IPL 2019, Qualifier 1, MI vs CSK as it happened: Clinical Mumbia Indians cruise into final

11.30 pm: Well, that’s all we have for the night. If you were expecting a cracker between these two sides, for the third time this season you would have been let down. Not the greatest of T20 matches for a neutral (or a CSK fan) but the Mumbai Indians fans can celebrate being in another IPL final. 2013, 2015, 2017 and now champions in 2019? We will know on Sunday. On Wednesday, Delhi Capitals will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Player of the match, Suryakumar Yadav: It was very important for one of the top three or four to play till the end on that pitch. It will not be easy for someone to come in new and get going. I thought it was time to put my hand up. First innings we saw what happened, I just wanted to play down the ground and focus on singles, doubles.

Mumbai Indians captain, Rohit Sharma: Great effort, great feeling to be in the final. Three days we can switch off then think about the final. Wasn’t too concerned with the toss, was confident in our bowlers and batsmen to do the job. Bowling unite came together really nicely, exploited the conditions really well. It was a call we had to make [to bring in Jayant Yadav] as a finger spinner is useful on this sort of wicket. We had clear plans and we knew how to execute, credit to the bowlers. [Suryakumar] is probably the best batsman in our lineup against spinners. I have seen him in close quarters, he knows how to use the pace and is quite aware of what he wants to do. [Secret to beating CSK] we have a balanced squad that can play on most conditions, we are very clear what we want to execute as a team. We understand the conditions well.”

11:15 pm: Time for the post-match presentation ceremony.

11.08 pm: A knock of the highest quality from Suryakumar Yadav tonight. He remains not out on 71 off 54 to take his team into the final. No doubt who the player of the match is. We await the presentation ceremony.

Mumbai Indians’ Ishan Kishan: “It was good that Surya was in great touch when I went in to bat. Surya and I are used to playing on such pitches in the domestic circuit. We were just looking to rotate the strike better [off Tahir]. We will back ourselves in the final.”

Chennai Super Kings captain, MS Dhoni: “Well, somebody has to lose. It did not go our way, at least the batting. The batsmen should have assessed the conditions. WE did not put up a score good enough to defend. [Batsmen] these are the best we have got, they have been on and off. When you have experienced players in the side, that is what you want from them. We tried everything, few catches were put down. I think we could have bowled better. But when you are defending 130 every boundary hurts. It’s bad that we had a off day this late in the tournament. It’s a good thing to finish in top two, now we have one more shot. We have to go around the wicket rather than go over the wicket now!”

IT’S ALL OVER: MI 132/4 in 18.3 overs (Target: 132)

The Mumbai Indians juggernaut rolls into the final for their fifth time in the history of the tournament.

Mumbai Indians are one run away: An amazing paddle behind the keeper by Suryakumar off Chahar — the kind of shot we saw plenty of times in his early IPL days.

MI 126/4 in 18 overs (Target: 132)

Just one from Jadeja’s over, but that’s not going to stop MI now is it? The congratulatory messages are already coming in.

MI 125/4 in 17 overs (Target: 132)

Nothing going Chennai’s way. A good fielding effort from Faf prevents a boundary for Suryakumar but the SA captain cannot get to a mishit from Hardik. The commentators reckon he is limping but that might just be the cramp. 9 runs from that Bravo over.

Did we mention it has been hot and humid in Chennai? Yes? (Take it from the live blogger, he knows a thing or two about it). Mumbai need just 7 more from 3 overs as the crowd has gone awfully quiet in Chennai.

MI 116/4 in 16 overs (Target: 132)

No pressure on Hardik, who paddle sweeps Tahir for a four. Mumbai are just 16 away from a place in the final.

Imran Tahir might have missed out on a hat-trick but he now has 300 wickets in T20s.

MI 108/4 in 15 overs (Target: 132)

Suryakumar survives again! CSK miss out taking three off three balls. Ravindra Jadeja bowls a ripper and gets the outside edge but Watson fails to hold on to the catch at slip. Poor from Watson, late to react. The ball goes to four as well. That was a superb over from Jadeja and he didn’t deserve to concede 7.

Hardik is the new man for MI.

MI 101/4 in 14 overs (Target: 132)

WICKET! TWO WICKETS IN TWO BALLS! Krunal Pandya is out for a first-ball duck. Tossed up by Tahir, it gets a toe-edge off the bat and loops back to Tahir. Third umpire needed but Krunal was already on his way back.

WICKET! Ishan Kishan, who was struggling with his fitness, is castled by Imran Tahir’s slider. MI 101/3 after 13.5 overs.

FIFTY FOR SURYAKUMAR YADAV! And its another late cut for four that pushes Harbhajan Singh to the hilt on the field. He reaches there off 37 deliveries.

MI 92/2 in 13 overs (Target: 132)

All too easy for MI at the moment. All too easy. After manipulating the field for a few singles early in the over, Suryakumar finishes off the Jadeja over with a superb late cut for four, the presence of the first slip not bothering him one bit.

Jadeja is livid with himself. That’s a 7-run over. SKY reaches 48 and is closing in on a superb fifty.

