Mumbai, Apr 24:
Sanju Samson carried his bat with a splendid 101 not out, while Akeal Hosein’s stunning 4/17 powered Chennai Super Kings to a crushing 103-run victory over a listless Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League clash here on Thursday.
Samson stood tall with a 54-ball 101 (10x4s, 8x6s) in the first half, which took a faltering CSK to a challenging 207/6.
In reply, Mumbai Indians endured a horror start, slumping to 11 for three inside the first three overs, and never recovered as they were bowled out for 104 in 19 overs.
Backed by a partisan crowd that made it feel more like Chepauk than the Wankhede Stadium, CSK produced a clinical all-round performance despite the absence of MS Dhoni.
In a season marred by poor returns in the powerplay, Mumbai Indians endured their worst start yet, crawling to 29 for three after six overs following an early burst of wickets.
Danish Malewar (0) fell first in classical fashion, edging a Hosein delivery that gripped and spun away to be caught behind by Samson in the first over.
Mukesh Choudhary (1/31) then struck to dismiss Quinton de Kock (7), who chopped one back onto his stumps, before Hosein returned in the third over to clean up Naman Dhir (0) with a delivery that straightened and rattled the top of middle stump.
A horror start notwithstanding, MI still had plenty of batting left in the form of last game’s centurion Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, but none could spark a fightback.
Tilak and Suryakumar looked more intent on rebuilding than counter-attacking, stitching a 56-ball 73-run stand for the fourth wicket, but the effort only allowed the asking rate to spiral further out of reach.
Suryakumar’s 30-ball 35, laced with five fours, was scratchy by his standards, with the India T20I skipper even missing his trademark flick off the pads twice.
On one occasion, he was left writhing in pain after being struck by an Anshul Kamboj delivery, and on the other, he thumped the ground in frustration as his bat slipped out of his hands while attempting the shot.
The floodgates reopened once again when Tilak, who scored 37 off 29 with five fours, played one back onto his stumps to become Hosein’s third victim in the 12th over. Hosein then completed a fine spell by dismissing Suryakumar, whose top-edged sweep was safely pouched at deep backward square leg.
Noor Ahmed then delivered a decisive double-wicket over, removing the out-of-sorts Hardik Pandya (1) and Sherfane Rutherford (0) to virtually seal the contest, leaving Mumbai Indians reeling at 87 for seven.
Earlier, Samson anchored a faltering Chennai Super Kings with his second century of the season, steering the visitors to a competitive 207 for six.
With wickets falling around him due to poor shot selection and lack of application, the India wicketkeeper-batter held firm, pacing his innings to perfection and playing each delivery on merit to script another memorable knock.
Jasprit Bumrah (1/31) began with a tight opening over, though Samson still managed to pierce the field with a crisp drive through cover-point before flicking Hardik Pandya (0/38) off his pads for a six.
CSK had earlier made a bright start, with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (22) and Samson taking 19 runs each off Pandya’s first two overs in the powerplay, and despite a couple of early wickets, the visitors were well placed at 73 for two.
Gaikwad looked to be easing back into form, beginning with a heave on the on-side off Pandya before pulling the pacer for a six to take 19 runs from the second over.
However, his promising start was cut short when he went inside-out against AM Ghazanfar (2/25) in the third over, only to be smartly caught by Tilak running in from long-off.
There was also no happy homecoming for Mumbai players in the CSK camp, with Sarfaraz Khan (14) and Shivam Dube (5) failing to make an impact. Dewald Brevis struck a few powerful blows in his 11-ball 21 before falling to a well-directed short ball from Ashwani Kumar (2/37).
Samson blended caution with aggression to keep the scoreboard ticking, and in the final over, he capped his effort in style by smashing Krish Bhagat for a towering six over cover before pulling the last ball for a four to bring up his fifth IPL hundred.
Meanwhile, CSK players took the field wearing black armbands in tribute to Choudhary’s mother, who passed away.