Mumbai snaps Chennai`s 7-match winning streak

May 6, 2013

Mumbai_snapsMumbai, May 6: Mumbai Indians on Sunday snapped Chennai Super Kings`s seven-match winning streak with a crushing 60-run victory in a lop-sided Pepsi Indian Premier League match here.

Electing to bat, Mumbai scored 139 for five with captain Rohit Sharma top-scoring with a 30-ball 39 not out and then shot out Chennai for just 79 in 15.2 overs at Wankhede Stadium to halt the visiting team`s dream run in the tournament.

Pragyan Ojha (3/11) and Mitchell Johnson (3/27) shared six wickets among them while Lasith Malinga grabbed two wickets for just six runs. Harbhajan Singh and IPL debutant Pawan Suyal chipped in with a wicket each to help Mumbai put brakes on Chennai juggernaut in IPL 6.

Chennai`s 79 all out today turned out to be the lowest total posted by them in IPL, their previous lowest being 109 against Rajasthan Royals in 2008 in Jaipur. This was also the lowest total by any team this IPL season, beating Delhi Daredevils` 80 all out against Sunrisers Hyderabad yesterday.

Today`s loss was the heaviest defeat for Chennai in the IPL in terms of runs.

Till this match, Chennai looked the most formidable and consistent team but they were never in the run chase today as they suffered a top-order batting collapse with half their side in dressing room for just 34 runs in the seventh over.

They would have been in an even worse situation had the normally brilliant Mumbai fielder Kieron Pollard not dropped Chennai opener Michael Hussey (22) thrice in three successive balls in the first over of the innings bowled by Mitchell Johnson.

Pollard later took catches of Suresh Raina (0) and Chennai captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (10) but again dropped Ravindra Jadeja (2) though it was a difficult one.

Despite today`s loss, their third in 12 matches, Chennai still lead the table with 18 points while Mumbai jumped to third place with 14 points from 11 games.

With the win today, Mumbai maintained their unbeaten run at home this season while Chennai lost their first away match this year.

Drama unfolded in the first over of Chennai run chase as Johnson scalped three wickets in his second over and the third of the innings in the form of Murali Vijay (2), Chennai's last match hero Suresh Raina (0) and S Badrinath (0).

Johnson dismissed Vijay and Raina in successive balls while Badrinath was out two deliveries later. Next over -- the fourth of the innings -- saw pacer Pawan Suyal taking the wicket of Dwayne Bravo (9).

Promoted up the order, R Ashwin (2) did not last long as he was out off the bowling of Harbhajan after facing eight balls while attempting an atrocious-looking shot, leaving Hussey and Dhoni a tall task to chase the target.

Malinga and Harbhajan tied down the two in-form Chennai batsmen and Hussey fell victim of Ojha in the 10th over while trying to accelerate the innings, holing out to Dwayne Smith at midwicket.

Two overs later, Dhoni perished becoming Ojha's second victim as the Chennai captain drove straight into the hands of Pollard at long-off and with it, the Chennai run chase virtually ended.

Malinga added to the woes of Chennai by taking two wickets in four balls in the form of Chris Morris (1) and Mohit Sharma (0) in the 13th over. Jadeja hit two fours off Johnson but it was just delaying the inevitable.

Chennai were let down by their batsmen as only three of them -- Hussey, Dhoni and Jadeja -- could come up with double-digit scores.

Earlier, all-rounder Jadeja led a disciplined bowling performance by Chennai as they restricted Mumbai to 139 for five.

Jadeja scalped three wickets for 29 runs and rattled the Mumbai Indians top order after the home side elected to bat.

But captain Rohit Sharma's (39 not out) late flourish and Harbhajan (25 not out) useful contribution helped Mumbai post a challenging total with the duo sharing 52 runs from just 4.9 overs for the unfinished sixth wicket.

Harbhajan hit two fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 11-ball knock while Rohit struck three fours and a six in his 30-ball unbeaten innings. The duo took 19 runs off the last over bowled by Ben Laughlin.

Incidentally, this was the lowest total posted by Mumbai Indians at home this season, after scoring in excess of 170 in their previous games here.

Mumbai openers started slow and scored just 21 runs in the first five overs. Sachin Tendulkar (15) tried to up the tempo by scoring 11 runs off Mohit Sharma in the sixth over with a six and a four but the veteran was trapped leg before by Jadeja in the next over.

After Tendulkar's dismissal, with 40 runs on board, Mumbai Indians started losing wickets in a heap.

Tendulkar's opening partner Dwayne Smith (22) departed in the next over when he was caught and bowled by fellow West Indian Dwayne Bravo. West Indian all-rounder Pollard (1) was promoted up the order but could not contribute much.

One-down batter Dinesh Karthik then played a cameo with a run-a-ball 23 before being dismissed by Jadeja. Karthik struck Jadeja for two fours and a six in successive balls before perishing at deep midwicket.

Mumbai was then struggling at 82 for five before skipper Sharma and Harbhajan started the repair job in the 16th over.

