IPL 2018: Rohit's class helps MI beat CSK by 8 wickets in must-win game

Mumbai Indians defeated Chennai Super Kings by 8 wickets to keep their hopes alive for play-offs

In the 27th game of Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL 2018), Mumbai Indians led by Rohit Sharma defeated MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings by 8 wickets, in their must-win game. Mumbai Indians' batsmen remained adamant and did not give any early wicket to Chennai Super Kings. Harbhajan Singh was the only bowler with a wicket for Chennai till the 10th over.Evin Lewis could not complete his fifty as he perished in the 17th over. With wickets in hand, Mumbai looked solid and even with run rate a bit high, they had fewer reasons to worry about as they could launch an all-round attack. With captain Rohit Sharma finding flair after some failures in recent matches, the contest became interesting. Rohit Sharma got his half-century and took the team to the victory with the help of some continuous boundaries he smashed during his innings. After today's win, Mumbai Indians jumps to 6th place in Vivo IPL points table.

Mumbai Indians innings: Over by over

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Jean-Paul Duminy, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah. Changes: Ben Cutting replaces Mustafizur Rahman and JP Duminy to play in place of Kieron Pollard.

Over 1: Suryakumar Yadav and Evin Lewis came to open the batting for Mumbai Indians
Deepak Chahar to Suryakumar Yadav dot ball to start with. Yadav hit the next ball for four. Followed by a double of the 3^rd ball. Two consecutive dot balls before a wide down the leg side. Dot ball to end the over. MI 7/0
 
Over 2: Shardul Thakur to Lewis, wide ball to start with followed by a dot ball. Lewis took double in the mid-wicket region of the 2^nd ball. Dot ball. Thakur bowled two consecutive dot balls. Lewis hit the last ball for 4. MI: 14/0
 
Over 3: Deepak Chahar to Yadav, hit the first ball for four in the square leg region. Two dot balls followed by upper-cut four in the third man region. Yadav took a single off the next ball. Lewis too double to end the over. MI 25/0

Over 4: Watson to Yadav, dot ball to start with followed by a boundary and couple of runs. Dot ball. Yadav flicked the 5^th ball for a double. Single to end the over. MI: 34/0
 
Over 5: Chahar to Yadav, single to square leg. Deepak Chahar went off the field due to injury. Harbhajan to Lewis dot ball to start with. Single is taken. Dot ball. Yadav inside out cover drive went for four. A single to end the over. MI: 41/0
 
Over 6: Thakur to Yadav, a dot ball to start with, followed by two single of 2^nd and 3^rd ball. Yadav hit the 4^th ball for 6. Single of the last ball of the over. MI: 50/0

Over 7: Watson to Yadav, no run. Yadav took a single of the next ball. Another single of the next ball. Yadav took single of the 4^th ball in the cover region. Lewis played a dot ball, followed by a single to end the over.
 
Over 8: Harbhajan to Evin Lewis, went for a single in the point region. Yadav took a single of the next ball. Harbhajan bowled consecutive 4 dot balls to Lewis as he failed to score runs. MI: 56/0
 
Over 9: Imran Tahir to Yadav, took a single off the first ball. Lewis struggle against spin bowling continues as he played 7 dot balls. 4 byes as Dhoni failed to take the ball. A juicy full toss went for 4. MI: 65/0

Over 10: Harbhajan to Yadav, single to start the over, another single of the 2^nd ball. One run in the long-on region another single taken by Lewis. Yadav holed up the 5^th ball of the over in the mid-wicket region. Jadeja took a brilliant catch to give CSK first breakthrough. Lewis took a double to end the over. MI: 71/1
 
Over 11: Imran Tahir to Rohit Sharma, one run in the short mid-wicket region. Lewis hit a six of the 2^nd ball, followed by a wide. Lewis took a single off the 3^rd ball so did Rohit off the 4^th ball. Lewis hit the 5^th ball for six over long-on. A dot ball to end the over. MI: 87/1
 
Over 12: Harbhajan Singh to Rohit Sharma, single taken off the first ball. Lewis took a single of the 2^nd ball, followed by 4 singles in the over. MI: 93/1