MI 85/2 in 12 overs (Target: 132)

Harbhajan is done with his spell of four overs (1/25) as Fleming reckons the only CSK can win from here is to reduce MI to 90 for 4 or 5 wickets. CSK are looking for the wickets as well with a couple of slips for Kishan but nothing working at the moment, the strike is getting turned over easily.

A break in play that over as Kishan seems to have cramped up. Like we said, the conditions in Chennai are just brutal.

MI 80/2 in 11 overs (Target: 132)

Suryakumar Yadav is on song at the moment! His wristiness is well known and he uses them to great effect against Tahir to hit two boundaries through midwicket against the turn. Top shots.

“The match is in the balance but we need wickets, the next five overs are crucial. Suryakumar is the crucial wicket for us now,” says Stephen Fleming just as the Mumbai batsman hits two fours off Tahir. Not going Chennai’s way at all even if Fleming thinks its a tough pitch to bat on.

MI 69/2 in 10 overs (Target: 132)

Two lovely shots off Bravo after the timeout by Suryakumar — a flick for a couple and then leaning into a extra cover drive past mid off for a boundary. Not an easy shot to play on this pitch. 10 runs from the over as Bravo is made to go on his haunches - it’s been a hot, humid evening in Chennai as usual.

Mumbai need just 63 off the last 10 overs. Suryakumar 33 (27) and Kishan 21 (19) are doing this with ease.

MI 59/2 in 9 overs (Target: 132)

This will do nicely for Mumbai, risk-free batting. Five singles from Tahir’s first over as the leg-spinner mixes up his pace through the six balls.

Time for a timeout, and CSK need to come up with some plan to get a wicket or two or three. The match is slipping away from Dhoni’s men.

MI 54/2 in 8 overs (Target: 132)

A good first over from Bravo as he concedes four singles and a double. A fifth slip of sorts in place for Ishan Kishan in that over, to prevent him from running the ball down to the third man for a easy single. 50 comes up for MI.

Time for Imran Tahir at the other end.

MI 48/2 in 7 overs (Target: 132)

Ravindra Jadeja joins the attack and bowls a good over first-up. Just the four runs from it. MS Dhoni might hold Imran Tahir back for Hardik Pandya as Dwayne Bravo comes in to bowl the 8th over.

MI 44/2 in 6 Overs (Target: 132)

Another expensive over for CSK, two 11-run overs back-to-back. Chennai are on the attack with a slip for Harbhajan, Ishan gets lucky with a four that goes over. Then another slip comes in but the MI batsman gives Bhajji the charge and clears the midwicket boundary for a six.

After the powerplay the match is finely poised.

MI 33/2 in 5 Overs (Target: 132)

Suryakumar survives! He punches it in the air, Murali Vijay runs across at mid-on but the ball goes through his hands. Poor shot, poor fielding. 11 runs from that Chahar over as the Mumbai No 3 gets a couple of boundaries.

MI 21/2 in 3.2 Overs |Q de Kock c Du Plessis b Harbhajan 8(12)

WICKET! Oh, De Kock. He fell for Dhoni’s trap and Mumbai lose their second. The South African tried to go inside out but it falls straight down to the throat of Faf du Plessis. Harbhajan strikes. The momentum is firmly in CSK’s favour.

MI 20/1 in 3 Overs

De Kock plays a sumptuous paddle sweep off Chahar to get a boundary but fails to put another one away despite the pacer offering him width outside off. Chahar continues to get movement away from the batsman.

MI 15/1 in 2 Overs

Harbhajan’s blows hot and cold in the over. De Kock managed to open his arms to get a boundary but whenever the off-spinner cut the pace on the ball outside off, the left-hander was in trouble. This promises to be interesting.

MI 8/1 in 1 Overs

What an eventful over. Suryakumar was nearly caught at short-third after going for a flashy drive. The ball beat his dive and went to the fence. This is just the start CSK would have hoped for.

MI 4/1 in 0.2 Overs

WICKET! What a start for CSK. Chahar gets the ball to move back in Rohit is caught at the crease. This was after a crisp cover drive that went to the boundary. A review was taken from the MI skipper but replays showed the ball pitching in line and clipping the top of middle.

One suspects that CSK have a competitive total, especially with Tahir, Harbhajan and Jadeja in their ranks. Mumbai have their task cut out and Rohit Sharma needs to bat through the innings.

CSK FINISH AT 131/4

Excellent comeback from Bumrah. His trademark wide and straight yorkers didn’t allow the batsmen to do much. Dhoni and Rayudu had to make do with singles. Just nine from the over.

After 19 overs, CSK 123/4

NO BALL! Would you believe it? Bumrah had taken Dhoni’s wicket after the CSK skipper only got the toe-end of the bat (that also flew off his hand). Kishen at short-third took a superb catch. The replays showed that Bumrah had nothing behind the line. How much will this cost Mumbai?

After 19 overs, CSK 122/4

It’s an MS Dhoni special. Don’t CSK have enough already on this wicket? Malinga tries to attack around the stumps and he is clubbed down the ground for two huge sixes. That was vintage Dhoni on show and the crowd, which had gone silent, suddenly spring to life. 15 runs from the over.

