to I Kishan, Loopy and full outside off, Ishan goes down for a slog sweep but mistimes it down to long on for a run. |
| 10.2 : I Tahir to S Yadav, Howzzat? Not given. Probably a top spinner. Landing full around leg and going straight on. Yadav fails to flick and is hit on the pads. They appeal but that's always missing leg. |
| Stephen Fleming has a chat with Sanjay Manjrekar. The Kiwi says that it is a real crucial time and stresses the need for wickets. Reckons that the game is in the balance. Wishes that the team had scored another 10 extra runs with the bat but feels that a couple of wickets can still turn the game. Admits that the Powerplay with the bat was a poor one and losing Shane Watson on the final ball of that phase was a setback. Agrees that Chennai are behind the game and says that the team will have to f |
| 10.3 : I Tahir to S Yadav, FOUR! Easy pickings! A full toss on middle, Suryakumar accepts the gift gleefully and whips it over mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 10.4 : I Tahir to S Yadav, FOUR! Wow, every batsman is mastering this shot now where you swing the bat more like a helicopter. Tahir is very full with his length and it's right in the half for the batsman yet again. SKY shows his skill and bludgeons it through wide mid on. Vijay tries his best by running across to his right from long on, slides but the ball goes past him. |
| 10.5 : I Tahir to S Yadav, Played through mid-wicket by the batsman. They pick up a single. |
| 10.6 : I Tahir to I Kishan, Full and flighted outside off, driven through mid off for a run. 11 from the over, easy going for Mumbai. |
| Bhajji returns. |
| 11.1 : H Singh to I Kishan, Short in length outside off, Kishan rocks back and punches it to sweeper cover for a couple of runs. |
| 0.0 : Meanwhile, the Sanjay-Fleming chat continues. On being asked about persisting with Watson, Flemo says that Watto is a big-match player. Same like Vijay. Also stresses that it is important to persist with great and consistent players as they have won games for them in the past. Informs that KEDAR JADHAV HAS BEEN RULED OUT OF THE TOURNAMENT. On how this game can turn around, Stephen says that probably Imran Tahir could be a game-changer with a few dots. |
| 11.2 : H Singh to I Kishan, Mishit! Flatter and shorter outside off, Kishan bottom edges his attempted square cut. It goes behind and one of the two slip fielders stop it. |
| 11.3 : H Singh to I Kishan, Stifled appeal for an lbw! Flighted and around off, Kishan tries to flick but misses and they appeal. The impact is outside off. |
| 11.4 : H Singh to I Kishan, Width on offer outside off, Kishan plays it late and guides it wide of Raina at second slip for a run. |
| Stoppage in play! Ishan Kishan has gone down and it seems that he has pulled up a muscle. Could be hamstring. |
| 11.5 : H Singh to S Yadav, Flicks it with the spin through square leg for a single. |
| 11.6 : H Singh to I Kishan, Full and flighted outside off, Kishan fetches it from out there and slog sweeps it down to wide long on. One more run added to the total. 47 needed off 48 balls. |
| Ravindra Jadeja is back on. |
| 12.1 : R Jadeja to I Kishan, Big spin down the leg side, Kishan tries to flick but misses and is hit on the pads. |
| 12.2 : R Jadeja to I Kishan, Jumps out of the crease to play the flick shot again but once more misses. Lucky to get hit on the pads, otherwise he would have been stumped. |
| 12.3 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Flatter and fuller on middle, pushed back to the bowler. |
| 12.4 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Strides forward and drives it towards cover-point for one. |
| 12.5 : R Jadeja to I Kishan, Lets the ball spin back in and works it in front of square leg for a single. |
| 12.6 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, FOUR! Smartly played! Quicker and flatter one, a touch shorter too, SKY stays back and plays it really late to get it away from first slip. Nice timing and it screams away to the fence at third man. 40 more needed. |
| Imran Tahir is back on. |
| 13.1 : I Tahir to I Kishan, Four wides! Tahir starts by bowling it down the leg side, the batsman fails to get any bat on it and Dhoni has no chance of collecting it. Harbhajan chases it from short fine leg and slides near the fence to pull it back. The poor man then gets up, picks the ball and returns the throw as no one ran behind him to assist. Hmm... The batsmen take three. |
| I Tahir to S Yadav, Quicker and on middle, played to mid-wicket. |
| 13.2 : I Tahir to S Yadav, FOUR! 7th League fifty for Suryakumar Yadav. Floated leg spinner outside off, Yadav strides forward and then opens the face of the bat late to play it wide of backward point. A boundary results and Yadav reaches his half century. Well batted young man. |
| 13.3 : I Tahir to S Yadav, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. They pick up a single. |
| 13.4 : I Tahir to I Kishan, Goes back and punches it towards the bowler. |