Over 13: Bravo to Lewis, no run. Lewis took a single of the 2^nd ball. Rohit took a single of the next ball. Another single taken by the Lewis. Lewis hit the last ball of the over for 4. MI 101/1
 
Over 14: Watson to Rohit, a classic straight batted six. Followed by 2 dot balls. Second six of the over off the 4^th ball. Brilliant fielding saved a single. Rohit took a single to end the over. MI 114/1
 
Over 15: Bravo to Rohit, starts off with a wide. Rohit Sharma pulled the 1^st ball for 4 in the square leg region. Rohit played a dot ball. Two singles taken of the 3^rd and 4^th ball. Rohit Sharma took a single of the 5^th ball. Another single taken by Lewis to end the over. MI: 123/1

Over 16: Shardul Thakur to Lewis, single of the first ball, followed by a dot ball. Rohit Sharma took double of the 3^rd ball. Rohit took a single of the 4^th ball. Dot ball. Lewis took a single to end the over. MI: 128/1.
 
Over 17: Bravo to Lewis, out, Lewis holed up the big shot to long-off. Rohit pulled the 2^nd ball for a single followed by another single by Hardik Pandya. Sharma took a single of the 4^th ball. Pandya hit a cover drive to fetch 2 runs. A dot ball bowled by Bravo to end the over. MI: 133/2
 
Over 18: Watson to Rohit, a classic cover drive went for no run. Yorker outside off went for wide. Rohit hit the 2^nd ball for 4 in the cover region, followed by a single in the long-on region. Hardik Pandya hit the 4^th ball for 6 over long-on. A Yorker went for a single. Rohit Sharma scored 2 runs to end the over.
 
Over 19: Shardul Thakur to Hardik, single taken of the first ball. Rohit hit the 2^nd ball for 4 followed by another four in the fine-leg region. Rohit hit third 4 of the over. A rare dot ball by Thakur in the over. Rohit swept the Yorker for four over the square leg to finish the over.
 
Over 20: Imran Tahir to Hardik Pandya, single of the first ball. Rohit took a double of the 2^nd ball. Rohit hit the third ball for single. Hardik late cut brought winning runs for Mumbai Indians. MI won by 8 wickets.

Mumbai Indians Innings analysis

Suryakumar Yadav and Evin Lewis opened for Mumbai Indians, Deepak Chahar was the bowler for CSK. Yadav scored a boundary on the second ball.
 

Mumbai were 8/0 after first over. Shardul Thakur bowled the second over and started with a wide, Lewis hit a boundary on the last ball. Chahar came in for the third over and Suryakumar Yadav hit the first ball for four, he repeated the same on the 4th ball. Mumbai Indians scored 25/0 runs in 3 overs with 8.33 runs per over. Suryakumar Yadav 15 (11) and Evin Lewis 8 (7) were at the crease.

Shane Watson came to bowl the 4th over but was hit for a boundary on the second ball. Yadav added 2 quick doubles after that. Mumbai were 34/0 after 4 overs. Chahar started his third over but soon left the field due to some discomfort, Harbhajan Singh came in to finish his over, gave 6 runs in it. Shardul Thakur came for the 6th over, Suryakumar Yadav hit a six on the 4th ball.

Mumbai Indians scored 50/0 runs in 6 overs with 8.4 runs per over. Suryakumar Yadav 38 (26) and Evin Lewis 10 (10) were at the crease.

In the 7th over, Shane Watson did a balanced bowling, pretty much on the line and gave 4 runs off it. Mumbai were 54/0 after 7 overs. Harbhajan Singh managed to halt Mumbai's run flow, giving 2 runs only from his over. Dhoni put the onus on Imran in the 9th over, the over was going fine but just then a boundary came on the 5th ball in the form of byes. Lewis hit another four on the next ball.
 

Mumbai Indians scored 65/0 runs in 9 overs with 7.22 runs per over. Suryakumar Yadav 42 (31) and Evin Lewis 17 (23) were at the crease.

