IPL 2019: Qualifier 1, MI vs CSK - Who Said What

The Mumbai Indians (MI) continue to have a lid over the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Chepauk since 2010. The Men in Yellow, the full strength team this time, was beaten rather comprehensively by the Rohit Sharma-led side in the first qualifier. MI once again have managed to qualify for the final of the IPL and they will be eyeing their fourth title in six years literally.

After opting to bat first, CSK didn’t get to the best of the starts. Faf du Plessis was snaffled by Rahul Chahar while Jayant Yadav got the better of Suresh Raina. They slumped to 32/3 soon with Shane Watson getting out to Krunal Pandya and things looked extremely tough at that stage for the home team. However, Ambati Rayudu and Murali Vijay steadied things with a 33-run stand.

Just when CSK looked equipped to take the attack to the opposition, Vijay was stumped off Chahar’s bowling. MS Dhoni arrived and the pace of the run-scoring increased. But Mumbai Indians were too good at the death. Barring two huge sixes off Lasith Malinga, even Dhoni couldn’t do much. CSK finished on 131 runs for the loss of four wickets and the score seemed to be par at that stage after 20 overs.

Surya calculates the chase perfectly

Even MI didn’t get to a good start with both their openers going back to the hut early. At 21/2, CSK were firmly in control of the proceedings but not for long. Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav joined hands and added 80 runs for the third wicket. Surya was dropped on 11 by Vijay and he made the Dad’s Army pay. Kishan played a perfect second fiddle as they controlled the chase perfectly.

Though Imran Tahir picked two back-to-back wickets in the 14th over it was a little too late for CSK. Surya didn’t lose his calm to end unbeaten on 71 off 54 balls as MI chased down the target in the 19th over.

Man of the Match, Suryakumar Yadav said:

Was very important for someone in the top three or four to bat till the end because the wicket was slow and turning. After first innings I saw what happened, not too many players were able to hit the shots in the air. So I wanted to play down the ground, pick singles and doubles. Had the chat after first innings that someone from the top-order will have to play towards the end because it won’t be easy for players coming in later.

Mumbai Indians captain, Rohit Sharma said:

Was a great effort. Great feeling to know that we’ll be playing the finals. Three days now in which we can switch off before the final. Much needed break. I knew we have the bowlers to restrict them. Have the confidence in our batters as well. Was important to restrict them to as little as possible, because it can get tricky against their quality spinners.

Was a call we had to make, knowing they have quite a few right-handers in their squad. Jayant is a quality bowler. Thought that a finger-spinner can be more effective than a wristie. Knew MS was going to be crucial towards the end. We had plans laid out. When you restrict a team like that under 140, it looks very good. Credit to our bowlers for executing that.

He’s probably one of our best batsmen against spin. We knew the spin threat they possess will be a huge factor. Surya plays spin very well. I’ve seen him at close quarters. The shots he plays behind the wicket, those are not easy shots. Always knew he was going to come good at some stage.

We’ve got a balanced squad. Whatever the conditions are, we’ve got the squad for them. Have the balance we need on that kind of pitch. Even the batters are confident in what they want to execute. That’s probably one of the reasons we’ve had some success in Chennai because we play the conditions well and understand the conditions well.

Chennai Super Kings captain, MS Dhoni said:

Somebody has to lose, things really didn’t go our way, especially batting. At home, we had to assess the conditions quickly, we have played 6 to 7 games on this pitch and should have read the pitch better, that’s the home advantage.

We needed to know how the pitch behaves, would it be tacky? Is the ball coming on or not, those were the things we didn’t do well, I think the batting needs to get better. These are the best batsmen we have got, it looks like we are are batting well, but at times, but in different games, they pull off shots that shouldn’t be played.

These are the players who we have banked on, they have the experience and they should know to assess the conditions better, hopefully, we will do well in the next game. I think we were a bit unlucky at times (talking about bowling), some balls dropped right in the middle, a few catches weren’t taken.

We perhaps had to bowl slightly away from the batsmen, could have slowed down the pace and bowl with more variations. But we didn’t have runs on the board, so every boundary conceded in a 130 defence was bad.

It isn’t good to lose games at such times, but it is good that we finished in the top-two, rather then going over the wicket (straight to the finals), we now need to go round the wicket (to qualifier 2), that means the journey takes a longer time. But luckily, we finished in the top-two and that gives us a second chance.

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from the Indian Premier League, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.