| 13.5 : I Tahir to I Kishan, OUT! Bowled 'em! A wicket against the run of play and Tahir is up and running in celebration. A skidder from Tahir at 95.6 kph, Kishan walks down the track and tries to pull it after that but it goes right through him and pegs the off stump back. The 80-run stand has been broken but that has put Mumbai in the driver's seat. Only 31 more needed off 37 balls. |
| Krunal Pandya walks in at number 5, replacing Kishan. |
| Is that a caught and bowled first ball? Tahir has almost run into the umpire in an appeal but Llong calms him down. He walks across to his partner and then refers it upstairs, with the soft signal as OUT. Krunal is walking off as well. But the umpires are still checking... |
| 13.6 : I Tahir to K Pandya, OUT! It is a clean catch and Tahir indeed has two in two. A full ball outside off, Krunal looked to hit it back but while doing so, the bat hit the ground and the ball lobbed off the bottom of the bat back to the bowler. Tahir collected and ran towards the umpire in an appeal who chatted with his colleague and then signalled towards the third umpire. Replays confirm that Krunal can continue walking as he had already started his trot once the umpires referred it upstair |
| Hardik Pandya walks in at number 6, replacing Krunal. |
| 14.1 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, DROPPED! Almost a team hat-trick for Chennai! Jadeja delivers a flatter delivery on off, Yadav leans forward to defend but it takes the outside edge and hurries behind to first slip. Watson sticks his left hand out but it brushes his fingers and speeds behind for a FOUR! |
| 14.2 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Goes back to a short ball and punches it to covers. |
| 14.3 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Beaten! Once again Jadeja gets one delivery to rip past the outside edge of Surya's bat. |
| 14.4 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Serves it short and outside off, SKY cuts it through point and picks up a brace. |
| 14.5 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Driven through mid on by the batsman. They pick up a single. |
| 14.6 : R Jadeja to H Pandya, Full and flat on off, fired in by Jadeja, Pandya defends it back. |
| Tahir on a hat-trick... |
| 15.1 : I Tahir to S Yadav, No hat-trick for Tahir! Delivers it short and wide outside off, Yadav cuts it through point and returns for the second run. |
| 15.2 : I Tahir to S Yadav, Loopy and full on off, Pandya drives it off his front foot to long off for one. |
| 15.3 : I Tahir to H Pandya, Presses forward to a full ball and drives it back to the bowler. |
| 15.4 : I Tahir to H Pandya, FOUR! Exceptionally played! Floated delivery, landing full around leg, Pandya doesn't go hard at it and plays a controlled paddle sweep fine down the leg side for a boundary. |
| 15.5 : I Tahir to H Pandya, A googly by Tahir, not picked by Hardik. He tries to drive but it takes the inside half and rolls back to the bowler. |
| 15.6 : I Tahir to H Pandya, Flighted and on middle, Hardik brings down a straight bat and forces it down to long on for a run. 8 from the over! |
| Strategic break. 16 more needed in 4 overs. Mumbai have this in the bag in spite of Chennai bowling really well in the last few overs. They just don't have enough runs on the board to pressurize the blue team. Dwayne Bravo is back on... |
| 16.1 : D Bravo to H Pandya, Full in length on off, angling in, Hardik shuffles across the stumps to go hard at it but only manages to hit it down to long on for a run. |
| 16.2 : D Bravo to S Yadav, Good fielding by du Plessis. A slow full toss on off, Yadav picks it and delays his shot a bit. He then heaves it over wide mid on and du Plessis in the deep does well to stop the ball before the fence. Saves two but it seems that he has hurt his hamstring. Nothing to worry though. |
| 16.3 : D Bravo to S Yadav, Driven towards the mid on region. They pick up a single. |
| 16.4 : D Bravo to H Pandya, In the air... in the air... DROPS SAFELY! A slower ball by Bravo, fuller in length around off, Pandya tries to pump it over long on but gets more height than distance. Du Plessis rushes forward and across from long on but fails to reach it in time. They take a couple of runs. |
| 16.5 : D Bravo to H Pandya, Fuller and on middle, drilled straight down the ground and returned for the second run. |
| 16.6 : D Bravo to H Pandya, A low dipping full toss on off, Pandya flicks it on the leg side towards mid-wicket where Watson gets down low to stop it with one hand. They complete a run. 7 more needed. |
| 17.1 : R Jadeja to H Pandya, Shortish and flat on off, Pandya goes back and powers it down to long on for a single. |
| 17.2 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Fires in a full ball on middle, SKY defends it off his front foot to the off side. |
| 17.3 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Well stopped, du Plessis. Still giving it all. Short and wide outside off, cut through point where Faf makes a diving stop to his right. |
| 17.4 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 17.5 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Flat again, on off, spinning away, Yadav taps it down towards backward point and Hardik wants a run. He is sent back. |
