The second round of the ‘El Clasico’ of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 turned out to be an anti-climax.
Mumbai Indians (MI) humbled Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by a comprehensive margin of 10 wickets at Sharjah on Friday. Thereby, seeking perfect revenge for their loss in the tournament opener last month.
Earlier, MI fans received a major blow during the toss when Kieron Pollard arrived at the toss instead of captain Rohit Sharma. Saurabh Tiwary replaced the injured MI captain, who is still recuperating from the injury sustained during the game against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).
The MI proceeding was spearheaded by fast-bowler Trent Boult (4/18), who exhibited swing and seam bowling with the new ball. Boult picked up three wickets in his first spell, which included a maiden over. He came back to pick a crucial wicket in the 20th over.
The Kiwi pacer was well supported by Jasprit Bumrah (2/25) at the other end. The two premium international bowlers reduced to 21-5 before the end of the powerplay. This was the first time in IPL history when CSK lost five wickets in the powerplay.
Decisive spells from Rahul Chahar (2/22) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (1/25) did not allow any breathing space for CSK. The ‘Men in Yellow’ were reduced to 43-7, before the halfway stage.
It appeared as if the three-time IPL winners would not be able to play out their entire quota of 20 overs. However, Sam Curran batted out of his skins, taking CSK to a respectable total of 114/9.
The English all-rounder scored a gritty knock of 52 which came of 47 deliveries. His innings was laced with four boundaries and two sixes.
Coming out to bat, Quinton de Kock and Ishan Kishan showed no mercy for the CSK bowlers. The two left-handers displayed an exceptional exhibition of boundary hitting.
Kishan starred for MI with the bat with his exotic knock of 68 off 37 balls. The flambouyant stroke maker entertained the spectators with six fours and five sixes. He was well supported by De Kock at the other end, who played a mature knock of 46. In the end, it was a comfortable run-chase for MI, who achieved the target with 8 and a half overs to spare.
Boult was adjudged as the ‘Player of the Match’ for his herculean effort with the bat.
Brief Scores:
MI – 116/0 in 12.2 overs (Curran 52, Boult 4/18) beat CSK – 114/9 in 20 overs (Kishan 68*, De Kock 46*) by 10 wickets.
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