IPL 2023: 49th Match MI vs CSK: May 06, 2023

In a match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, played on a pitch with tricky conditions, Chennai’s pace trio of Matheesha Pathirana, Deepak Chahar, and Tushar Deshpande took seven wickets to restrict Mumbai to a score of 139. Chennai comfortably chased down the target, with Ruturaj Gaikwad’s quickfire innings setting up the win. Chahar’s early strikes had put Mumbai in trouble at 14 for 3, but Nehal Wadhera and Suryakumar Yadav staged a recovery with a 55-run partnership. However, Pathirana’s death-over bowling stalled Mumbai’s progress, and they could only manage 17 runs while losing four wickets in the last three overs. Pathirana’s spell of 3 for 15 further enhanced his reputation as the season’s best death bowler. Mumbai missed the services of Tilak Varma, who was out injured for the game, and had to rebuild after the top-order failure. Wadhera, who opened the batting, anchored the innings and scored a half-century. He attacked the spinners and mixed his shots to keep the scoreboard ticking. However, his knock of 64 didn’t prove enough as Mumbai ended up on the losing side. Chennai’s chase got off to a flying start, with Gaikwad scoring 30 runs in the first four overs, including four fours and two sixes. He was dismissed in the fifth over, but the platform he laid was further built by Shivam Dube, who hit two sixes off the debutant left-arm wristspinner Raghav Goyal in the 14th over. In the end, Chennai emerged victorious with a six-wicket win. The win took Chennai to the second spot on the points table, while Mumbai remained in sixth place. Pathirana, who had the best economy rate and average in the powerplay phase among all bowlers who had bowled at least 120 balls in that period, had only been introduced twice in the first 11 overs in the season. However, he proved his worth in the death overs with his accurate bowling and varied pace.