Resilient MI all but seal CSK's fate

The Mumbai Indians (MI) defeated the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the fifty-ninth game of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). The match was played in the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Daniel Sams was adjudged to be the Man of the Match.

Is there power outage? Or outage of powerplay?

The match began with farcical theatrics, as a local power outage meant there was no Decision Review System (DRS) available for the start of the Super Kings' innings. What happened next was unavoidable. Devon Conway's first delivery by Daniel Sams snuck back from the seam to smack him on the pad, and umpire Chirra Ravikanthreddy's retaliation was savage. Conway was perplexed, to say the least, because the ball appeared to be clipping the outside extremity of his leg stump. However, the die had been cast, and the Super Kings had lost.

Moeen Ali, who has never been at ease against the quicks, came in at No. 3 and didn't waste any time. Even before Jasprit Bumrah began walking to the top of his mark, a second-ball bouncer stuck in the pitch as Ali swung too enthusiastically over the line and scuffed an ugly hoick to short midwicket, the omens weren't encouraging at 2 for 2 after four actual balls.

Bumrah got off to a quick start against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday, taking 5 for 10 in four overs. Then he was 6 for 10 in 4.4 overs, as Robin Uthappa was hammered hollow in an undignified stay - three times outside the off stump, and eventually pinned plumb in front of that same stump for 1 as he flitted across the line to leave the Super Kings absolutely beached at 5 for 3. The DRS issue was fixed before the next ball was bowled, fortunately for Uthappa, not in time for him to waste a lifeline.

In middle overs, Australians unstoppable

Sams would bowl better balls than the leg-side long-hop that took his third wicket in 13 deliveries - Ruturaj Gaikwad had just driven Bumrah for four through the covers in his previous ball, a remarkable performance this week, but his follow-up was to give Ishan Kishan a tiny margin for seven.

Riley Meredith's entrance for the final over of the powerplay resulted in a more traditional fast bowler's breakthrough, as Ambati Rayudu was sawn in half by a nip-backer from back of a length, with Kishan gobbling the inside edge.

With Shivam Dube in at 29 for 5, it could have been tempting to go back to Bumrah for his third out of seven overs, but Meredith was more than capable of providing the new man the speed bump he needed. At 39 for 6, Kishan had three catches in four overs after an attempted ramp off the short ball resulted in a muffed top edge.

Dhoni free to go for broke

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is never one to lose his cool in a match situation. As Dwayne Bravo emerged (for a seventh-wicket stand that would exactly double the total without saving the game), all he saw was an opportunity to settle in and drag the batting as far as possible.

Early on, Kumar Kartikeya was flayed for successive fours to bring up the team's 50, before Dhoni smoked Hrithik Shokeen's next ball over square leg for six. Bravo, on the other hand, never quite settled in the same situation. Before clouting Kartikeya over long-on for six, he had been living dangerously for 13 balls, but one ball later, he went on an audacious drive and hammered a head-high chance to short cover.

Simarjeet Singh became Kartikeya's second wicket of the over three balls later, and time and wickets were running out for Dhoni when Maheesh Theekshana replied to a crisp bouncer from Ramandeep Singh with the meekest of prods to cover. He bided his time as Sams finished the day with 3 for 16, then sought to match Meredith's extra pace in the 16th over with a four and a six. However, sensing a final-ball bye, Kishan grabbed down the bouncer and unleashed his shy with the glove still attached. Mukesh Choudhary was caught yards short by the unerring call.

Choudhary and Singh go down fighting

With so few runs to work with, the Super Kings' reaction had no room for nuance. For only the fourth time in IPL history, both new-ball bowlers - Choudhary and Simarjeet Singh in this case - rattled through all four of their overs, inciting fear within Mumbai's ranks by lowering the chase to 33 for 4 in the first five overs.

Choudhary, in particular, bowled a wonderful precise line, swinging the ball late to get Kishan out in his first over before embracing the opportunity in his third, as Sams and South African debutant Tristan Stubbs both suffered the price for their cautious approach. Before they fell, each was given a complete toss of the ball, but neither could capitalize, and they were both leg before wicket for a total of 1 from eight balls. Only Rohit Sharma - predictably - had the better of the conditions, as he set out to counterattack against the attacking length and carved up the target with four fours in his 18. As a total of nine wickets fell over the two powerplays - the joint-most in IPL history - Singh found the fault in his second over, but by the end of the new-ball periods, Tilak Varma and Shokeen had ridden out the threat, easing Mumbai to their third win in the last four outings. You would think that was a textbook example of peaking at the appropriate time. For once, things haven't gone precisely as planned.