In a one-sided IPL fixture on Sunday, Mumbai Indians, driven by unbeaten innings from captain Rohit Sharma (76*) and Suryakumar Yadav (68*), inflicted a stunning nine-wicket defeat upon Chennai Super Kings at home.
Pursuing a modest target on a pitch that heavily favored the batsmen, Mumbai dispatched the target with ease, gliding to 177/1 with over four overs to spare. The comprehensive win moved them to sixth place in the league table.
Rohit himself was at his best touch, thrashing anything below par in the powerplay and converting his sweep shots into handy runs against CSK's spinners. He scored his season's first half-century off 33 balls before finally departing with a scorching 76 off 45 balls, peppered with four boundaries and six mighty sixes.
Playing the impact substitute, Rohit set a strong platform with an opening stand of 63 runs in the powerplay — Mumbai's most dominant start this IPL season. Keeping the run rate at 10 an over, MI never allowed the momentum to dwindle.
CSK bowlers couldn't keep the runs in check. The pacers were not much help, and experienced spinner pairing Ravichandran Ashwin (0/25) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/28) were unable to conjure any threat on the placid track.
Noor Ahmad, CSK's best bowler in earlier matches, was brought on unexpectedly late — only by the 10th over — by which MI were close to the 100-run mark with hardly any resistance.
The match was well and truly gone in the 14th over when Suryakumar opened a ferocious onslaught on Noor, blasting him for three successive boundaries and picking 15 runs from the over.
Through a few nail-biting moments, Rohit's explosive inning proved to be decisive in achieving MI their biggest win of the season and resuscitating the star batter back into form from a series of below-par displays.
At the opposite end, Suryakumar was majestic. His 68 off a mere 30 balls had five boundaries and six sixes, and it saw his flair particularly on the leg side as well as through his powerful sweeps. His second half-century of the tournament took him just 26 balls, and he put on an unbeaten 114-run partnership off just 54 deliveries with Rohit — finishing off the chase with two successive sixes.
Earlier, Chennai Super Kings had put up a competitive total of 176/5, courtesy of crucial efforts by Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja, both of whom made fifties, and a notable debut innings by 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre.
Ravindra Jadeja, who was promoted to No. 4 at the seventh over, hit a smooth 53* off 35 balls (4x4, 2x6), following Dube's effort of 50 off 32 balls (2x4, 4x6) as the two rallied CSK's innings from a temporary lull.
Young Mhatre set CSK apace with his whirlwind 32 off merely 15 deliveries, with four boundaries and two sixes. He had a big impact by hitting the second ball he played over mid-off for a four, followed by a six and another huge blow over midwicket, both off Ashwani Kumar.
Even as MI dominated until the 13th with CSK managing just 92/3, Dube shifted gears. Having smashed Hardik Pandya for a six, he targeted Trent Boult (0/43), hammering a four and a six off one over as the MI bowler fought his lengths.
The actual carnage ensued in the 16th over, when Ashwani Kumar was dismantled for 24 runs by Jadeja and Dube, who between them had a three sixes and a boundary in a debilitating fourth-wicket stand that brought 79 runs.
Read also| Rohit Sharma’s Self-Dropping from Sydney Test Sparks Split Between Gambhir and Agarkar