| 17.6 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Play and a miss! Jadeja hurls in a quicker one outside off, Suryakumar flashes and misses. |
| Deepak Chahar to bowl now... |
| 18.1 : D Chahar to H Pandya, An off pace delivery, short and outside off, Hardik doesn't get hold of his pull shot and forces it down to long on for a run. |
| 18.2 : D Chahar to S Yadav, FOUR! Cleverly done! SKY is a master of this shot. He just loves playing fancy shots behind the wickets. Back of a length ball angling into him, Yadav gets across the stumps and spoons it over the keeper for a boundary. |
| 18.3 : D Chahar to S Yadav, Here it is... MUMBAI WIN BY 6 WICKETS! Short in length around off, Suryakumar pulls it behind square leg for the winning run. The blue team is through and this will be their fifth appearance in the final. What a consistent team! |
| Number 1 in the league stage. Number 1 to reach the final. Oh Mumbai, probably the best season ever for you is unfolding. |
| Pardon my poor memory, but don't remember a single season where Mumbai have literally cruised through almost the entire tournament. And the reason for their cruise is that they took the best team - or the supposed best team on by the horns and came out triumphant. Third meeting against Chennai and all three games have been resounding one-sided wins. Here, it was no different. |
| Dhoni won the toss but Rohit sized the pitch better. His bowlers did not allow the Men In Yellow to score freely and then with the bat, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan's 80-run stand put Chennai on the back foot. Surya was in good touch but it was Kishan's knock which took Chennai aback. He counter-attacked Tahir and Harbhajan and the fielding side could not recover. Jadeja, Harbhajan and Tahir did bowl well, with combined figures of 12-0-76-3 but they could never really put pressure on Mumbai |
| Chennai skipper, MS Dhoni smiles and says that somebody has to lose. Nothing went their way, he adds. Feels that they had to assess the conditions given they have played quite a few games here but they didn't plan accordingly and admits that the batting needs to get better. Mentions that on an off they have done better with the bat. Wants them to be more clever with the shot selection and hopes to do better in the next game. States that they tried hard with the ball but feels they could have bow |
| Ishan Kishan is up for a chat. Says that his plan was to rotate the strike as Yadav was in good form. Adds that to build the partnership was the plan and they did really well. Mentions that they had good batsmen at the back and wanted to take it deep and be positive. Admits that the wicket was not easy as it was spinning a lot but he and SKY have batted on such surfaces a lot in domestic cricket. Tells that they wanted to be positive against Tahir and not be overcautious. Says that it's a good f |
| Mumbai skipper, Rohit Sharma says that it was a great effort and a great feeling that they will be playing the final. Also talks about the break they will be having. He is very happy with the performance as well. Adds that they have the bowlers to restrict Chennai and have the confidence in his batters to do the job. Mentions about the bowling unit for coming in quite nicely and exploiting the conditions. Praises Jayant Yadav and calls him a quality bowler and given that he is a finger spinner, |
| Man of the Match, Suryakumar Yadav is all smiles and says that it was very important for someone in the top three to bat through with the pitch on the slower side and assisting spinners. Adds that he just wanted to play down the ground and focus more on singles and doubles and finding the gaps. Tells that the plan was that someone from the top order will have to stay till the end as it won't be easy for the batsmen coming in later. |
| We are done with Qualifier 1. Yet another one-sided affair in El Clasico with Mumbai running all over Chennai. On Wednesday, Delhi and Hyderabad will clash in the Eliminator and the winner of that contest will face Chennai in Qualifier 2 on Friday. Do join us at 1930 local (1400 GMT) for all the action. Cheers! |
| 0.0 : Back for the run chase. Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock are the Mumbai openers. They have provided solid starts so far this season and the blue team will be hoping for the same in this crunch encounter. Deepak Chahar to begin proceedings as always. A wide slip in place. Let's play... |
| 0.1 : D Chahar to R Sharma, FOUR! This is how you begin your chase! A perfectly timed back foot punch from the bat of skipper Rohit Sharma. Back of a length delivery outside off, Sharma gets off the mark with a thumping shot through the line. Right in the gap at covers and away she runs to the fence. |
| Shout for an lbw! The finger has gone up and Rohit takes the referral after consulting his partner. Looks close... |
