CSK Dominated Mumbai With Pathirana’s 4 Wickets And Dhoni’s Explosive Finish
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) delivered a remarkable performance against Mumbai Indians in a thrilling IPL clash at Wankhede Stadium.
Matheesha Pathirana’s impressive four-wicket haul and MS Dhoni’s explosive finish overshadowed Rohit Sharma’s century, leading to CSK’s victory by 20 runs.
Mumbai Indians 186 for 6 (Rohit 105*, Tilak 31, Pathirana 4-28) lost to Chennai Super Kings 206 for 4 (Gaikwad 69, Dube 66*, Hardik 2-43) by 20 runs.
Although Mumbai’s innings appeared to be going well, CSK won the game thanks to some outstanding defensive bowling.
At Wankhede Stadium, the Chennai Super Kings’ outstanding defensive bowling accomplished an almost unimaginable feat: they successfully defended a total that was set for the evening. And it wasn’t a big score, as MS Dhoni’s 20 off the final four balls of the innings, which followed Shivam Dube’s unbeaten 66 off 38 balls, helped bring the total barely past 200.
For the most part, it was a matchup that made sense: two of the three most popular teams and the two most successful IPL teams faced off. It appeared like CSK, the reigning champions, would be outmatched for the most part. The Mumbai innings appeared to be going well when Jasprit Bumrah confined them to four overs for just 27, but Matheesha Pathirana launched the recovery with two wickets in his opening over.
Mumbai was still the favorite heading into the final seven overs, requiring 83 with eight wickets remaining, but Pathirana’s quick bowlers followed their strategies of forcing batters to smash into the bigger section flawlessly, and they won by 20 runs. To Mumbai’s dismay, Rohit Sharma only managed to reach a century off of 14 balls between overs 13 and 18, and he only found another wind when the task was mathematically impossible.
Also Read: CSK Wins 2023 IPL Final to Crown Joint 5 Times Champions
Rahane Came to Open The Innings
On both sides, this game was a tactical classic as well. Ajinkya Rahane was teasing and CSK felt it would be better if he batted in the powerplay, so they elevated him to open. In a way, it was also tactically advantageous because Ruturaj Gaikwad didn’t have to run at a breakneck pace during the powerplay and might have been there to bowl when Bumrah did. In any case, Rahane was removed in the second over and Gaikwad had to come in. After that, Mumbai began to bowl cheap overs with lots of spin before Dube could bat.
That was it for spin until Dube entered, and for just the second time in this IPL, Bumrah returned to bowl a second over within the first ten overs. Mumbai was required to bowl overs at a slower pace than usual. Hardik Pandya and Romario Shepherd were taken out by Dube, while Gaikwad slowed from his 24 off 12 start to offer a catch on 39 off 31. Gaikwad took 29 off nine before he got out after Rohit dropped him.
Bumrah Shines Again
Hardik began forcing CSK to play catch-up by deftly using a wide slower ball to bring Gaikwad in. Then Bumrah simply bowled two brutal overs, trying to hit yorkers every time. CSK was at 180 for 3 after only one boundary came off the 17th and 19th. Mumbai’s issue was that they now had to use spin, Hardik, or shepherd for the final over.
The captain accepted the challenge, but Dhoni was far ahead of him, giving him the distance to hit a hat-trick of sixes. This year’s IPL for Dhoni was 25 balls, 59 runs, and no dismissals.
Pathirana Turned The Match
Once more, Mumbai looked as though they would easily reach a goal of 200 after crushing the RCB’s 196 in 15.3 overs. Ishan Kishan and Rohit appeared slick and vicious. 70 runs in seven overs without breaking a sweat.
Pathirana enters, returning from a break due to an injury. Kishan hit a fantastic catch at midwicket on the opening ball, which was a loose one on the pads. It would have left a hole in the boundary boards, six feet on either side. But after that fortunate break, Pathirana was incredible.
Pathirana greeted Suryakumar Yadav with a wide yorker that traveled at 151.2 kmph. He then delivered a wide bouncer that was set well for the ramp’s deep third. Mustafizur Rahman provided the assist by taking it high, flicking it back up, going outside, and then returning to take the catch.
It’s impressive that Ravindra Jadeja bowled four consecutive overs for 37 on a Mumbai night in the damp conditions.