Harbhajan Singh got the prized wicket of Suryakumar Yadav in the 10th over and Mumbai Captain Rohit Sharma replaced him. Tahir was smashed for a six twice by Lewis in the 11th over. 

Harbhajan Singh came for the 12th over and gave singles only. Mumbai Indians scored 93/1 runs in 12 overs with 7.75 runs per over. Evin Lewis 37 (33) and Rohit Sharma 5(5) were at the crease.

Shardul Thakur started the 16th over as the contest was turning towards deciding overs, Mumbai collected 5 runs from it. The 17th over brought some respite for CSK as Bravo got the wicket of Lewis who was nearing his fifty. Hardik Pandya joined Rohit Sharma on the crease. Mumbai Captain hit a boundary and rotated the strike on the next ball, giving way to Pandya and he did as was expected of him, clearing the boundary for a six.

Mumbai Indians were 148/2 after 18 overs. Shardul Thakur bowled the crucial 19th over, Pandya took a single to put Rohit Sharma on strike, the captain was lucky to not get caught in the next ball adn a boundary was added. Sharma hit the next ball for a four towards fine leg. A third boundary followed, and Rohit hit another four on the last ball of the over, completed his fifty also. Mumbai were 5 runs away with 6 balls remaining. Dhoni put Imran Tahir to bowl the last over, Pandya took a single to give strike to Rohit Sharma, he took two runs in the next ball followed by a single. Only one run was needed and Pandya scored a boundary towards third man.

Mumbai won the match with Rohit Sharma scoring 56 runs in 33 balls and Hardik Pandya 16 runs in 8 balls.

Chennai Super Kings innings: Over by over

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir. CSK squad is unchanged

Over 1: Ambati Rayudu and Shane Watson to open for CSK.
Mitchell McClenaghen to Watson, single of the first ball. Rayudu the second ball falls short of Ishan Kishan, no run. Rayudu hit the third ball for six over the bowler’s head. Dot ball. Pulled the fifth ball for a single. Last went for no run. CSK: 8/0

Over 2: Jasprit Bumrah to Rayudu, first ball bounces of the length, good leave. Rayudu played the next ball above his shoulder, dot ball. Top edge just falls short of Bumrah, no run. Cautious Rayudu defended the next ball for no run. Single in the third man of the 5^th ball. Another single to end the over. CSK: 10/0

Over 3:McClenaghen to Watson, dot ball. Powerful off drive went for four. Dot ball. Single of the 3^rd ball. Another single of the 5^th ball. 2 runs of the last ball in the fine leg region. CSK: 18/0

Over 4: Hardik Pandya to Rayudu, single of the first ball another single of the 2^nd. Dot ball. Rayudu hit the fourth ball for four. 2 dot balls to end the over: CSK: 24/0

Over 5: Krunal to Watson, double of the ball ball. Watson out of the second ball. Rayudu hit the 3^rd ball for six. Single of the 4^th. Raina played the 5^th ball for no run. Raina hit the last ball for six over mid-wicket. CSK: 39/1

Over 6: Hardik to Rayudu, one run. Second ball went for one leg bye. Rayudu played 3^rd and 4^th ball for no run. Edged the 5^th ball for 4 in the third man region and deposited the last ball into the stand. CSK: 51/1

Over 7: Krunal to Raina hit the first ball for 4, followed by 2 dot balls. Wide ball. Single of the third ball. Rayudu punches the 4th ball down the ground for a single. Double by Raina to end the over. CSK: 60/1

Over 8: Mayank Markande to Rayudu, single to start with. Another single of the 2nd ball. Dot ball. Rayudu flicked the 3rd ball for a single in the mid-wicket region. 2 dot balls to end the over. CSK: 63/1

Over 9: Ben Cutting to Rayudu bounce to start, wide ball. Rayudu hit the 1st ball for six over long-off. Single of the next ball. Raina hit the next ball over cover for 4. Flicked the 4th ball for a single. Dot ball. Single to end the over. CSK: 77/1

Over 10: Markande to Rayudu, single of the first ball. Another single of the next ball. Rayudu takes single of the 3rd ball. Raina hit the 4th ball for four, followed by six of the 5th ball. Single to end the over. CSK: 91/1

Over 11: McClenaghen to Raina, down the leg side, Raina helped it for four. Dot ball. Raina takes single of the 3^rd ball. Another single of the 4^th ball. Bouncer left by Raina. Dot ball to end the over. CSK: 97/1.'