| 0.2 : D Chahar to R Sharma, OUT! It's hitting the top of the leg stump and Rohit Sharma has to depart. He averages around 14 in the playoffs and bags yet another low score. Perfect delivery by Chahar after conceding a boundary first ball. He hits a length ball around leg and gets it to straighten from there. Sharma is caught inside the crease trying to work it on the leg side. He misses the ball completely and is hit flush on the back pad. The appeal is made and the finger goes up. Rohit takes th |
| Suryakumar Yadav is the number 3 batsman. |
| 0.3 : D Chahar to S Yadav, Shortish and on off, an out-swinger, defended off the back foot by Yadav. |
| 0.4 : D Chahar to S Yadav, Angles in a length ball on middle and off, Suryakumar gets behind the line and defends it to mid-wicket. |
| 0.5 : D Chahar to S Yadav, Pitches this one up and outside off, Yadav leans into the drive but finds the mid off fielder. |
| 0.6 : D Chahar to S Yadav, UPPISH... SAFE... FOUR! Risky way to get off the mark, SKY! Chahar delivers a shortish length ball outside off, Yadav camps back to slap it square of the wicket on the off side but it takes the outside edge and flies wide of first slip and a diving short third man fielder for a boundary. End of an eventful first over by Chahar. |
| No brainer. Harbhajan Singh to operate from the other end and he has a southpaw in Quinton de Kock to bowl at... |
| 1.1 : H Singh to de Kock, Flighted and full outside off, de Kock leans forward and pushes it to covers. |
| 1.2 : H Singh to de Kock, Tossed up ball close to off stump, de Kock drives it off his front foot to covers again. |
| 1.3 : H Singh to de Kock, Fullish and on off, driven off the front foot to covers once more. |
| 1.4 : H Singh to de Kock, Three wides! Harbhajan fires this one down the leg side, de Kock tries to work it on the leg side but misses. Dhoni also fails to collect and they cross a couple of times. |
| H Singh to de Kock, FOUR! Well played! Although it was a shade risky. Shortish and on off, skidding back in, de Kock camps back and plays a late cut shot. It goes very closely past first slip and runs away to the fence at third man. |
| 1.5 : H Singh to de Kock, Beaten! Loopy off spinner landing full on off, de Kock tries to slog sweep but it turns at the last moment to beat the bat. |
| 1.6 : H Singh to de Kock, Pushed to the cover region by the batsman. No run to end the over. |
| 2.1 : D Chahar to S Yadav, Good length delivery sliding down the leg side, Yadav flicks it off his pads and it goes straight to Harbhajan Singh at deep backward square leg. One run added to the total. |
| 2.2 : D Chahar to de Kock, Fails to find the gap. Back of a length delivery outside off, plenty of room there, de Kock flat-bats it through the line but finds Jadeja at backward point. |
| 2.3 : D Chahar to de Kock, Delivers this one in the line of the stumps, de Kock defends it close to his body and keeps it out off the inner half of his bat. |
| 2.4 : D Chahar to de Kock, FOUR! Lovely use of the wrists. Chahar bowls according to his field but it's the sheer class of this batsman. Quinton fetches a length ball from outside off and turns it behind square leg for a boundary. |
| Deep mid-wicket and fine leg in place, standing a bit squarer. The off side field is up. There is a gully and short third man too. Interesting from MS Dhoni. |
| 2.5 : D Chahar to de Kock, Short in length and outside off, pulled down to mid on. |
| 2.6 : D Chahar to de Kock, Width on offer outside off, de Kock once again fails to pierce the off side field with his square cut. Just 5 from the over, Mumbai are 20/1, needing 112 off 102 balls. |
| 3.1 : H Singh to S Yadav, In the air... SAFE! Tossed up ball on middle, stopping a bit onto the batsman as it spins back in, Yadav flicks it in the air towards mid-wicket and takes a single. |
| 3.2 : H Singh to de Kock, OUT! A wicket well planned by Harbhajan Singh! Brilliant field setting from MS Dhoni. So good when the plan works out superbly. Bhajji has his arms up in celebration. Even before the ball is delivered, de Kock premeditates his movement by moving back. Harbhajan watches it and then delivers a flighted full ball in the line of the stumps. Quinton thinks he has outfoxed the bowler there as he gets enough room to play his favoured inside-out shot. But what the South African |
| Ishan Kishan is the new batsman. He is known to play spin well and Mumbai need him to fire this evening. |
| 3.3 : H Singh to S Yadav, Around middle and off, Yadav walks across and tucks it through square leg for a single. |
| 3.4 : H Singh to I Kishan, Full and around off, watchfully pushed towards cover. |
| 3.5 : H Singh to I Kishan, Outside off, turning away, Kishan taps it towards short third man but Shane Watson dives from first slip to his left to stop the ball. |
| 3.6 : H Singh to I Kishan, Almost a run out! Full and outside off, Ishan drives it towards cover and initially calls for the single. Surya responds but then Kishan stops. Jadeja quickly gets across from cover to his left and wants to have a shy but then realizes that there is no one backing up at the bowler's end. 2 runs and a wicket from Harbhajan's second. |
| 4.1 : D Chahar to S Yadav, On a length and angling back into the batsman, Suryakumar sticks inside the crease and pushes it back to the bowler. Chahar does well to stop it to his left. |
