Kolkata: A far too superior Mumbai Indians crushed Chennai Super Kings under the weight of a daunting asking rate on Sudnay Ato lift the coveted Indian Premier League title for the second time, in a virtual replay of the final between the two sides in 2013 at the same venue Eden Gardens.

Put in to bat, Mumbai gave an awesome batting display to plunder 202/5, and then restricted Chennai to 161/8, finishing with a 41 run victory before a capacity 66,000 plus crowd at the iconic ground.

Chasing the tough target, Chennai Super Kings lost an early wicket and never quite seemed like taking up the challenge,virtually choking Aunder pressure as the asking rate kept mounting. In the end, the battle seemed quite one-sided.

Two years back, Mumbai had defeated Chennai by 23 runs to annex their maiden title at the Eden.

Mumbai now have evened with Chennai and Kolkata Knight Riders – each having been crowned champions twice.

Chennai began their reply on the wrong note, as Mike Hussey (4) departed cheaply, but Dwayne Smith (57; 48b, 9×4, 1×6). and Suresh Raina (28; 19b, 3×4, 1×6) set out to repair the damage and take the battle into the opponent camp with a 66-run second wicket stand.

However, veteran office Harbhajan Singh – on a high after his recall to the Indian team – showed the door to Smith, and that proved to be the turning point of the game, as CSK never got going after that.

Wickets tumbled, as Raina became Harbhajan’s victim in the tweaker’s next over, while Dwayne Bravo (9) and skipper M S Dhoni (18) also could not do much.

The dye was cast, and once Dhoni went back in the 16th over, with the score reading 124/5, it was all over. AA

For the winners, Mitchell Mcclenaghan (3/25), Lasith Malings (2/25) and Harbhajan Singh (2/34) were the main wicket takers.

Earlier, , the Mumbai Indians built their innings around two partnerships, as they set an asking rate of 10.15 for Chennai on a flat strip.

A rollicking 119-run second-wicket stand between opener Lendl Simmons (68; 45b, 8×4, 3×6) and skipper Rohit Sharma (50; 26b, 4×6, 6×2) took the team to a position of solidity after the loss of opener Parthiv Patel in the opening over itself.

Kieron Pollard (36; 18b, 2×4, 3×6) and Ambati Rayudu (36; 24b, 3×6) then forged a 71-run partnership for the fourth wicket off only 40 balls to pile on the Chennai Super Kings bowlers’ misery.

Rohit, who has always found Eden a happy hunting ground, went on the offensive from the word go, smacking Mohit Sharma for 16 runs in the second over, before unleashing some exquisite strokes during his stay in the middle.

Caribbean Simmons also played with his characteristic flamboyance, but reached his half century with a somewhat lucky shot, an edge, as Pawan Negi only managed to get his hands to the leather before it slipped out. The batsmen ran two, and Mumbai were 98/1 at the halfway stage.

Dwayne Bravo finally broke the partnership by foxing Rohit with a slower ball. Mumbai were 120/3 in 12 overs.

Simmons returned in the very next delivery, yorked by Dwayne Smith.

Rayudu then joined Pollard, who belted Nehra for 23 runs in the 17th over, that included three sixes and one boundary.

For Chennai, Dwayne Bravo (2 for 36) was the most successful bowler.

(IANS)

Mumbai: A timely half-century by opener Lendl Simmons and some quality bowling helped Mumbai Indians secure a place in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 final with a 25-run victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the qualifier 1 at the Wankhede Stadium here on Tuesday.

Simmons rose to the occasion as he scored 65 off 51 balls, which was followed by Kieron Pollard’s 17-ball 41 that helped Mumbai post a challenging 187/6.

In reply, Chennai lost wickets at regular intervals and were all out for 162 in 19 overs.

With this win, Mumbai entered the tournament’s final which will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on May 24.

Chennai will get a second chance to make it to the final. They will face the winner of the eliminator to be played on Wednesday between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in the second qualifier in Ranchi on May 22.

Lasith Malinga (3/23), Harbhajan Singh (2/26) and R. Vinay Kumar (2/26) were the pick of the Mumbai bowlers.

Chasing 188 to win, CSK got off to the worst possible start losing opener Dwayne Smith without scoring off the fourth ball of the first over.

A full toss from pacer Lasith Malinga hit straight into Smith’s front pad which made it easy for the umpire to give the batsman out.

Incoming batsman Faf du Plessis looked in fine form right from the start. The South African along with opener Michael Hussey didn’t let the early wicket affect their scoring. With a couple of boundaries and sixes, CSK reached 46 in 5 overs.