Over 12: Krunal to Rayudu, dot ball. Rayudu hit the next ball for six but find Ben Cutting at the boundary. Dhoni came to crease. Krunal to DHoni dot ball, single of the 5^th ball. One run of the last ball: CSK: 99/2

Over 13: Bumrah to Raina, Dot ball. Single of the next ball. Followed by 4 dot ball as Bumarh didn’t allow Dhoni to score. CSK: 100 for 2
Over 14: Krunal to Raina, no run. Double of the second ball. Raina took single of the 3^rd. three singles to end the over. CSK: 106/2

Over 15: Hardik to Dhoni, single to start the over. Raina cramped for room for no run. Single of the third ball. Dhoni hit the 4^th ball for 4 over mid-off followed by another boundary over mid-wicket. A single of miss-field to end the over CSK: 117/2

Over 16: Markande to Dhoni, no run followed by four over cover. Wide ball. Dhoni hit the 3^rd ball for 6 and took single of the next ball. Raina took a single of leg-bye. Another single to end the over. CSK: 131/2.
 
Over 17: Bumrah to Dhoni, started with a wide. Dhoni took a single of the 1^st ball. Raina hit 2^nd ball for 4 over fine leg. Dot ball of the next. Raina hit the 4^th ball for four over square leg. Single of the next ball. Leg-bye to end the over. CSK: 143/2.

Over 18: McClenaghan to Dhoni, full toss, hit straight to extra cover, Dhoni Out. Raina took a single of the 2^nd ball. McClenaghan to Bravo, top edge caught by Markande, golden duck for Bravo. Raina took a single off the 4^th ball. McClenaghan to Billings took a single. Another single to end the over. CSK: 147/4
 
Over 19: Bumrah to Raina, double in the long-off region followed by a six in the mid-wicket region. Raina took a single of the 3^rd ball. Sam Billings took a single of the 4^th ball. Another single of the 5^th. Dot ball to end the over. CSK: 158/4

Over 20: Hardik to Raina, a single. Another single. Billings holed it to long-on. Raina hit a six of the last ball.

Chennai Super Kings innings: Innings analysis

Having won the toss and invited Chennai Super Kings to bat first, Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians has not had a dream start. But, to their credit, they have managed to remove opener Shane Watson early.

Shane Watson and Ambati Rayudu came to open for Chennai and Mitchell McClenaghan started the bowling attack. Rayudu decided to go for a six on the third ball of the match. A fine over as Chennai picked 8 runs of it. Ambati Rayudu took the strike in the next over Jasprit Bumrah took the ball, after first two dot balls he missed a caught and bowled chance as he couldn't dive. CSK managed two singles with 4 dot balls, the score was 10/2 after 2 overs. McClenaghan started the third over and Watson was lucky to get a boundary on the second ball as Rohit couldn't stop the ball even after a dive. CSK scored 16 runs after 3 overs with 5.65 runs per over. Shane Watson 7 (7) and Ambati Rayudu 9 (10) were at the crease.

Hardik took the 4th over and gave 6 runs of it, including a  boundary. Krunal Pandya was brought in to get a breakthrough and he did not disappoint his captain. Dangerous Watson was out on the second ball of the 4th over on a slower one from Pandya. Rayudu was not affected by the wicket loss and smashed a six using his wrists. Hardik Pandya continued the attack and Raina switched the strike with a single off the second ball of the 6th over. Rayudu cut the ball for a four towards the third man and in the next ball, he cleared the boundary for a six. CSK scored 51/1 runs after 6 overs with 8.5 runs per over. Ambati Rayudu 32 (22) and Suresh Raina 6 (3) were at the crease.

