Openers Dwayne Smith (62 off 30 balls) and Brendon McCullum (46 off 20 balls) showcased power and timing in putting on 109 in 7.2 overs as Chennai Super Kings made a trifle of a target of 184 to beat Mumbai Indians by six wickets in their IPL encounter at the Wankhede stadium on Friday.
Dwayne Bravo’s six off Kieron Pollard in the fourth delivery of the 17th over saw the Super Kings to 189 for four, in response to the hosts’ 183 for seven.
From 57 for four in the 10th over, Mumbai Indians reached what had then looked like an impressive score thanks to skipper Rohit Sharma’s 50 (31b, 5x4, 1x6), Pollard’s 64 (30b, 4x4, 5x6) and a 29 (16b, 1x4, 3x6) from Ambati Rayudu down the order.
It was the wily Ashish Nehra who had put the skids on Mumbai Indians early on.
His three for 23 earned him his second Man of Match award in three games this season. With the spotlight on him, Nehra drew attention to Bravo’s death-overs spell. “I have been in good rhythm. At the same time, Bravo is bowling two-three overs at the death, he is amazing for us,” said Nehra. On being a bowler in the game’s shortest format, Nehra said: “In T20, sometimes you are bowling well, but people don’t notice if you don’t get wickets. I am bowling with the new ball for CSK, picking wickets up-front; it is healthy for the team.”
“The first two or three overs are always crucial. Wickets are important. You can’t bowl two or three overs and not take wickets. To do that, you have to swing the ball and hit the right areas.”
Recalling Nehra for the 15th over was a surprise move from skipper M.S. Dhoni, and that resulted in Rohit’s wicket. “Having the captain’s faith in you is important. Dhoni brought me back in the 15th…I thought it was a bit too early, but he said we need wickets. I always look to take wickets,” said Nehra.
He also spoke of how much he had learnt from Shaun Pollock during his time with Mumbai Indians. “Every year you learn new things. Shaun Pollock was a great help in my first season,” he said.
“In this format, you don’t have too much time or too much scope. You always have to be on top of your game.”
