Mumbai Indians celebrations after entering finals© BCCI
Mumbai Indians defeated Chennai Super Kings in the first Qualifier of the 2015 Indian Premier League by 25 runs to enter the final. Chasing 188 to win, the Chennai middle-order crumbled in front of some inspired Mumbai bowling. It was only Faf du Plessis, who scored 45, showed some fight and stood his ground.
Earlier, Mumbai Indians won the toss and opted to bat. They piled up a competitive 187/6 after a half century from Lendl Simmons and a quick-fire 41 from Kieron Pollard. This victory tales Mumbai straight into the finals at Kolkata while Chennai have to wait for the winners of the Rajasthan-Bangalore match in the second qualifier.
Catch all the LIVE Updates and LIVE Scores of the game here.
(All times in IST)
2246: That's it! Mumbai Indians are in the finals! Who would have thought that? Mumbai beat Chennai by 25 runs and now will await their opposition at Kolkata. This is a dream turnaround for the Blue Army and Chennai will now get another bite of the cherry when they play in the second qualifier.
2244: OUT! Ashwin (23) falls to Malinga. CSK need 27 runs off 8 balls to win. The game is too far away and Mumbai is surely on their way to Kolkata!
2240: SIX! Ashwin creams that over long-off. What a beautiful shot! 31 runs needed from 12 balls now. Game on?
2237: OUT! Jadeja (19) gone. Throws the kitchen-sink at it. Good catch from Suchith in the point boundary - Jonty must be elated at that! Surely it's Mumbai's game now!
2235: SIX! Jadeja goes for the big one - launches McClenaghan into the boundary. Pollard almost pulled off a stunner but not quite!
2230: FOUR! Ashwin lofts Malinga over mid-off. All too late for Chennai now.
2325: OUT! Chennai crumbling. Negi goes. Surely, surely the chase is over and Mumbai are headed to Kolkata for the finals. CSK need 62 runs from 27 balls.
2318: Surely Mumbai can't mess it up from here. Jadeja and Bravo still in there and RUN OUT! Excellent work from Parthiv Patel and Pollard. Throws the ball to Pollard who runs Bravo out!
2315: OUT! Du Plessis (45) misses his fifty. Mumbai are elated! Suchith entices him to go for the big shot, doesn't get a hold of it and only manages to find Vinay Kumar in the deep. CSK need 78 runs from 37 balls.
2312: FOUR! Outside-edge, bad luck for the bowler, runs to the third-man boundary.
2311: SIX! Bravo gets into the act - lofts Suchith into the stands over long-off.
Mumbai Indians finished the 2015 IPL league phase at the second position. That didn't look possible after the first two weeks. Mumbai lost four games on the bounce to start their campaign. Then they won seven out of their last eight games to finish with a serious bang.
Mumbai are the king of turnarounds - they have not done it once but twice now. Even last season, they started with five losses and then somehow, sneaked into the top-four. (Qualifier 1: Chennai, Mumbai Fight for Final Spot)
This season, after the wobbly start, they got their bearings right. The batting looks settled and the bowling strong. Rohit Sharma has done well as a skipper but this team has the brand 'Ricky Ponting' stamped all over it.
If anything, the men in blue need to improve their fielding efforts. They have dropped a number of catches and in a big game against Chennai, chances would be few and far between.
Chennai though, don't have such problems. They are perhaps the best fielding unit and under MS Dhoni, the most settled side. They haven't look their invincible self this season, yet ended up topping the charts.
Although, the absence of Brendon McCullum is going to sting them, his replacement Mike Hussey is more than capable of playing the crucial knock. Suresh Raina is due and so is Dhoni. With Ashish Nehra, Dwayne Bravo and Ravichandran Ashwin in top form, the Super Kings are well-placed to take on the in-form Mumbai.
Topics mentioned in this article
Mumbai Indians
Chennai Super Kings
Wankhede
IPL 8
MS Dhoni
Rohit Sharma
Cricket