MI vs CSK, IPL: Ravindra Jadeja, Santner and Rahane hand MI a low defeat

IPL 2023, 12th match: Chennai Super Kings 159 for 3 (Rahane 61, Gaikwad 40*, Kartikeya 1-24) beat Mumbai Indians 157 for 8 (Kishan 32, Jadeja 3-20, Santner 2-28, Deshpande 2-31) by seven wickets

After bowling just one over, Chennai Super Kings’ premier seamer Deepak Chahar suffered an injury. Moeen Ali, the match-winner from their previous game, was already out because of illness, and Ben Stokes was hurt. On a Wankhede pitch with some grip and turn, Ravindra Jadeja and Mitchell Santner combined to tear up Mumbai Indians’ middle order.

Mumbai kid Tushar Deshpande likewise contributed with the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Tim David as Super Rulers restricted Mumbai to 157 for 8. Another Mumbai boy, Ajinkya Rahane, hit a 19-ball half-century for the Super Kings to set up their chase. After Devon Conway was run out for a duck, his 27-ball 61 in his Super Kings debut gave Ruturaj Gaikwad and the rest of the batters breathing room.

Mumbai’s attack lacked experience and penetration due to the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who has been out of the tournament due to a back injury, and Jofra Archer, who sat out this game as a precaution.

Rohit, Kishan start strongly for Mumbai

During the conversation in the middle of the inning, Santner said that the ball slid nicely onto the bat in the first exchanges before the pitch slowed down. After charging out of the crease with the third ball, Rohit drove Chahar over extra-cover before retreating and driving Deshpande over point for four in the following over.

Ishan Kishan gave Sisanda Magala a difficult start in the IPL when he took him for three fours in his first over, the third of his innings, costing 14 runs in total. Because Chahar had left the field clutching his hamstring following the bowling of the first over, Magala, a death-bowling specialist from South Africa, was operating early in the powerplay.

However, Deshpande stepped up and used surface movement to beat Rohit’s outside edge and land a beauty on the top, middle, and off. After that, Kishan smashed Magala for two more fours, which helped Mumbai finish the powerplay at 61-1.

Left-arm spin is right for CSK

In Super Lords’ past game at Chepauk against Lucknow Super Goliaths, Jadeja dumbfounded only one as MS Dhoni got him far from first Kyle Mayers and afterward Nicholas Pooran. On Saturday, Dhoni carried Jadeja into the assault following the powerplay and the allrounder answered by having Kishan opening out for 32 off 21 balls.

Ravindra Jadeja continued to bowl into the Wankhede pitch, taking wickets of Cameron Green (12) and Tilak Varma (22)

If Stokes or Moeen had been available for selection, Santner might not have played this game, but he proved his worth once more. Santner, in stark contrast to Jadeja, threw the ball up much more slowly and got rid of Suryakumar Yadav (1) and left-handed Arshad Khan, who had been moved up to No. 6 to compete with Jadeja and him.

Tim David, who was moved up to No. 7, went 6, 4, 6, and 6 over Deshpande before the seamer struck back and got him to drag an off cutter deep in midwicket. Magala finished with a score of 4-0-37-1 after taking a pasting in the powerplay and unleashing his yorkers and slower variations at the final frame.

Rahane slots into Uthappa role

Rahane went on an unfamiliar boundary-hitting spree in the powerplay. He crashed Arshad for 6, 4, 4, 4, 4 in the fourth over, and by the end of the powerplay, he had zoomed to his half-century, putting Super Kings in position for a net-run-rate-boosting victory. Conway fell in a familiar manner, cutting on in the first over.

Robin Uthappa was the Super Kings’ enforcer in the powerplay and middle overs prior to his September retirement from international and Indian cricket. Rahane jumped right into this position, giving Gaikwad room to run the ball or something similar.

Kumar Kartikeya, a left-arm spinner, was brought in by Mumbai as their Impact Player, but Super Kings changed their plans by moving Shivam Dube, a spinner, to No. 4. Dube was eventually bowled by Kartikeya for 28 off 26 balls, but the game was already pretty much over. Gaikwad and Rayudu, who took Chahar’s place as Super Kings’ Impact Player, finished the formalities with seven wickets and almost two overs left.

The arrival of Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana ahead of their home game against Rajasthan Royals on April 12 will give Super Kings their second win in a row. Mumbai, on the other hand, lost for the second time in a row and is still looking for their first points of the season.