Chennai scupper Mumbai's title defence

MR. RELIABLE: Suresh Raina has been the most consistent batsman across IPL seasons.

MUMBAI: Trust Chennai Super Kings to turn it on when they have to. Faced with elimination in the, well, ‘Eliminator’, MS Dhoni’s team cruised past defending champions Mumbai Indians without so much as a rivulet of sweat staining their yellow jerseys. Well not quite, as is to be expected in humid Mumbai, but Chennai drew on their reputation of a big-match team on Wednesday night to romp into 'Qualifier 2', in which they will play Kings XI Punjab for the right to meet Kolkata Knight Riders in the June 1 final of IPL-7.

After restricting Mumbai to a below-par 173 at Brabourne Stadium, Chennai looked to the one who has played in every single match for the franchise to mastermind the chase. Suresh Raina, named captain of India for the ODI tour of Bangladesh, celebrated the new role by hammering yet another IPL fifty, a 33-ball 54. It was a knock that minded a tricky chase that could have gone wrong at any point in the first ten overs, especially during a critical phase during which spinners Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha threatened to rip through on a pitch offering assistance. 

Dhoni’s choice to field did not seem to be a wise one after Mumbai openers Michael Hussey and Lendl Simmons had put on 54 in the Powerplay. Not that Chennai batting first would have ensured victory – far from it – but still the value of runs on the board in a knock out game cannot be overstated. Mumbai’s total (173) was a reasonable one - KKR had comfortably defended ten fewer at Eden Gardens against a marauding Kings XI in the afternoon – and although Chennai bore the reputation of being supreme finishers, it was not going to be an easy chase.

MISSED CHANCES

Faf du Plessis (35) and Dwayne Smith (24) made the most of their chances to lay a foundation and took Super Kings to 60 without loss in 6 overs. An umpiring howler denied Praveen Kumar’s gorgeous in-swinger the wicket of Smith. Harbhajan and Ambati Rayudu then made an absolute mess of a du Plessis top-edge over square leg. But if the off-spinner was half responsible for the gaffe he can claim full responsibility for redeeming the situation. Immediately after the Powerplay, Bhajji removed both the openers.

Brendon McCullum, just returned from paternal duties in New Zealand, was dropped at long-on only to be stumped off Ojha's next delivery. David Hussey struggled to counter the spinners. He scratched around for five off ten balls, but when medium pace was reintroduced in the form of Bumrah, Hussey cut authoritatively for his first boundary. A spate of sixes in Ojha's last over followed and Hussey finished with a 29-ball 40, having featured in a game-changing partnership of 89 in 9.1 overs with Raina. The end came when Raina, fittingly, flicked the fourth ball of the 18th over to the fence for the winning runs.

REINED IN AT THE DEATH

Mumbai were 143/2 in the 17th over with Simmons (67) having hit top-gear soon after reaching a half-century, but gathered just 30 from the remaining 20 balls amid a torrent of wickets. Their chain of heavy hitters - Corey Anderson, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu and Aditya Tare - were all out forcing the pace. But none of them wasted time as they contributed a total of 56 in 38 balls. The final push however never arrived and the innings rode almost entirely on the momentum of the 76-run opening stand between Michael Hussey and Simmons.

Sent in by MSD, the vengeful Michael took on his former franchise, which now included his brother David, by wading into seamer Mohit Sharma and slapping offie R Ashwin for six. An equally belligerent Simmons was not to be outdone. The West Indian punished Ishwar Pandey’s frequent errors and omissions in length and stunned Mohit with a searing six over square-leg.  On a day on which both medium pacers made the India squads to England and Bangladesh, Mohit and Pandey had little else to celebrate. 

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