IPL 2019 highlights: Malinga, Rohit star as MI demolish CSK by 46 runs

Skipper Rohit Sharma struck his first half-century of the season before Chennai Super Kings bowlers fought back brilliantly to restrict MI to 155-4

6:20 PM

MS Dhoni on Shane Watson

The CSK captain shared his views on the match-winner Watson and said that batsman was batting well in the nets, so it was just a matter of time he got it together in the matches as well.
 
"I think you can give individuals a few games. Watson has been a match winner for us so we need to back him and he has been batting well in the nets. If Watson gets going, you know what's on the plate. It started last year and it's good to see different individuals come good, the bowlers have done surprisingly well, the batting needs to click together," Dhoni said.

6:20 PM

MS Dhoni on Shane Watson

The CSK captain also shared his views on the match-winner Watson and said that batsman was batting well in the nets, so it was just a matter of time he got it together in the matches as well.

 

"I think you can give individuals a few games. Watson has been a match winner for us so we need to back him and he has been batting well in the nets. If Watson gets going, you know what's on the plate. It started last year and it's good to see different individuals come good, the bowlers have done surprisingly well, the batting needs to click together," Dhoni said.

6:12 PM

My back is holding up, it's not getting worse: MS Dhoni

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni on Tuesday said that his back is holding up well and it's not getting worse and he cannot take any chances as the World Cup is coming up.
 
"The back is holding up, it's not getting worse, with the World Cup coming up, can't afford that, because that's too important," Dhoni said at the post-match ceremony.
 
Dhoni had many reasons to smile as CSK defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday by six wickets at Chennai in the ongoing edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). Shane Watson, the former Australian all-rounder starred for the hosts as he smashed a 96-run knock off just 53 deliveries to enable the team to chase down the target of 176 runs.

6:00 PM

Here are the squad of both the teams:

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (Captain/wicket-keeper), Faf du Plessis, Kedar Jadhav, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Shane Watson, Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Murali Vijay, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir, Mitchell Santner, Dwayne Bravo, Sam Billings, Shardul Thakur, N Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Dhruv Shorey, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Monu Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KM Asif, Scott Kuggeleijn.
 
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan, Evin Lewis, Adam Milne, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Rahul Chahar, Ben Cutting, Mayank Markande, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga, Siddhesh Lad, Anmolpreet Singh, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jason Behrendorff, Yuvraj Singh, Aditya Tare, Anukul Sudhakar Roy, Rasikh Salam, Barinder Sran, Pankaj Jaiswal

5:49 PM

Here’s how MI defeated CSK in previous encounter

In match 15 of VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians (MI) defeated MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 37 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.  Hardik Pandya was characteristically quirky as well as breathtaking and the highlight was the helicopter shot in front of its synonym, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Invited to bat on a track that offered good bounce, Mumbai creamed 29 runs in final over with Hardik doing the bulk of scoring, his eight-ball 25-run blitzkrieg bringing the high-flying visitors to earth.
 
Struggling at 50 for three at one point, Mumbai raked in 45 runs in the last two overs to post 170 for five and then halted their rivals at 133 for eight to post their second win in four games. This was Super Kings' maiden defeat and they remained on top of the table with six points. MI were indebted to a fine knock of 59 in 43 balls by Suryakumar Yadav, who hit eight fours and a six while putting on a half-century stand with Krunal Pandya (42 in 32 balls).
 
Towards the end, Hardik and Kieron Pollard (17 in 7 balls) struck big to remain unbeaten and boosted the total, with the former striking three sixes and one four and the latter hitting twice over the ropes. The title holders made a poor start in the run chase by losing their top three batsmen Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu and Suresh Raina within the power play period, with just 33 on the board. Watson and Raina were both caught square off the wicket by big West Indian Kieron Pollard, the bowlers to benefit being Lasith Malinga and Jason Behrendorff.
 
Raina was caught off a full-blooded slash by Pollard who took a spectacular one-handed leaping catch just inside the boundary line to send back the free-stroking left-hander for 16 in 15 balls. Kedar Jadhav, who looked good in making 58 in 54 balls, with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (12), repaired the damage with a stand of 54. Hardik struck big by having Dhoni caught at square leg and then sent back Ravindra Jadeja, too, in the same over to reduce Chennai to 89 for five in the 15th over.
 
The dismissals of Jadhav, who struck 8 fours and a six, and Dwayne Bravo in quick succession ended the slim hopes of the visitors. For MI, Malinga and Hardik bagged three wickets apiece while Behrendorff secured two.

5:37 PM

Preview

In what could be another riveting clash, defending champions Chennai Super Kings will take on Mumbai Indians in their return fixture of the Indian Premier League (IPL). After eight wins from 11 games and 16 points in their kitty, Chennai have already qualified for the play-offs. However, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will certainly like to keep the winning momentum going as the top two teams on the points table get an additional chance to make it to the final. Mumbai is placed third with 12 points and is yet to consolidate its position in the top four and need at least two more wins to seal a play-off berth. The Rohit Sharma-led side however, had outclassed the yellow brigade by 37 runs when they last faced-off in Mumbai.

Mumbai however, must be cautious against Chennai as Dhoni and company have not lost a single game at their home so far in this year's league. Chennai have won all of their five games at the Chepauk. Both the sides have faced each other in 27 matches in IPL history and Mumbai have won 15 of those games, while Chennai have managed to win the remaining 12. The Chennai camp would be a little relaxed after their last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, which they won convincingly by six wickets. Opener Shane Watson, who failed to click in the earlier part of the season, finally regained his form smashing a brilliant 53-ball 96.