Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians by 103 runs
India's recent T20 World Cup-winning hero Sanju Samson was back at his best with an unbeaten 101 before spinners tightened the noose as Chennai Super Kings crushed Mumbai Indians by 103 runs in an IPL clash between two five-time champions, here on Thursday.
Samson smashed his fifth IPL century, second for CSK in four innings, to power Chennai Super Kings to 207/6 after the Mumbai Indians opted to bowl. In reply, MI collapsed to 104 all out in 19 overs to succumb to their biggest defeat in the IPL.
Samson anchored a faltering Chennai Super Kings with his second century of the season, steering the visitors to a competitive 207 for six against the Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
With wickets falling around him due to poor shot selection and lack of application, the India wicketkeeper-batter held firm, pacing his innings to perfection and playing each delivery on merit to script another memorable knock.
Samson carried his bat in a fluent 101 not out, an innings studded with 10 fours and six maximums off just 54 balls, but Chennai Super Kings, who looked set for a much bigger total at one stage, lost their way in the middle overs as none of the other batters converted their starts.
Jasprit Bumrah (1/31) began with a tight opening over, though Samson still managed to pierce the field with a crisp drive through cover-point before flicking Hardik Pandya (0/38) off his pads for a six.
CSK had earlier made a bright start, with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (22) and Samson taking 19 runs each off Pandya's first two overs in the powerplay, and despite a couple of early wickets, the visitors were well placed at 73 for two.
Gaikwad looked to be easing back into form, beginning with a heave on the on-side off Pandya before pulling the pacer for a six to take 19 runs from the second over.
However, his promising start was cut short when he went inside-out against AM Ghazanfar (2/25) in the third over, only to be smartly caught by Tilak Varma running in from long-off.
There was also no happy homecoming for Mumbai players in the CSK camp, with Sarfaraz Khan (14) and Shivam Dube (5) failing to make an impact.
Despite being struck for a couple of boundaries on the on-side by Sarfaraz, Mitchell Santner responded by floating one up on the stumps, just a touch shorter in length, and as if premeditated, Sarfaraz went for his trademark sweep but was undone by the dip as the ball crashed into his stumps.
Coming in at No. 4, India all-rounder Dube had the license to take on the spinners, but he was undone by the drift generated by Ghazanfar in the ninth over, the ball sneaking past his inside edge and crashing into the stumps.
Dewald Brevis struck a few powerful blows in his 11-ball 21 before falling to a well-directed short ball from Ashwani Kumar (2/37), forced to reach for it well outside off-stump.
Amid the collapses around him, Samson blended caution with aggression to keep the scoreboard ticking, and in the final over, he capped his effort in style by smashing Krish Bhagat for a towering six over cover before pulling the last ball to bring up his sixth IPL hundred.
Meanwhile, CSK players took the field wearing black armbands in tribute to Mukesh Choudhary's mother, who passed away.
