IPL 2022, CSK vs MI, Top Performances: Daniel Sams' 3-16, Tilak Varma's 34* and Mukesh Choudhary's 3-23 are top performances. CSK and MI both are out of IPL 2022 playoff race.
Brief Scores: CSK 97 (Dhoni 36, Sams 3-16, Kartikeya 2-22) lost to MI 103-5 (Tilak 34, Shokeen 18, Mukesh 3-23) by 5 wickets
Player of the Match: Daniel Sams (3-16)
Match number 59 of Tata IPL 2022 saw two blockbuster teams go head-to-head against each other as five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians (MI) were up against four-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK). On a Thursday evening when everyone is waiting for the weekend to kickstart, the ‘El Classico’ of IPL was there to entertain the spectators.
After a slight delay in toss due to power failure at the Wankhede stadium, the coin flipped in Mumbai’s favour and captain Rohit Sharma was all smiles as he decided to bowl first on a pitch laced with a green tinge. A big surprise came from the blue dugout as birthday boy, Kieron Pollard was dropped from the playing eleven. The last time Pollard was dropped from the Mumbai lineup, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was still playing international cricket, CSK were just two-time IPL champions and the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t exist, which was four years ago in 2018, this was also in a match against CSK. Polly was replaced by a young South African Tristan Stubbs, who made his debut for Mumbai. Whereas the Yellow Army went with an unchanged eleven.
CSK get skittled out for 97 with Dhoni waging lone battle
There were so many stars on the field today that the electricity board thought about starting the match with a power outage at the Wankhede Stadium. Though there wasn’t a shortage of power-hitters in either of the teams.
MI made the most of the green wicket and no-DRS, as Devon Conway was given LBW to an inswinger from Daniel Sams, which looked like missing the leg stump to the naked eye but without DRS the umpire’s call was final and it felt like we were back to the 20th century. Today’s LBW was only Conway’s second-ever LBW dismissal in his T20 career!
The night sky wasn’t black but it was blue as the men in blue and gold exploited the greenish Wankhede wicket to the fullest with three wickets in 11 balls as Moeen Ali and Robin Uthappa followed Conway back to the pavilion. This was the third time in IPL history that Chennai had lost three wickets with five or fewer runs on the board and all three instances came against the mighty Mumbai Indians.
With wickets falling in almost every over, MS Dhoni was left stranded at one end as Chennai were six wickets down with just 45 runs on the board at the end of the eighth over. The voice of the CSK fans in the stadium was back as Dwayne Bravo and Dhoni stitched a crucial 39-run partnership. The joy of Chennai fans was cut short as young left-arm spinner, Kumar Kartikeya dismissed Bravo and Simarjeet Singh within a span of five deliveries. Dhoni managed to hit a few boundaries and sixes here and there, but couldn’t prevent CSK from getting bowled out inside 100 runs with over three overs to spare.
Chasing just 98 runs to spoil CSK’s party of an unlikely playoffs spot, Mumbai also lost their million-dollar baby, Ishan Kishan, in the very first over of the run chase. Defending mere 98 runs, CSK needed to pick wickets at regular intervals and CSK bowlers did just what the doctors ordered. Dismissing Rohit, Daniel Sams and Stubbs in a span of nine deliveries. CSK were definitely back in the game with regular inroads as Mumbai were stranded at 34-4 at the end of five overs. However, Hrithik Shokeen and Tilak Varma’s 48-run partnership ensured Mumbai spoiled CSK’s playoff dream as they beat the southern franchise by five wickets with more than five overs left in the bank.
Let’s gauge the top three performances of the game between CSK and MI, IPL 2022:
Daniel “Summons” CSK’s top-order
A left-arm seamer swinging the ball is one of the best sights in world cricket and on this greenish Wankhede wicket, Daniel Sams did just that. Bowling the first over of the match, Sams sent Conway back to the pavilion with a rather controversial LBW decision. The ball angled into Conway’s pad who missed the line of the ball and was given LBW. Fortunately for Sams, the DRS technology was down as the ball seemed to be missing the leg stump by some margin.
