Tilak Varma struck an unbeaten 34 as Mumbai Indians recovered from a precarious position after bowling out Chennai Super Kings for 97 -- thanks to a superlative effort by their bowlers -- to register a five-wicket win in Match 59 of the IPL 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.
After Daniel Sams claimed 3/16 and Riley Meredith (2/27) and Kumar Kartikeya (2/22) too contributed well with the ball to help bundle out CSK to a low score, Mumbai Indians were in trouble at 33/4, losing their top batters Ishan Kishan and skipper Rohit Sharma cheaply.
However, sensible batting by Tilak Varma (34 not out, 32 balls, 4x4), Hrithik Shokeen (18, 23 balls, 2 x 4), and Tim David (16 not out, 7 balls, 6 x 2), helped them reach 103/5 and register their third victory in 12 matches.
Choosing to bowl first, the Mumbai Indians pacers bowled good lines and hard length and used the juice in the wicket well. The ball was swinging even in the 8th over but there were no demons in the pitch. CSK were hard-done on some occasions but their batters too did not show necessary application to counter the condition and good bowling.
Opening the bowling, Daniel Sams claimed 3/16 while Riley Meredith (2/27) and Kumar Kartikeya (2/22) kept up the pressure as CSK were bowled out for a paltry 97 in 16 overs, struggling to recover from the early blows.
CSK skipper MS Dhoni waged a lone battle as he remained not out with 36 runs, hitting four boundaries and two sixes. He and Dwayne Bravo raised 39 runs for the seventh wicket before the West Indies allrounder was caught brilliantly by Tilak Varma at short cover.
In reply, Mumbai looked in trouble as they ended the powerplay at 36/4, only a slightly better position compared to CSK who were 32/5. Mukesh Choudhary bowled brilliantly, claiming 3/23 in four unchanged overs, troubling the Mumbai Indian batters with his superb line and length, using the juice in the pitch. But in the end, the score of 97 did not give CSK enough leeway.
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 97 all out in 16 overs (MS Dhoni 36 not out; Daniel Sams 3/16, Riley Meredith 2/27, Kumar Karthikeya 2/22) lost to Mumbai Indians 103/5 in 14.5 overs (Rohit Sharma 18, Tilak Varma 34 not out, Hrithik Shokeen 18, Tim David 16 not out; Mukesh Choudhary 3/23) by 5 wickets.