Hitman outgunned: Rohit Sharma’s century in vain as Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians by 20 runs

Mumbai, April 14

Matheesha Pathirana and an ageless MS Dhoni delivered decisive blows as Chennai Super Kings outgunned Mumbai Indians by 20 runs despite Rohit Sharma making a resolute unbeaten 105 in their IPL match here today.

After Dhoni hammered three consecutive sixes in the final over bowled by Hardik Pandya to race to 20 not out off just four balls and propel CSK to a huge 206/4, Pathirana grabbed 4/28 to halt the chase of MI at 186/6.

Rohit produced his second IPL century, and first since 2012, hitting 11 fours and five sixes during his 63-ball knock. But his magnificent effort did not get adequate support from the rest despite the pitch at the Wankhede Stadium remaining conducive for batting.

When we bowled in the powerplay, I was nervous. I then came to do my usual things. I don’t think about results and I just think about execution. Matheesha Pathirana, player of the match

Defending champions CSK’s first away win this season also marked a fourth defeat for Mumbai Indians in six matches, pushing them to the eighth spot. CSK, on the other hand, stayed in third with eight points in their kitty.

Unlike CSK, who got their majority of runs in the last 10 overs (136), Mumbai Indians remained in the hunt in the initial part through Rohit’s sustained acceleration and some handy contributions from others.

Once again, Rohit set the platform for Mumbai with a sturdy 70-run stand in seven overs with Ishan Kishan, who raced to 23 off 15 balls.

With MI on the charge, pacer Pathirana produced a two-wicket over after the powerplay, accounting for Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav (0), getting him caught at third man with Mustafizur Rahman producing a juggling act at the ropes.

Tilak Varma aided Rohit with a 20-ball 31, adding 60 off 38 balls for the third wicket, but Pathirana’s return broke their stand.

However, it was the Mumbai duo of Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande that tilted the game in favour of CSK, producing two tight overs which broke the back of MI’s chase.

Earlier, Dhoni’s ballistic act followed fifties by Shivam Dube and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Dube (66 not out) and Gaikwad (69) milked 90 runs off a mere 45 balls for the third wicket. — PTI

Brief scores

LSG: 161/7 in 20 overs (Pooran 45, Rahul 39; Starc 3/28) vs KKR: 162/2 in 15.4 overs

(Salt 89*, Shreyas 38*; Mohsin 2/29)

CSK: 206/4 in 20 overs (Gaikwad 69, Dube 66*, Dhoni 20*; Hardik 2/43) vs MI: 186/6 in 20 overs (Rohit 105*, Tilak 31; Pathirana 4/28)

Saturday’s result

PBKS: 147/8 in 20 overs (Ashutosh 31; Maharaj 2/23) vs RR: 152/7 in 19.5 overs (Jaiswal 39, Hetmyer 27; Rabada 2/18)

Rubbing Salt in wound

Kolkata: Opener Phil Salt’s 89 not out complemented pacer Mitchell Starc’s brilliant bowling show as Kolkata Knight Riders began their five-match home stretch with a one-sided eight-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants.

Record buy Starc, who copped criticism for taking just two wickets from four matches and leaking 11 runs per over, grabbed 3/28, while Sunil Narine returned with figures of 1/17 in his miserly spell as LSG scored 161/7 after KKR opted to bowl. Salt smashed three sixes and 14 fours in his 47-ball 89 not out, while captain Shreyas Iyer overcame a wobbly start to remain unbeaten on a run-a-ball 38 as KKR chased down the target with 26 balls to spare. The duo stitched an unbroken stand of 120 from 76 balls.

Dhawan out for 10 days

Mohali: Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan could be out for at least 10 days due to a shoulder injury, the team’s head of cricket development Sanjay Bangar indicated after the narrow loss to Rajasthan Royals. Dhawan missed the game against Royals on Saturday night. Sam Curran led the side in his absence.

Australia’s Marsh returns home

NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has returned home after suffering a hamstring injury in a major headache for Australia ahead of the T20 World Cup in June. The 32-year-old, who is widely expected to captain Australia in the showpiece event in the US and West Indies, sat out Delhi’s last two IPL games. — Agencies

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