EL CLASECHO: CSK does the double over MI with a facile six-wicket win

CHENNAI: The match dubbed as the IPL’s El Clasico failed to justify its billing but the Chennai Super Kings’ faithful wouldn’t complain. All that mattered to them was the outcome and on an overcast Saturday evening, with the threat of heavy downpour lurking, their heroes didn’t let them down.

For the second time in less than a month, the Men in Yellow earned bragging rights over Mumbai Indians with an emphatic six-wicket win at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. The victory and more importantly the ease with which it was achieved over its fierce rival should help Chennai regain its confidence after a three-match winless run. With its sixth win in 11 games, Chennai climbed to second in the table with 13 points, while Mumbai remains at sixth with 10 points from 10 matches.

Right from the moment the coin landed in its favour, and having opted to bowl, Chennai had a stranglehold on Mumbai that culminated in a deserving victory with 14 balls remaining. Usually when two heavyweights square off against each other, there would be an inherent element of suspense, or even surprise, lingering until it reaches its climax. Sadly, there was no such nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat stuff witnessed on Saturday and that was the case even when these two teams clashed nearly a month ago in Mumbai.

On both occasions, Chennai’s dominance made it look like a foregone conclusion raising questions over the validity of the tag El Clasico. As for the match itself, Chennai’s Sri Lankan fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana made heads turn in much the same way he has been doing since he joined the franchise last year.

Introduced into the attack in the 13th over, the 20-year-old held his own against a much-vaunted batting line-up and ended up taking three wickets at a miserly economy of 3.75. He finished with impressive figures of 4-0-15-3. Not surprisingly his efforts earned him man of the match award. Mumbai’s batting, which came in for praise for chasing down scores north of 200 in its last two matches, came a cropper at Chepauk in the face of disciplined bowling from Chennai.

It’s top three comprising Cameron Green, Ishan Kishan and skipper Rohit Sharma came and left in a trice leaving the team at a precarious 14 for three and with much rebuilding to do. Suryakumar Yadav tried to steady the fast-sinking ship with an enterprising knock of 26 (22b, 3x4). But the fact that Mumbai reached 139 for eight was largely down to the toil of Nehal Wadhera who scored his maiden IPL half-century 64 (51b, 8x4, 1x6).

In reply, Chennai openers Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad were quick off the blocks dealing mostly in boundaries until Gaikwad was dismissed by the wily Piyush Chawla for 30 (16b, 4x4, 2x6). That dismissal, however, didn’t faze Conway and he batted with poise and elan and together with Ajinkya Rahane, the Kiwi steered his team closer to the finish line. Towards the end, the burly Shivam Dube struck a few lusty blows remaining unbeaten on 26 (18b, 3x6).

Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 139/8 in 20 overs (N Wadhera 64, M Pathirana 3/15) lost to Chennai Super Kings 140/4 in 17.4 overs (D Conway 44)