The five-time winners Mumbai Indians (MI) won their third game in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 after defeating the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a group stage match on May 12 at Mumbai’s famous Wankhede Stadium (Thursday).
Going with the tradition, MI skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to have a bowl first. His decision was proven right as CSK lost Devon Conway, Moeen Ali, Robin Uthappa, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Ambati Rayudu inside the powerplay.
The defending champions dug themselves into a lot of trouble after being 4 down for just 36 runs. Their woes did not end there, as left-handed hitter Shivam Dube was shortly sent back to the pavilion.
CSK’s skipper MS Dhoni and senior player Dwayne Bravo tried to steer the ship at the time. Bravo was scalped by Kumar Kartikeya, so that was not to be and CSK wickets continued to fall after his dismissal. Leaving skipper Dhoni alone at one end, the Yellow Army scored just 97 runs and were bowled out in 16 overs.
Only chasing 98, MI batsmen attempted to make the task harder for themselves by losing 3 early wickets. Tilak Varma and Hrithik Shokeen, two young batters, stabilised MI’s innings and ensured the Men in Blue and Gold got two more points.
MI remains at the bottom of the points table despite winning Yesterday’s match. The Rohit Sharma-led side have now played 12 games and have only 6 points in the league standings.
While CSK remains to be at the 9th spot with 8 points in 12 games. If CSK fails to win in their 2 fixtures remaining and MI wins both of their remaining the defending champions will find themselves at the bottom.
IPL 2022: MI defeats CSK by 5 wickets – Post Match Reaction
After the match the winning captain Rohit Sharma said
“Looking at how the pitch was playing and to lose wickets upfront, there were tense moments in the middle. It was just about keeping calm and getting the job done. After losing those wickets at the start, we were a little calm and got the job done in the end.”
“We are keeping one eye on what are the holes to be filled out for the next year.”
Meanwhile, the losing skipper MS Dhoni said
“Irrespective of how the wicket is, anything below 130 is difficult to defend, but what I asked the bowlers was to show a lot of character and forget about the result.”
“It didn’t pay off today but I think they bowled really well. A bit of application was needed from our side, and a few of the batters got out on good deliveries, hopefully they are learning with each and every game.”
What’s next for Chennai and Mumbai?
CSK will lock horns with the table-toppers Gujarat Titans (GT) on Sunday in a day game at Wankhede in Mumbai. While MI will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Tuesday at the same venue in the night game.