| 4.2 : D Chahar to S Yadav, FOUR! Easily done. Chahar errs in his line and delivers a length ball down the leg side, Suryakumar picks it up off his pads and tickles it fine down the leg side for a boundary. |
| 4.3 : D Chahar to S Yadav, DROPPED BY VIJAY! FOUR! A good attempt though. Should have been taken after he got his hands to it. Back of a length delivery outside off, Suryakumar stays back to power it over the infield on the leg side but fails to get enough elevation. It goes flying to the right of mid on where Vijay stretches his hands out but it bursts through and races behind for a boundary. Chahar is not amused. |
| 4.4 : D Chahar to S Yadav, The batsman works it down the leg side. They pick up a single. |
| 4.5 : D Chahar to I Kishan, Back of a length ball on middle, pulled through square leg and Tahir ran across to his right from fine leg. Stopped the ball and the batsmen take a couple. |
| 4.6 : D Chahar to I Kishan, Kishan has played that off the front foot and into the ground. 11 from the penultimate over of the Powerplay. |
| 5.1 : H Singh to S Yadav, Tossed up ball around leg, Yadav helps it off his pads to mid-wicket. |
| 5.2 : H Singh to S Yadav, Helps it with the spin through backward square leg and takes a single. |
| 5.3 : H Singh to I Kishan, Beaten! An off spinning delivery from around off, Kishan lunges to defend but it curves away to beat the outside edge. |
| 5.4 : H Singh to I Kishan, EDGY FOUR! Flighted off spinner landing full on off Kishan steps out for a big shot but it turns away to take a fat outside edge. Watson flies to his left at first slip but it goes wide of him and speeds behind. Bravo gives the chase in the deep, tries to flick it in but misses and it makes connection with the rope. |
| 5.5 : H Singh to I Kishan, Tossed up ball on off, tapped down with the spin to point. |
| 5.6 : H Singh to I Kishan, SIX! Boom! Kishan has sent this one packing over mid-wicket. Lovely extension of his arms as he kneels down to play that shot. He goes against the spin but nails it handsomely. 22 from the last two overs and Mumbai have managed to score 44 in the Powerplay, 12 more than Chennai at this stage. |
| Ravindra Jadeja is into the attack. |
| 6.1 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Landed outside off, pushed towards point. |
| 6.2 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Comes down the track and flicks it through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 6.3 : R Jadeja to I Kishan, Around off, spinning in, worked straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 6.4 : R Jadeja to I Kishan, Tucks it past that man at short mid-wicket for a run now. |
| 6.5 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Floated outside off, worked through mid-wicket for a couple. |
| 6.6 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Ripper! Sharp turn to end the over. Tossed up outside off, Surya looks to defend but the ball spins away past the outside edge. |
| Dwayne Bravo to bowl now. |
| 7.1 : D Bravo to I Kishan, Starts with a fuller length ball wide outside off, Kishan drives it square of the wicket on the off side and takes a single. |
| 7.2 : D Bravo to S Yadav, Lands it on a length around middle, Yadav helps it through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 7.3 : D Bravo to I Kishan, A low dipping full toss around leg, Kishan gets down on one knee and sweeps it towards long leg for two. Bravo for some reason decided to appeal but it came from the bat. |
| 7.4 : D Bravo to I Kishan, A cutter, around off and moving away, Kishan steers it through backward point for a single. |
| 7.5 : D Bravo to S Yadav, Knocks a full ball down to long on and rotates the strike. |
| 7.6 : D Bravo to I Kishan, Angling away from the batsman, on a length, Kishan defends it from the back foot towards the bowler. |
| Time for some leg spin. Imran Tahir to roll his arm with a slip in place... |
| 8.1 : I Tahir to S Yadav, Flighted ball on middle, helped on the leg side through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 8.2 : I Tahir to I Kishan, Floated one, landing a touch short on middle, Kishan moves back and eases it with the spin through square leg for a single. |
| 8.3 : I Tahir to S Yadav, Tossed up and wide outside off, spinning away, Yadav reaches out for it and hits it towards backward point. |
| 8.4 : I Tahir to S Yadav, A little short in length on middle at 87 kph, Yadav hangs back and muscles it over wide mid on. Takes a single, wants the second but it's not available. |
| 8.5 : I Tahir to I Kishan, Slower and fuller outside off, at 84 kph, Kishan presses forward and drives it to long off for a run. |
| 8.6 : I Tahir to S Yadav, Full and outside off, Yadav drives it on the up through extra cover for one. 5 from Tahir's first over. |
| STRATEGIC BREAK. Interesting stage set. Mumbai can be considered as cruising but a wicket or two can set the cat free amongst the pigeons. The pitch is turning square but it is also true that Mumbai have better batsmen against spin as compared to Chennai. |
