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MI’s win ends CSK streak

Mumbai Indians moved into the top four in the standings of IPL 6 with a comprehensive 60-run win over Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. With the win, Mumbai leapfrogged Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad into third place with 14 points. The Super Kings lost their first match in seven games but with 18 points they still sit pretty at the top of the table.

Mumbai Indians scored 139 for five with captain Rohit Sharma top scoring with 39 off 30 balls. Mitchell Johnson took three wickets in one over to help restrict the league leaders to their lowest ever total and the fourth lowest total in IPL history of 79 all out. Pragyan Ojha and Lasith Malinga too chipped in with three and two wickets, respectively.

Super Kings got off to a fortuitous start with Kieron Pollard dropping Michael Hussey (22) thrice in Mitchell Johnson’s first over. However, the Australian picked up three wickets in his next over to send the visitors into panic. Pollard somewhat made up for the dropped chances by taking a stunning catch to dismiss Suresh Raina (0) giving Johnson his second wicket. The Super Kings never recovered from this point and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Hussey failed to make use of the reprieve given to him and was sent back packing by Pragyan Ojha.

However, till the time captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (10) was at the crease, Chennai still had a sniff. Dhoni, though, could not produce a miracle innings and got out tamely to  Ojha. The tailenders hardly put up a fight and served as easy prey for Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga, who bowled his first over in the 14th over of Super Kings’ innings.

Earlier, Mumbai Indians found themselves in a spot of bother with the score on 66 for four. Sachin Tendulkar (15) once again failed with the bat while Dwayne Smith (22) and Dinesh Karthik (23) failed to capitalise on a good start. However, Rohit Sharma once again played the captain’s innings and together with Harbhajan Singh forged a crucial unbeaten partnership of 67 for the sixth wicket.


(UN)FORGETTABLE HAT-TRICK


Mumbai: It was a ‘hat-trick’ which big-bodied West Indian Kieron Pollard would like to forget in a hurry as he dropped three consecutive catches in Sunday’s IPL clash between MI and CSK. Although, it is not confirmed but perhaps this was first ever instance when a fielder dropped three catches of successive deliveries of the same batsman and that too in the first over of the innings. Stationed at point, Pollard dropped Michael Hussey thrice off paceman Mitchell Johnson and all the three shots were similar, cut uppishly, going straight to the fielder. The first one was a hard slash but the second and third one came straight at him and he failed to pouch onto them. He left the field after dropping the third catch as the ball also hit him in the cheekbone. However, he returned and made some redemption by taking a well-judged diving catch at the same point position to see the back of in-form Suresh Raina off the same bowler who then narrowlly missed his on hit-trick, claiming three wickets off four deliveries in his second over.


I'M BOWLING AT MY BEST, SAYS MITCHELL JOHNSON

After bowling well early in the tournament, Mitchell Johnson again made a stellar contribution in the hiding the hosts gave CSK on Sunday. Johnson picked three wickets in his second over (Vijay, Raina and Badrinath) to help MI defend 140 with ease. ‘. All I want is to do well for Mumbai, do the best I can and bowl with the new ball, swing it. I'm enjoying my cricket than ever before and am bowling at my best. Hopefully, I can keep improving,’ he said.
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