Chennai Super Kings lost their first four wickets with just 3 runs on the board and eventually crawled to 114/9 against Mumbai Indians, courtesy Sam Curran’s half-century on Friday, 23 October.
Reduced to 71/8, Curran (52) and Imran Tahir (13* off 10 balls) – playing his first game of the season – stitched a 43-run stand to help Chennai cross the three-figure mark. This is the highest ninth-wicket partnership in the tournament.
The three-time champions CSK, languishing at the bottom of the Indian Premier League (IPL) standings, are all but out of the running for a Playoffs berth after seven losses in 10 games so far.
Kieron Pollard is leading Mumbai in the absence of an injured Rohit Sharma – Saurabh Tiwary included in their eleven in his place. CSK made three changes with Ruturaj Gaikwad, N Jagadeesan and Imran Tahir coming in for Shane Watson, Piyush Chawla and Kedar Jadhav.
For the First Time in 13 Years, CSK Lost 5 Wickets in Powerplay
Choosing to bowl at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday, 23 October, MI pacers Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah inflicted a top-order collapse early in the innings. The two picked up two wickets each in the first 17 deliveries of the game.
Boult finished with figures of 4 for 18 while Bumrah (2/25) and Rahul Chahar (2/22) picked up two wickets each.
After Boult removed Gaikwad (0) in the first over, Bumrah picked up two wickets on successive balls – dismissing Ambati Rayudu (2) and Jagadeesan (golden duck). Boult took over and removed opener Faf du Plessis for 1 (off 7 balls), reducing CSK to 3/4.
Dhoni and Jadeja added 18 runs together before Boult struck again, getting the latter caught out for 7, marking the first time ever that CSK have lost five wickets in the first six Powerplay overs.
Captain Dhoni (16-ball 16) became Rahul Chahar’s first victim of the day in his first over, edging the ball to wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock. CSK were 30/6 in 6.4 overs.
Rahul returned an over later and dismissed his cousin Deepak Chahar for a duck. CSK were 43/7 in 8.5 overs.
From there, Sam Curran somewhat stabilised the innings, stitching a 28-run stand with Shardul Thakur and then batting till the end with Tahir. Nathan Coulter-Nile removed Thakur for a 20-ball 11, reducing CSK to 71/8 in 14.5 overs.
The English all-rounder Curran reached the fifty-run mark off 46 deliveries and was cleaned up by Boult on the final ball of the innings. His knock featured four boundaries and two sixes.
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