| 9.1 : D Bravo to S Yadav, Full and down the leg side, flicked through square leg for a couple. |
| 9.2 : D Bravo to S Yadav, FOUR! FANTASTIC! Such good timing. A length ball, outside off, Surya drives this on the up, through the covers. Deepak Chahar dives to his left from mid off but in vain. |
| 9.3 : D Bravo to S Yadav, Angles in a length ball on middle, Yadav gets across the stumps and flicks it through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 9.4 : D Bravo to I Kishan, Pitches it up and around off, Kishan drives it straight down the ground and by the time mid off gets to the ball, they take a run. |
| 9.5 : D Bravo to S Yadav, Well played! A yorker outside off, Yadav squeezes it out down to third man and takes a single. |
| 9.6 : D Bravo to I Kishan, On a length and around off, Kishan winds up for a shot across the line but ends up clubbing it down to long on for a single. 10 from the over, 63 needed off 60 balls. |
| 10.1 : I Tahir to I Kishan, Loopy and full outside off, Ishan goes down for a slog sweep but mistimes it down to long on for a run. |
| 10.2 : I Tahir to S Yadav, Howzzat? Not given. Probably a top spinner. Landing full around leg and going straight on. Yadav fails to flick and is hit on the pads. They appeal but that's always missing leg. |
| Stephen Fleming has a chat with Sanjay Manjrekar. The Kiwi says that it is a real crucial time and stresses the need for wickets. Reckons that the game is in the balance. Wishes that the team had scored another 10 extra runs with the bat but feels that a couple of wickets can still turn the game. Admits that the Powerplay with the bat was a poor one and losing Shane Watson on the final ball of that phase was a setback. Agrees that Chennai are behind the game and says that the team will have to f |
| 10.3 : I Tahir to S Yadav, FOUR! Easy pickings! A full toss on middle, Suryakumar accepts the gift gleefully and whips it over mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 10.4 : I Tahir to S Yadav, FOUR! Wow, every batsman is mastering this shot now where you swing the bat more like a helicopter. Tahir is very full with his length and it's right in the half for the batsman yet again. SKY shows his skill and bludgeons it through wide mid on. Vijay tries his best by running across to his right from long on, slides but the ball goes past him. |
| 10.5 : I Tahir to S Yadav, Played through mid-wicket by the batsman. They pick up a single. |
| 10.6 : I Tahir to I Kishan, Full and flighted outside off, driven through mid off for a run. 11 from the over, easy going for Mumbai. |
| Bhajji returns. |
| 11.1 : H Singh to I Kishan, Short in length outside off, Kishan rocks back and punches it to sweeper cover for a couple of runs. |
| 0.0 : Meanwhile, the Sanjay-Fleming chat continues. On being asked about persisting with Watson, Flemo says that Watto is a big-match player. Same like Vijay. Also stresses that it is important to persist with great and consistent players as they have won games for them in the past. Informs that KEDAR JADHAV HAS BEEN RULED OUT OF THE TOURNAMENT. On how this game can turn around, Stephen says that probably Imran Tahir could be a game-changer with a few dots. |
| 11.2 : H Singh to I Kishan, Mishit! Flatter and shorter outside off, Kishan bottom edges his attempted square cut. It goes behind and one of the two slip fielders stop it. |
| 11.3 : H Singh to I Kishan, Stifled appeal for an lbw! Flighted and around off, Kishan tries to flick but misses and they appeal. The impact is outside off. |
| 11.4 : H Singh to I Kishan, Width on offer outside off, Kishan plays it late and guides it wide of Raina at second slip for a run. |
| Stoppage in play! Ishan Kishan has gone down and it seems that he has pulled up a muscle. Could be hamstring. |
| 11.5 : H Singh to S Yadav, Flicks it with the spin through square leg for a single. |
| 11.6 : H Singh to I Kishan, Full and flighted outside off, Kishan fetches it from out there and slog sweeps it down to wide long on. One more run added to the total. 47 needed off 48 balls. |
| Ravindra Jadeja is back on. |
| 12.1 : R Jadeja to I Kishan, Big spin down the leg side, Kishan tries to flick but misses and is hit on the pads. |
| 12.2 : R Jadeja to I Kishan, Jumps out of the crease to play the flick shot again but once more misses. Lucky to get hit on the pads, otherwise he would have been stumped. |
| 12.3 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Flatter and fuller on middle, pushed back to the bowler. |
| 12.4 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Strides forward and drives it towards cover-point for one. |
| 12.5 : R Jadeja to I Kishan, Lets the ball spin back in and works it in front of square leg for a single. |
| 12.6 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, FOUR! Smartly played! Quicker and flatter one, a touch shorter too, SKY stays back and plays it really late to get it away from first slip. Nice timing and it screams away to the fence at third man. 40 more needed. |
| Imran Tahir is back on. |
