The second phase of the IPL set the stage on fire in the United Arab Emirates. Chennai Super Kings crossed swords with Mumbai Indians in the second leg. Earlier, Mumbai Indians got the better of Chennai Super Kings in the first leg that took place in India.
CSK captain MS Dhoni guessed the right side of the coin and decided to bat first. The three-time IPL champions got off to a sluggish start. The likes of Faf du Plessis (0), Moeen Ali (0), Suresh Raina (4), MS Dhoni (3) departed for cheap scored. CSK were on the receiving end early on in the game.
However, Ruturaj Gaikwad played the best innings of his life. It was all possible only because of his ability to remain calm and composed from the word go. The right-hander switched gears when it mattered the most and went on to score his personal best score of 88 off 58 balls including 9 fours and 4 sixes.
After being reduced to 24/4, CSK managed to aggregate 156/6 in their quota of 20 overs. Mumbai Indians played without their captain Rohit Sharma and even Hardik Pandya was a notable absentee. Kieron Pollard who already captained MI in 5 games (4 wins, 1 loss) led the team in Rohit’s absence.
MS Dhoni’s tactical field placement bore fruit for CSK
Mumbai Indians’ bowlers did a sensational job by restricting CSK to a respectable total. The onus was on their batsmen to deliver the goods. However, they fell prey to CSK bowlers early on. Quinton de Kock, Anmolpreet Singh, Suryakumar Yadav failed to fire as they departed for 17, 16 and 3 respectively.
Ishan Kishan who was one of the top scorers for MI last season looked uncomfortable from the start. He played a run-a-ball innings before falling prey to Dwayne Bravo’s bowling. The southpaw played a powerful shot towards the covers but Suresh Raina took a sensational catch.
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— msc media (@mscmedia2) September 19, 2021
Soon after that, Ravindra Jadeja went up to Suresh Raina and hugged him for his effort. Meanwhile, commentator Sunil Gavaskar said: “The hug should be given to MS Dhoni for his field placing and getting the wicket of Ishan.”