The Chennai bowling attack was disciplined till Laughlin conceded 19 runs in the last over. Laughlin leaked 46 runs in his four overs without picking up a wicket. Off-spinner R Aswhin and Bravo grabbed a wicket each.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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News Network
January 31,2020

Wellington, Jan 31: A nervous New Zealand threw it away yet again as a perseverant India prevailed in the Super Over for the second successive time to take a 4-0 lead in the T20 International series on Friday.

Needing just 11 runs off the last two overs with seven wickets in hand, New Zealand dug a hole for themselves yet again, taking the game to a Super Over two nights after doing the same in Hamilton.

New Zealand managed 13 runs in six balls and India got there effortlessly.

KL Rahul smashed 10 runs off the first two balls before he was caught. Then, a fired-up Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson finished the game in style.

Earlier, Manish Pandey proved his value to the team with an unbeaten 50 off 35 balls, taking India to 165 for eight from 88 for six in the 12th over.

India's total wasn't enough considering the batting-friendly conditions but the hosts made life a lot tougher for themselves from a commanding position before succumbing to pressure.

The entertaining knocks from Colin Munro (64 off 47) and Time Seifert went in vain (57 off 39).

Mohammed Shami, who was rested on Friday, had bowled a brilliant 20th over on Wednesday and man of the match Shardul Thakur was up to the task this time, conceding just six runs when the opposition needed seven for victory.

With the series already in the bag, India gave opportunity to Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini for the first time in the five-match series, resting Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Shami. However, none of them was able to make an impact in the game.

Chasing 165, New Zealand lost Martin Guptill early. But Munro and Seifert put on 74 runs for the second wicket to put themselves on track.

Munro scored a half-century of 38 deliveries, inclusive of six fours and three sixes. He was out against the run of play as Kohli's direct hit surprisingly found the target after a relay throw from the deep.

It was the turning point as New Zealand lost regular wickets. Yuzvendra Chahal bowled Tom Bruce (0), but Seifert found a partner in Ross Taylor as they pushed the score past 150 in the 18th over.

Seifert scored a half-century off 32 balls, including four fours and three sixes. But the great choke was yet to come again. Needing 18 off 18, the Black Caps lost four wickets in the last over bowled by Thakur.

Taylor holed out of the first ball, while Seifert was run out two balls later. Daryl Mitchell (4) was caught next and Mitchell Santner (2) couldn't steal two runs off the last ball as the sides engaged in a tie-breaker for the second game running.

This was after New Zealand won a fourth consecutive toss and opted to field. Kane Williamson didn't take part in the match owing to a shoulder niggle.

Tim Southee was the stand-in skipper, with the Black Caps making two changes.

Put in to bat, the visitors were struggling at 88-6 at one stage before Pandey's lonesome rescue act took them to a respectable total. KL Rahul contributed 39 runs off 26 balls, inclusive of three sixes and two fours.

Leg spinner Ish Sodhi got into the act and ran through India's batting order. First to go was Shreyas Iyer (1) and then Shivam Dube (12) was caught at mid-wicket.

Sodhi finished with 3-26 while Santner dismissed Sundar for nought as the New Zealand spinners rounded up a good outing with 4-54 in eight overs.

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News Network
February 18,2020

Feb 18: Spinner Poonam Yadav claimed three wickets as India geared up for the ICC women's T20 World Cup with a thrilling two-run win over the West Indies in a low-scoring warm-up match in Brisbane on Tuesday. Electing to bat, India posted a lowly 107/8 in their stipulated 20 overs before returning to restrict the West Indies to 105/7. Chasing 108 to win, West Indies were comfortably placed at 57 for one in 13 overs when Deepti Sharma struck, cleaning up opener Lee-Ann Kirby (42) to trigger a collapse. Soon skipper Stafanie Taylor (16), Chedean Nation (0) and Deandra Dottin (1) were back in the hut as West Indies slipped to 67 for five in the 17th over.

Hayley Matthews (25) and Chinelle Henry (17) blasted three fours and a six in the 19th over to leave them with 11 to get off the last six balls.

Henry blasted Poonam for a four but the Indian dismissed Matthews in the fourth ball.

West Indies needed three runs off the last ball but Henry was caught by Veda Krishnamurthy.

Earlier, India's top-three failed to fire as they were reduced to 17 for three in 3.1 overs.

Opener Smriti Mandhana (4) lasted just six balls, while Jemimah Rodrigues (0) failed to open her account.

Young Shafali Verma blasted a couple of fours before being caught by Britney Cooper off Shamilia Connell (2/20).

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (11), too, didn't stay long, while Krishnamurthy was cleaned up by Afy Fletcher (1/26), as India slumped to 52 for five in 11.2 overs.

Deepti Sharma made a 32-ball 21 before becoming a victim of Anisa Mohammed (2/16), while Pooja Vastrakar (13) was removed by Aaliyah Alleyne (1/9).

Stafanie taylor then got rid of Taniya Bhatia for 10. Shikha Pandey finally smashed a 16-ball 24 to give some respectability to the total.

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