Raina flexed some muscle in the 7th over and added a few quick runs, Krunal Pandya did not get much this time. Markande came in the 8th over to slow down the run flow, Chennai batsmen took their time to understand his balls. The spinner did his job well and gave just 3 runs in his over. Ben Cutting started his first over and Rayudu greeted him with a six. Raina added more flavour to it by hitting a boundary on the third ball. The over went well for Chennai.  CSK scored 77/1 runs after 9 overs with 8.5 runs per over. Ambati Rayudu 43 (30) and Suresh Raina 19 (13) were at the crease.

Bumrah bowled the 13th over and gave just a single off it. 100 runs came up for CSK and Krunal was brought in. He had been good throughout and looked to get more in his last over.

CSK took the help of singles in that over and reached 106 runs. Hardik Pandya came to bowl his third over, Dhoni took the single from the first ball. Dhoni scored two consecutive boundaries. CSK scored 117/2 runs after 15 overs with 7.8 runs per over. Suresh Raina 43 (31) and MS Dhoni 13 (13) were at the crease.

Markande came for the 16th over and Dhoni blasted a boundary and a six in quick succession followed by two singles. Bumrah came for the 17th over and Raina took his score further and completed his half-century. McClenaghan got the better of Dhoni on the first ball of the 18th over. Dwayne Bravo came in and threw away his wicket for a golden duck, beaten by McClenaghan's pace and bounce. Sam Billings replaced Bravo. CSK were 147/4 after 18 overs. Bumrah started the 19th over, Raina knew that not much balls are left and decided to go with a big hit on the 2nd ball. Barring that big six, Bumrah managed to keep the batsmen silent in the over. Hardik Pandya was brought in for the last over, the first three balls went in singles for CSK and on the fourth ball, Billings was caught on a slower delivery from Pandya. Raina smashed a six on the last ball. Ravindra Jadeja did not face any ball. CSK scored 169/5 runs in 20 overs with 8.45 runs per over. Suresh Raina scored 75 runs (39) and Ravindra Jadeja 0(0). 

Why the match is important

The Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians are at the bottom of the table at present, having managed only one win from the six games played so far. On the other hand CSK top the charts with five wins from their six matches. When these two sides last met, at Mumbai's Wankhede stadium in the opening tie of the season, CSK beat Mumbai Indians by one wicket and with a ball to spare. The heartbreaking one-wicket defeat in the series-opener would be fresh in the minds but Mumbai Indians players, who will look to play out of their skin to exact a revenge at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
 
Today’s match is a must-win for Mumbai Indians if they want to survive in the IPL 2018. So far, all Mumbai Indians batters, except Suryakumar Yadav, have struggled. Both skipper Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard have failed to fire in five of the six games.
 
Barring his match-winning knock of 94 runs against Royal Challengers Banglore (RCB), Rohit Sharma has failed to get past 20 runs in five innings. Not just the batsmen, even their bowlers have let down Mumbai Indians. Twenty-year-old leggie Mayank Markande has been a find for Mumbai, but he has lacked support from others. While Markande has scalped 10 wickets from six games, pacer Jasprit Bumrah has eight wickets in his kitty. However, Bumrah, known as a 'death overs' specialist, and Bangladesh pacer Muztifizur Rahman have not lived up to the expectations, and leaked plenty of runs in late stages. Mumbai might look to play New Zealand pacer Adam Milne in place of his compatriot Mitchell McClenaghan, who has been giving away too many runs, especially in the end. Mumbai Indians bowlers will need to perform as a unit to stop in-form CSK batsmen.
 
On the other hand, Chennai Super Kings are confident after their last win, with a vintage Dhoni helping the team chase a stiff target of 206 against RCB. Chennai would be pleased that most of their batsmen -- Australian Shane Watson, Ambati Rayadu, Dwayne Bravo and Dhoni -- are in form. Only Suresh Raina has been a little oo-touch and he would be keen to be back among runs. Coach Stephen Fleming would expect another stellar performance from his batters on a pitch that usually aids batsmen. The Chennai bowling, led by Shardul Thakur and complemented by Imran Tahir and Deepak Chahar, has also clicked so far. While Mumbai will be under extreme pressure to deliver, another win for Chennai would consolidate their position on the table.
 
