Hardik Pandya’s three sixes in a 25-run penultimate over from Pawan Negi settled a rollercoaster chase for Mumbai Indians, and handed Chennai Super Kings their first defeat at home this season.
The visitors had the chase of 159 under control with an 84-run opening stand in ten overs, but R Ashwin had Parthiv Patel and Lendl Simmons caught in the deep in the 11th. Dwayne Bravo ran out Kieron Pollard in the 12th as Super Kings started their familiar fightback.
The ball was turning, sharp fielders were cutting off singles, and Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu were struggling to score. The asking-rate rose to two runs a ball.
Rohit tried to go after Dwayne Bravo’s slower ones, and was dropped by Faf du Plessis at long-off. He tried it again in the allrounder’s next over, and Suresh Raina did not drop it at long-on.
It was down to 30 off the last two overs. Decision time for MS Dhoni. His fast bowlers had conceded 0 for 64 in five overs, his spinners had taken 2 for 54 in 11. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja had bowled out. Dhoni went for the left-arm spinner Negi, who had given ten in three overs and had revitalized Super Kings innings with an unbeaten 36 off 17.
Pandya cracked three of Negi’s first four balls for straight sixes. Game all but over. Rayudu lifted the last ball for another straight six. Game definitely over.
Fittingly, the game met a tumultuous end. Jadeja dropped Pandya running in from deep midwicket first ball of the last over, and Rayudu brought up the win with an edged four to third man.
Dhoni later admitted it was a tactical error giving a spinner the penultimate over, but added that his hand had been forced by the performance of his fast bowlers. Mohit Sharma and Ashish Nehra had leaked runs at the start as Parthiv and Simmons raced away after Super Kings’ sluggish innings.
Parthiv played a range of strokes during his 45 off 32 while Simmons bludgeoned and steered a few boundaries on his way to 38 off 31. Amid Mumbai Indians’ smooth progress, four overs from Ashwin went for only 17.
Returning after missing three games with a finger injury, the offspinner proved vital again for Super Kings, his double-strike in his last over providing the opening for the hosts.
It was another spinner who had revived Super Kings to a decent 158 for 5 from 108 for 4 after 16. Negi launched Marchant de Lange – playing only because Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga was not allowed to in Chennai for three fours in the 17th over to begin the acceleration.
Dhoni, once again this season, failed to connect and time too many despite facing as many as 32 balls and ended on 39. He did add 54 off 28 for the sixth wicket with Negi.
Super Kings had started strongly as well, though Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith did not last as long as the Mumbai Indians openers. McCullum holed out to Pandya for 23 off 11 in trying to hit Vinay Kumar for a fourth successive boundary. Suresh Raina and Smith were tied down and then failed to clear Pandya in the deep. Faf du Plessis got in but fell just as Super Kings were looking to push on in the 16th.
Negi provided the finish du Plessis could not, before it all came apart for him and Super Kings in that 19th over.