| 13.1 : I Tahir to I Kishan, Four wides! Tahir starts by bowling it down the leg side, the batsman fails to get any bat on it and Dhoni has no chance of collecting it. Harbhajan chases it from short fine leg and slides near the fence to pull it back. The poor man then gets up, picks the ball and returns the throw as no one ran behind him to assist. Hmm... The batsmen take three. |
| I Tahir to S Yadav, Quicker and on middle, played to mid-wicket. |
| 13.2 : I Tahir to S Yadav, FOUR! 7th League fifty for Suryakumar Yadav. Floated leg spinner outside off, Yadav strides forward and then opens the face of the bat late to play it wide of backward point. A boundary results and Yadav reaches his half century. Well batted young man. |
| 13.3 : I Tahir to S Yadav, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. They pick up a single. |
| 13.4 : I Tahir to I Kishan, Goes back and punches it towards the bowler. |
| 13.5 : I Tahir to I Kishan, OUT! Bowled 'em! A wicket against the run of play and Tahir is up and running in celebration. A skidder from Tahir at 95.6 kph, Kishan walks down the track and tries to pull it after that but it goes right through him and pegs the off stump back. The 80-run stand has been broken but that has put Mumbai in the driver's seat. Only 31 more needed off 37 balls. |
| Krunal Pandya walks in at number 5, replacing Kishan. |
| Is that a caught and bowled first ball? Tahir has almost run into the umpire in an appeal but Llong calms him down. He walks across to his partner and then refers it upstairs, with the soft signal as OUT. Krunal is walking off as well. But the umpires are still checking... |
| 13.6 : I Tahir to K Pandya, OUT! It is a clean catch and Tahir indeed has two in two. A full ball outside off, Krunal looked to hit it back but while doing so, the bat hit the ground and the ball lobbed off the bottom of the bat back to the bowler. Tahir collected and ran towards the umpire in an appeal who chatted with his colleague and then signalled towards the third umpire. Replays confirm that Krunal can continue walking as he had already started his trot once the umpires referred it upstair |
| Hardik Pandya walks in at number 6, replacing Krunal. |
| 14.1 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, DROPPED! Almost a team hat-trick for Chennai! Jadeja delivers a flatter delivery on off, Yadav leans forward to defend but it takes the outside edge and hurries behind to first slip. Watson sticks his left hand out but it brushes his fingers and speeds behind for a FOUR! |
| 14.2 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Goes back to a short ball and punches it to covers. |
| 14.3 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Beaten! Once again Jadeja gets one delivery to rip past the outside edge of Surya's bat. |
| 14.4 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Serves it short and outside off, SKY cuts it through point and picks up a brace. |
| 14.5 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Driven through mid on by the batsman. They pick up a single. |
| 14.6 : R Jadeja to H Pandya, Full and flat on off, fired in by Jadeja, Pandya defends it back. |
| Tahir on a hat-trick... |
| 15.1 : I Tahir to S Yadav, No hat-trick for Tahir! Delivers it short and wide outside off, Yadav cuts it through point and returns for the second run. |
| 15.2 : I Tahir to S Yadav, Loopy and full on off, Pandya drives it off his front foot to long off for one. |
| 15.3 : I Tahir to H Pandya, Presses forward to a full ball and drives it back to the bowler. |
| 15.4 : I Tahir to H Pandya, FOUR! Exceptionally played! Floated delivery, landing full around leg, Pandya doesn't go hard at it and plays a controlled paddle sweep fine down the leg side for a boundary. |
| 15.5 : I Tahir to H Pandya, A googly by Tahir, not picked by Hardik. He tries to drive but it takes the inside half and rolls back to the bowler. |
| 15.6 : I Tahir to H Pandya, Flighted and on middle, Hardik brings down a straight bat and forces it down to long on for a run. 8 from the over! |
| Strategic break. 16 more needed in 4 overs. Mumbai have this in the bag in spite of Chennai bowling really well in the last few overs. They just don't have enough runs on the board to pressurize the blue team. Dwayne Bravo is back on... |
| 16.1 : D Bravo to H Pandya, Full in length on off, angling in, Hardik shuffles across the stumps to go hard at it but only manages to hit it down to long on for a run. |
| 16.2 : D Bravo to S Yadav, Good fielding by du Plessis. A slow full toss on off, Yadav picks it and delays his shot a bit. He then heaves it over wide mid on and du Plessis in the deep does well to stop the ball before the fence. Saves two but it seems that he has hurt his hamstring. Nothing to worry though. |
| 16.3 : D Bravo to S Yadav, Driven towards the mid on region. They pick up a single. |
| 16.4 : D Bravo to H Pandya, In the air... in the air... DROPS SAFELY! A slower ball by Bravo, fuller in length around off, Pandya tries to pump it over long on but gets more height than distance. Du Plessis rushes forward and across from long on but fails to reach it in time. They take a couple of runs. |
| 16.5 : D Bravo to H Pandya, Fuller and on middle, drilled straight down the ground and returned for the second run. |