Here are a few things to know about match 27th match of IPL 2018 between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings (MI vs CSK) played at Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune, the two teams' players who could prove handy, and who has said what before the clash:
 
 
Bravo is a mentor to all young CSK bowlers, says Eric Simons: Chennai Super Kings bowling coach Eric Simons termed Dwayne Bravo as the "mentor" to all young Chennai Super Kings bowlers with his enormous variations in the shortest format. "Bravo is massively important from two perspectives. He is an incredibly experienced cricketer. His ability to control in those middle overs, when we need some control, bowl to his field, is wonderful to watch," the former bowling coach of Indian team said ahead of CSK's match against Mumbai Indians. The number of balls he bowls that go down the ground for one or to the square for one he exactly knows whats going to happen is hugely important. And then the third component is the amount of mentorship he does for our bowlers. He does lot of talking, lot of advising," Simmon said.
 
What bowling coach Eric Simons said about Dhoni’s knock against RCB: “MS Dhoni might look unorthodox but he is very effective, that's the way he plays. He reads the game. He senses where the game changes. Against the RCB the other night, it was all about reading the game, understanding who were their key bowlers and who is going to target at the back end and that's what MS is about," the bowling coach said.
 
What CSK head coach Stephen Fleming said about Rayudu: Head coach Stephen Fleming said Mahendra Singh Dhoni's unbeaten 70 might hog the headlines but it was opener Ambati Rayudu's 53-ball 82-run innings which set things up for Chennai Super Kings as they secured a five-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore. Dhoni is going to get a lot of headlines but the innings from Rayudu was outstanding as well. He has been the form player for us in all conditions and has followed on from the Hyderabad game with another instrumental knock. The power game he has got has gone unnoticed but we certainly value the performances that he has put in this year so far. He has been instrumental in us winning games and staying in the games. I couldn't be more happy with him,” said Fleming.
 
Rohit Sharma should open for Mumbai Indians, says Lalchand Rajput: Former India batsman Lalchand Rajut believes that Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma should open the innings for the defending champions as it can give the team a good start. "Rohit is a prolific opening batsman, who has done exceptionally well for India as an opener. So opening and playing free is important for him. If you start well, then you can pile up a big score. You have to open with Rohit, as simple as that. When you bat at number four after losing two wickets that is a different ball-game rather than opening. It (Rohit opening the innings) will help Mumbai, because they will get a good start, as the start is important," Rajput said.
 
Young guys like Hardik need to work harder to be consistent, says Jayawardene: Young players, including Hardik Pandya, need to work harder and evolve to become a consistent cricketer, said Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardane. Every year you can't bat the same way, if people don't evolve and improve, there is no progress. Young guys like Hardik will learn that and need to work harder, the talent alone will not get you. Leading the game and thinking about the game, that's the part they need to keep learning and specially with good international bowlers coming and doing various things you have to evolve otherwise you won't be able to be consistent,” Jayawardene said.
 
How CSK and MI fare against each other in head-to-head comparisons for IOL matches played so far:
 
Overall

Matches played: 24
Mumbai Indians won: 13
Chennai Super Kings won: 11

Some trivia ahead of today’s match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings:
 

• The Chennai Super Kings have the best death overs scoring rate in VIVO IPL 2018 – 12.64. Mumbai Indians sit at the other end of the spectrum; their death overs scoring rate of 8.04 is the lowest among all teams.

• Mumbai Indians’ run rate in the powerplay this season is 8.38; for the rest of the innings, their scoring rate drops to 8.12.

• If MS Dhoni leads CSK onto the field, it will be his 150th match as captain in the IPL.

• Five different players have won the Man of the Match award in CSK’s five wins this season: Dwayne Bravo, Sam Billings, Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu and most recently MS Dhoni.

• Other than the 102-run opening partnership against the Delhi Daredevils, MI’s opening stands this season read: 7, 11, 0, 1 & 12.

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Suryakumar Yadav, Evin Lewis, Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Jean-Paul Duminy, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mayank Markande, Jasprit Bumrah. Changes: Ben Cutting replaces Mustafizur Rahman and JP Duminy to play in place of Kieron Pollard.