But Rohit, who took 22 off 13 Jadeja deliveries, appeared to have overcome his recent threat of left-arm spin. Runs continued in from the opposite end till Pathirana returned.
Now everything was in Pathirana’s basket. Mumbai needs just 83 runs with all the weaponry in the dugout; they have three overs remaining out of seven to bowl. For the first time, Pathirana started with a dot to push it across two balls. Then the fluent Tilak Varma was released with a subtle slower ball. Then Mumbai’s captains, both past and present, froze.
After that over, Shardul Thakur bowled wide, slower balls. Hardik and Rohit each had to contend with three opponents for a single. Hardik, irritated, even threw away a review on a wide. After that, Tushar Deshpande bowled a boundary-free over and removed Hardik from the game. It appeared that Rohit had ran out of time and gas.
With two consecutive sixes off Mustafizur, Tim David gave himself some hope, but Mustafizur once more went wide and beyond David’s grasp to take the wicket. Finishing touches came from Pathirana, who rattled Shepherd’s stumps with a sharp, accurate delivery, a licence granted by having the larger leg-side boundary to work with.
But Pathirana was complemented well by the slower balls coming in from the other end. They had bowled 13 for just four runs at one stage. Even with 27 slower balls for 36 runs, their performance was still far superior to Mumbai’s delivery technique.
Hardik’s Points Of View On The Loss
The skipper of the Mumbai Indians also discusses why he rested his spinners against Shivam Dube.
The captain of the Mumbai Indians, Hardik Pandya, believed that Matheesha Pathirana was the difference between the two teams on Sunday night when the Chennai Super Kings prevailed in the heavyweight match dubbed the IPL’s “El Classico”.
Pathirana was a late addition. He had missed CSK’s previous two games due to a hamstring ache. After a 70-run opening stand, he concluded with figures of 4 for 28, which included the wickets of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav in his first over, the eighth of the innings.
Mumbai’s aim of 207 runs was “definitely gettable,” according to Hardik. “Patriana was the difference, though, as I believe they bowled fairly well. He arrived and claimed the wickets, but they also used a really cunning strategy. They made good use of the extended boundary.
“We had to bat well and maintain our intent, which we accomplished up until Pathirana entered the game. We were headed for the total when we lost a few wickets [in his opening over]. We pursued the game after that.
Several bowlers from CSK bowled into the pitch to get something off the deck in the face of some dew, making good use of their slower variations. With Mumbai needing 77 off 36 overs, Shardul Thakur was taken for 33 off his opening three overs but recovered magnificently in his last over to surrender only two to deny a set Rohit Sharma and Hardik.
Then Tushar Deshpande entered the fray, forcing Hardik to hole out to the longer boundary at deep midwicket, so ending his innings. The equation quickly became a difficult 72 off 24. The big-hitting Romario Shepherd was then dismissed by Pathirana in his penultimate over, when a fuller ball splayed his stumps.
“I think they got the hang of it [bowling on this wicket],” Hardik stated. They were somewhat assisted when MS Dhoni, the guy behind the stumps, told them what was effective. They realized that the ball was clutching and clinging, making it harder to hit in the process. They won the game because of that.”
Thanks to Shivam Dube’s 38-ball 66 and Dhoni’s cameo, which included three sixes in the last over, Mumbai found themselves needing to chase 207. Hardik held back his spinners for a large portion of Dube’s innings, preferring to drive fast to the wicket. Their legspinner, Shreyas Gopal, bowled just one over, while offspinner Mohammad Nabi bowled three overs for 19.
Regarding his strategy to hold back his spinners, Hardik remarked, “It was about what was best at that point.” In retrospect, we can see how we could have played differently by using our spinners, but in the long run, I prefer to play with the resources at my disposal, which is percentage cricket. It was far harder for him [Dube] to accomplish what he did [against pacers] on that track than it was for the spinners.”
Mumbai have lost four of their previous six games. It ended a run of two wins in a row. They are currently eighth in the standings and will be traveling for their next four games if they hope to make the playoffs. They will need to have a strong second half.
Hardik encourages the team to search with simplicity in mind. “We just need to keep our intensity high, be smart about our plans,” he stated. “If we can do that, we can get the goal we want.”