| 16.6 : D Bravo to H Pandya, A low dipping full toss on off, Pandya flicks it on the leg side towards mid-wicket where Watson gets down low to stop it with one hand. They complete a run. 7 more needed. |
| 17.1 : R Jadeja to H Pandya, Shortish and flat on off, Pandya goes back and powers it down to long on for a single. |
| 17.2 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Fires in a full ball on middle, SKY defends it off his front foot to the off side. |
| 17.3 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Well stopped, du Plessis. Still giving it all. Short and wide outside off, cut through point where Faf makes a diving stop to his right. |
| 17.4 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 17.5 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Flat again, on off, spinning away, Yadav taps it down towards backward point and Hardik wants a run. He is sent back. |
| 17.6 : R Jadeja to S Yadav, Play and a miss! Jadeja hurls in a quicker one outside off, Suryakumar flashes and misses. |
| Deepak Chahar to bowl now... |
| 18.1 : D Chahar to H Pandya, An off pace delivery, short and outside off, Hardik doesn't get hold of his pull shot and forces it down to long on for a run. |
| 18.2 : D Chahar to S Yadav, FOUR! Cleverly done! SKY is a master of this shot. He just loves playing fancy shots behind the wickets. Back of a length ball angling into him, Yadav gets across the stumps and spoons it over the keeper for a boundary. |
| 18.3 : D Chahar to S Yadav, Here it is... MUMBAI WIN BY 6 WICKETS! Short in length around off, Suryakumar pulls it behind square leg for the winning run. The blue team is through and this will be their fifth appearance in the final. What a consistent team! |
| Number 1 in the league stage. Number 1 to reach the final. Oh Mumbai, probably the best season ever for you is unfolding. |
| Pardon my poor memory, but don't remember a single season where Mumbai have literally cruised through almost the entire tournament. And the reason for their cruise is that they took the best team - or the supposed best team on by the horns and came out triumphant. Third meeting against Chennai and all three games have been resounding one-sided wins. Here, it was no different. |
| Dhoni won the toss but Rohit sized the pitch better. His bowlers did not allow the Men In Yellow to score freely and then with the bat, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan's 80-run stand put Chennai on the back foot. Surya was in good touch but it was Kishan's knock which took Chennai aback. He counter-attacked Tahir and Harbhajan and the fielding side could not recover. Jadeja, Harbhajan and Tahir did bowl well, with combined figures of 12-0-76-3 but they could never really put pressure on Mumbai |
| Chennai skipper, MS Dhoni smiles and says that somebody has to lose. Nothing went their way, he adds. Feels that they had to assess the conditions given they have played quite a few games here but they didn't plan accordingly and admits that the batting needs to get better. Mentions that on an off they have done better with the bat. Wants them to be more clever with the shot selection and hopes to do better in the next game. States that they tried hard with the ball but feels they could have bow |
| Ishan Kishan is up for a chat. Says that his plan was to rotate the strike as Yadav was in good form. Adds that to build the partnership was the plan and they did really well. Mentions that they had good batsmen at the back and wanted to take it deep and be positive. Admits that the wicket was not easy as it was spinning a lot but he and SKY have batted on such surfaces a lot in domestic cricket. Tells that they wanted to be positive against Tahir and not be overcautious. Says that it's a good f |
| Mumbai skipper, Rohit Sharma says that it was a great effort and a great feeling that they will be playing the final. Also talks about the break they will be having. He is very happy with the performance as well. Adds that they have the bowlers to restrict Chennai and have the confidence in his batters to do the job. Mentions about the bowling unit for coming in quite nicely and exploiting the conditions. Praises Jayant Yadav and calls him a quality bowler and given that he is a finger spinner, |
| Man of the Match, Suryakumar Yadav is all smiles and says that it was very important for someone in the top three to bat through with the pitch on the slower side and assisting spinners. Adds that he just wanted to play down the ground and focus more on singles and doubles and finding the gaps. Tells that the plan was that someone from the top order will have to stay till the end as it won't be easy for the batsmen coming in later. |
| We are done with Qualifier 1. Yet another one-sided affair in El Clasico with Mumbai running all over Chennai. On Wednesday, Delhi and Hyderabad will clash in the Eliminator and the winner of that contest will face Chennai in Qualifier 2 on Friday. Do join us at 1930 local (1400 GMT) for all the action. Cheers! |
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