But the very first ball of the sixth over brought the brakes in Chennai’s scoring as bowler Vinay Kumar got the vital wicket of Hussey (16). CSK were 46/2 in 5.1 overs then.

Suresh Raina and du Plessis took it from there to help the team reach a score of 86/2 in 10 overs.

But the over that followed saw the match swinging in the home side’s favour as Harbhajan Singh got rid of Raina (25) and skipper M.S. Dhoni (0) in successive deliveries to help Mumbai stay in the hunt.

Mumbai bowlers kept the bowling tight, making it difficult for the visitors to score.

Set batsman du Plessis (45 off 34 balls), looking to up the scoring rate, departed in the 14th over off the bowling of Jagadeesha Suchith.

It wasn’t over yet. Dwayne Bravo (20), Ravindra Jadeja (19), Pawan Negi (3) all fell thereafter.

Earlier, opting to bat, Mumbai got off to a modest start with openers Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel taking their time to get settled in the first four overs, scoring just 22.

Simmons broke the shackles in the fifth over as spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was hit for two sixes. Thirteen runs were scored of the over.

The over of Ashwin set the momentum for the home side as both the openers kept on striking the ball sweetly to all parts of the park thus bringing up the team’s 50 in 6.2 overs.

Simmons, who is Mumbai’s leading run-scorer in the ongoing season, once again proved his worth as he made a mockery of the bowling, thus bringing up his half-century off just 38 balls.

The West Indian also became the third batsman after Sachin Tendulkar and J.P. Duminy to score five half-centuries in an IPL season for Mumbai.

A bowling change by skipper M.S. Dhoni worked wonders for CSK as Dwayne Bravo got Parthiv (35) caught at long off. Mumbai’s score was 90/1 in 10.4 overs.

Simmons (65; 51b, 3×4, 5×6) who was looking good for a big score fell soon after in the 14th over off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja.

Incoming batsmen, skipper Rohit Sharma (19), Hardik Pandya (1), Ambati Rayudu (10) too went back to the pavilion in space of four overs.

Kieron Pollard (41; 17b, 1×4, 5×6) chipped in with a late cameo to help Mumbai reach a challenging score.

(IANS)

Chennai: Mumbai Indians jumped to the fourth spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) standings with a crucial six-wicket victory over hosts Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a group league match at the M.A Chaidambaram Stadium here on Friday.

With the win, Mumbai climbed to the fourth spot with 12 points from 11 matches. CSK despite the loss stayed at the summit place with 14 points after 11 games. It was CSK’s first loss at their home ground in this year’s IPL.

Chasing 159 to win, Mumbai got a smooth start with opener Parthiv Patel (45) and Lendl Simmons (38) combining effectively to get them to a strong position.

It looked doomed for the home team as Mumbai were looked set to cruise to a comfortable victory with no CSK bowler managing to trouble the openers.

But just when it seemed all over for CSK, spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (2/17) struck twice in the 11th over to jolt the Mumbai march.

They made further inroads when the dangerous West Indian power hitter Kieron Pollard (1) was run out in the next over.

Mumbai then found it difficult to get going. Skipper Rohit Sharma (18) and Ambati Rayadu (34 not out) tried to build a partnership to keep Mumbai’s run-making process ticking.

But Rohit was dropped in the 16th over by du Plessis off the bowling of Bravo after getting fooled into making an expansive shot and getting beaten by a slower delivery.

The miss could have jeopardised CSK’s hopes of a victory. But the budding 39-run partnership was broken in the 18th over by Bravo when he again flummoxed Rohit into a false stroke to be caught in the deep by Suresh Raina.

Hardik Pandya (21) came to the crease and showing no signs of nerves struck three lusty sixes off left-arm spinner Pawan Negi’s 19th over to inch Mumbai closer to victory. The bowler went for 25 runs to extinguish CSK’s chance to win.

Earlier, league leaders Chennai Super Kings (CSK) posted a fighting total of 158 for five on a slow and low pitch.

CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat. They were on the offensive from the very start with opener Dwayne Smith (27) and Brendon McCullum (23) threatening to cut loose with aggressive shots.

But three quick wickets of McCullum, Suresh Raina (10) and Smith halted their progress

Faf du Plessis (17) and Dhoni (39 not out) resurrected their innings and gave them a necessary platform to accelerate in the slog overs in the sluggish pitch.

After du Plessis’ dismissal in the 16th over, Dhoni along with Pawan Negi (36) helped CSK post a fighting total.

Negi eclipsed Dhoni in power hitting, taking just 17 balls for his useful knock, studded with four boundaries and a six while Dhoni took 32 balls for his 39, hitting two fours and two sixes.

(IANS)