Mumbai Indians cantered home to a six-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings on a Chennai pitch that saw that spinners turn the ball a long way.
Batting first, CSK could only manage 131/4 in their 20 overs, with Ambati Rayudu top scoring with 42 and Dhoni and Murali Vijay chipping in with 37 and 26 respectively.
In reply, Mumbai found themselves in trouble after the early departure of their openers. However, Suryakumar Yadav dropped anchor and hit a fine 71 off 54 balls, enabling his side to chase down the total in the penultimate over.
Was it really that tough a pitch to bat on?
It surely was. Chennai Super Kings could only manage 131 for the loss of four wickets, but even that was possible only because they had a strong and experienced Indian middle order that, to some extent, knew how to tackle such condition. In Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Murali Vijay and MS Dhoni, CSK had the players to who could bail them out.
Suresh Raina failed, trying to hit Jayant Yadav out of the ground and giving the bowler a return catch instead. Vijay, who had replaced the injured Kedar Jadhav, walked out at number four and looked the most comfortable of the batsmen. His 26 was only run a ball, but it was instrumental in stopping the rot for CSK. He eventually fell to a ripper from Rahul Chahar, missing a flick on the outside edge and being stumped. His innings allowed Rayudu and Dhoni to score at a much quicker pace and get their team a competitive total.
Mumbai Indians had the benefit of having watched their opponents bat first, but still strugled to come to terms with the pitch. Rohit Sharma was done in by Deepak Chahar's swing, while Quinton de Kock went with the spin off Harbhajan and found Faf du Plessis stationed exactly for that shot. MI should have been deeper in trouble, but a drop by Murali Vijay and a couple of close shaves kept Mumbai from suffering further damage. At 22/2, CSK's total looked much bigger than it actually was.
What of the other batsmen?
It was largely a story of struggle, but those who applied themselves saw some success. Like Murali Vijay, Dhoni and Rayudu did well for CSK. They were innings of calculated aggression. Rahul Chahar was seen off, while the same respect was meted out to Jasprit Bumrah. Jayant Yadav, after two quite overs, was attacked as was Lasith Malinga. But with the pitch always looking tricky the batsmen had to stay on gruard throughout.
But the best batsman was Suryakumar Yadav. One of the less exciting names in Mumbai's popwerpacked line up, Suryakumar proved his worth by putting in a top quality knock on an extremely tough pitch. Suryakumar read the spinners brilliantly, and he was up against three of the best in the business, and kept working the gaps to perfection. He enjoyed luck too, twice dropped, but continued to play the vital knock his team required of him. His unbeaten 71 off 54 was the big difference as Mumbai romped to the final in Hyderabad.
Did CSK ever have hope of defending such a small total?
It actually looked a very competitive score. With Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir and Ravindra Jadeja in the team, and a pitch that was helping the ball turn square, CSK would have had their hopes up. When Rohit Sharma fell second ball for four, those hopes must've doubled. Quinton de Kock fell for 8 to boost CSK's chances further. The spinners still had more than 10 overs to bowl at that point and if Vijay had managed to grab hold of the catch Suryakumar Yadav presented to him while on 11, they would have had Mumbai on the ropes. Vijay dropped the chance, while Suryakumar grabbed his and made a telling contribution.
What next for the teams?
Chennai fly to Vizag to take on the winner from the eliminator between Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, while Mumbai go to Hyderabad and will be eagerly waiting to find out who stands to spoil their chances of a fourth IPL triumph.
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