Moeen Ali and his struggles against the short deliveries is a well-known story and Sams ensured that he targeted Ali with a perfect short delivery on the body. Moeen tried to sway the bat away from it at the very last moment and ended up playing a miscued nothing shot to short-mid wicket. If Sams had bought a lottery ticket, he would have won even with a half-torn ticket, as it was his day written all over the calendar.
As Ruturaj Gaikwad poked at a ball that was way down the leg side, even if there would have been three of him standing next to each other, he would have still missed finding the ball. A feather of an edge ended up giving Sams his third wicket of the match. Sam and Bumrah utilized the new ball and the green wicket to its fullest, bowling some unplayable balls which made CSK batters dance all over the crease.
Read More: IPL 2022, Tale of Friends turning Foes: From Warner’s 92* against SRH to Kuldeep’s 8 KKR scalps
Mukesh ‘Swinging’ Choudhary
If Sams can swing it, Mukesh can swing it one better. Taking the new ball, Mukesh Choudhary dismissed Ishan Kishan with a beautiful trap. Keeping the cover region open, the plan was to lure Kishan into the drive with the ball swinging away from the bat. Mukesh just bowled to his field, a perfect outswinger to which Kishan poked his bat and ended up having nothing more than a thick edge to Dhoni. Mukesh has now bowled six deliveries at Ishan this season, with Kishan scoring just six runs and being dismissed twice in the two matches they have come face to face.
Bowling his third over on the trot, Mukesh dismissed the pinch-hitter Sams with a beautiful in swinger into the right-hander’s pad. Sams was late to get his bat down as the ball struck him plumb in front of the wickets for an easy LBW decision for the umpire. It took Mukesh just two deliveries to dismiss the debutant Tristan Stubbs, almost an action replay of Sams’ dismissal. The left-arm pacer from over the wickets, shaped the ball back in as Stubbs who was deep in his crease, missed the line of the ball and was caught dead in front of the wickets. Mukesh didn’t even have to really appeal as Chris Gaffaney had his hand up in seconds.
This match also saw the second-most LBW dismissals (5) in IPL history; the only other match to have five or more LBWs was the one between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) way back in 2017 at the same venue, the Wankhede Stadium.
Mukesh’s deadly swinging spell of three wickets gave the CSK fans a ray of hope in defending this low score. With these three wickets in the powerplay, Mukesh overtook Mohammed Shami in the tally of highest wickets (11) inside powerplay overs.
Read More: IPL 2022, MI vs KKR, Top Performances: Bumrah fifer goes in vain as MI succumb to 52-run defeat
Varma puts the winning ‘Tilak’ on Mumbai’s forehead
An official petition was signed on Wednesday to mark this as the official left-handers’ day, as all the top performers of today’s game were left-handers. Coming into bat at 32-2 with Mumbai Indians in a spot of bother, Tilak Varma then further saw two wickets falling in quick succession at the striker’s end and Mumbai were further stuck in turmoil at 34-4 after five overs.
Tilak then played perfectly as per the situation with zero risk shots and even played at a strike rate of below 100. Stitching a crucial partnership of 48 runs with Hrithik Shokeen, Tilak was the calmer partner of the two. Playing all his shots down the ground till Mumbai was within one hand distance from the win.
As the required runs came under 25, Tilak came into his own, playing reverse sweeps and drives of Maheesh Theekshana which ensured Mumbai wouldn’t lose from here. Such a responsible innings under pressure, coming from a 19-year-old definitely speaks of the volumes of talent and calibre Tilak holds in his armoury. This small but vital knock of 34 was rather a match-holding innings, if not a hurricane innings, which was actually the need of the hour for the five-time IPL champions.
Read More: IPL 2022, CSK vs DC, Top Performances: Conway's explosive 87, Moeen 3-13 help CSK to 4th win
TATA IPL 2022 Points Table
What’s to come
The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will take on the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on May 13 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, which will be another enthralling encounter in the race for the playoffs. If the latter win this game, it will make the points table a scramble to the top for the top eight franchises.
Here are top twitter reactions from MI vs CSK match as MI beat CSK by 5 wickets:
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