Mumbai, April 21 (IANS): M.S. Dhoni's late flourish (28 not out off 13 balls) helped Chennai Super Kings defeat Mumbai Indians by three wickets in an IPL 2022 match at D.Y. Patil Stadium, here on Thursday.
Pacer Mukesh Choudhary's sensational bowling performance (3/19) helped Chennai Super Kings restrict Mumbai Indians to 155/7 in 20 overs despite a fighting half-century by Tilak Varma (51 not out off 43 balls).
Varma top-scored for Mumbai while Suryakumar Yadav (32), Hrithik Shokeen (25), and Kieron Pollard (14) were the other contributors with the bat for them. On the other hand, Dwayne Bravo (2/36), Mitchell Santner (1/16) and Maheesh Theekshana (1/35) were the other wicket-takers for CSK besides Mukesh.
Chasing a modest target, CSK were also off to a poor start as Daniel Sams removed Ruturaj Gaikwad in the very first ball of the second innings.
Mitchell Santner, who had replaced Moeen Ali and came to bat at No 3. looked in control and hit two fours. But, the left-hander mistimed a bouncer from Sams and got out for 11 runs, leaving CSK at 16-2 after 2.3 overs.
From there on, two veteran batters -- Robin Uthappa (30) and Ambati Rayudu (40) stitched a partnership of 50 runs for the third wicket and kept CSK in the game. However, once they got out, Chennai were back in trouble as the next two batters -- Shivam Dube (13) and Ravindra Jadeja (3) didn't do much.
But, it was Dwaine Pretorius (22 off 14) and Dhoni (28 not out off 13) who hit important runs and kept CSK in the chase till the last over.
CSK needed 17 runs in the last over and Pretorius was trapped leg-before off the first ball. DJ Bravo came to bat next and took a single in the second ball of the over and Dhoni hit Unadkat for 6, 4, 2, 4 in the next four deliveries to seal victory for CSK.
Daniel Sams (4/30) was the most successful bowler for Mumbai while Jaydev Unadkat (2/48) and Riley Meredith (1/25) also chipped in with wickets.
Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 155/7 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 51 not out, Suryakumar Yadav 32; Mukesh Choudhary 3/19, Dwayne Bravo 2/36) vs Chennai Super Kings (Ambati Rayudu 40, MS Dhoni 28 not out; Daniel Sams 4/30)