Suryakumar Yadav's scores unbeaten 54-ball 71 to help Mumbai Indians beat Chennai Super Kings in their own backyard by six wickets in Qualifier 1 and storm into Sunday's IPL-12 final
Mumbai Indians's unbeaten batsmen Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav celebrate their six-wicket victory in Qualifier 1 over Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai last night. Pics/IPL, PTI
Murali Vijay moved swiftly to his left to make a desperate dive but the uppish shot from Suryakumar Yadav off Deepak Chahar went through his hands. Suryakumar was on 11 then and the Qualifier 1 too spilled out of Chennai Super Kings' hands precisely at that moment.
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Suryakumar went on to produce a brilliant unbeaten 71 off 54 balls (10x4) to guide Mumbai Indians to a six-wicket win over Chennai, earning them a place in the final of the IPL 2019 to be held at Hyderabad on May 12. This was Mumbai's third win over Super Kings this season. Chennai will have to play the Qualifier 2 in Visakhapatnam where their opponents will either be Delhi Capitals or Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Mumbai Indians's Suryakumar Yadav pulls one en route his unbeaten half century against CSK yesterday
Of course, Suryakumar played a superbly-paced innings but the credit should also go to the Mumbai spinners for limiting Chennai to 131 for four, a well below-par total even on a sluggish pitch like the one at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Rahul Chahar's delivery turned away from Faf du Plessis whose away-from-the-body drive ended in the hands of substitute Anmolpreet Singh - an early suggestion of an archetypal Chepauk match, where spinners will hold all the cards. MI captain Rohit Sharma read the gripping nature of the pitch to a nicety and employed spin in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th over through Chahar (leg-spin), Krunal Pandya (left-arm) and Jayant Yadav (off-spin). The move worked as Mumbai managed to pluck the wickets of Suresh Raina, one of CSK's better batsmen in IPL 2019, and Shane Watson inside the Power Play overs. The early stutter against spin did not help Chennai's cause as they ended the innings at 131 for 4 here. Despite having captain MS Dhoni in their ranks, there was no late boost for Chennai this time.
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