After 18 overs, CSK 107/4

Eight runs from the over. Rayudu gets off to a rousing start in the over after hooking Bumrah to the deep square-leg boundary. The pacer, though, comes back well in the over. It’s a shame that Malinga will not complete his quota of overs here. Error in judgement from Rohit’s part? Or was it a part of the plan?

After 17 overs, CSK 99/4

Terrific over from Rahul Chahar, just three runs from it. Yet again, he gets the ball to spit away from the batsmen and even Dhoni couldn’t do much about it. What a spell this has been from him. He finishes with figures of 4-0-14-2.

After 16 overs, CSK 96/4

Krunal Pandya pulls things back with a fine over. Once again, the left-arm spinner teases the batsmen with his pace and asks the batsmen to come forward. Five singles from the over.

After 15 overs, CSK 91/4

Rayudu is suddenly seeing it like a football. A slow delivery from Hardik is dispatched to the long-on fence. Another big over, eight comes from it. One can sense a momentum shift. A couple of Mumbai fielders look rattled all of a sudden.

After 14 overs, CSK 83/4

Is this the over that turns the match on its head? The batsmen use their feet against Jayant and are rewarded handsomely. Dhoni and Rayudu get a six each and it’s a 15-run over. Sandwiched between those two big hits was a scare for CSK. Dhoni was nearly run out at the non-striker’s end but Hardik’s poor throw helped him get away with it.

After 13 overs, CSK 68/4
Dhoni begins in trademark fashion, checking the wicket and tucking the ball away in the vacant corners for singles. Fine over from Chahar, who now has superb figures of 3-0-11-2.

After 12.1 overs, CSK 65/4 | M Vijay st De Kock b R Chahar 26 (26)

WICKET! The CSK crowd have something to cheer about. Yes, it is that time of the evening when Dhoni walks into the crease. Vijay is tempted in flight and beaten in length. De Kock takes the bails off in a flash and the teenager has his second wicket.

After 12 overs, CSK 65/3

The batsmen are looking to go after the bowling and nearly costs them a wicket. First, a mix-up at the non-striker’s end and Rayudu could have been out by a mile had it been a direct-hit. Then Vijay tries to clear a slow delivery from Bumrah over the boundary and it falls just short of Pollard at long-on. Mumbai’s pressure tactics are working. Just four from the over.

After 11 overs, CSK 61/3

Malinga concedes a rare no-ball. Rayudu gets a boundary by clearing his back leg and flicking it to the fine leg boundary. 11 from the over, a good one for the home side under the circumstances.

Malinga is back into the attack.

After 10 overs, CSK 50/3

The boundaries have dried up and there are cries of “C.S.K” from the crowd, which has gone silent after the early breakthroughs. Jayant Yadav finishes the over with a peach. Rayadu didn’t have a clue where that came from: It pitched slightly outside off and went narrowly over middle stump. Just four from the over.

After 9 overs, CSK 46/3

Krunal is operating at a length that offers nothing to the batsmen. He is getting turn away from the batsmen. Just two singles from the over and the pressure is on CSK. Rayudu, under the scanner, is off to a slow start.

After 8 overs, CSK 44/3

Hardik Pandya is brought on and Rohit keeps the opposition batsmen guessing, shuffling his bowlers around. The India all-rounder didn’t do much wrong there, bowling stump to stump and tries to bring the ball back in. Five runs from the over.

After 7 overs, CSK 39/3

Vijay continues to be in good touch and lofts Chahar over extra-cover to get his third boundary. This was after the leggie had beaten him with turn in the previous delivery. Chennai need their local boy to play a big one here.

After 6 overs, CSK 32/3 | S Watson c J Yadav b K Pandya 10 (13)

Big wicket there and that is the end of Watson. Watson decides to take on a short delivery but the ball hits the top part of the blade and Jayant Yadav takes an excellent catch, running backwards from mid-on and making no mistake. CSK are in all sorts of trouble and it was just when one thought they had stablised the innings.

After 5 overs, CSK 23/2

Watson on the charge, two boundaries from the over. Bumrah starts with a yorker wide outside off stump. The pacer drifts down leg by a touch and Watson tucks it away to the fine leg fence for a boundary. The Australian gets another boundary to end the over, pouncing on a short delivery and pulling it away to glory.

After 3.3 overs, CSK 12/2 | S Raina c & b J Yadav 5(7)

WICKET! Jayant Yadav concedes a boundary of a free-hit but lures Raina into playing a rash shot. The left-hander tried to clear the infield on the leg side but gets a top edge. Yadav positions himself well and makes no mistake. Deafening silence at the Chepauk.

Murali Vijay is the next man to walk in.

After 3 overs, CSK 7/1 (Raina 1, Watson 0):

WICKET! Rahul Chahar strikes FIRST BALL. Almost similar to the chance Faf du Plessis gave in the previous over, only this time there is no height and substitute (?) fielder Anmolpreet Singh takes a catch at short third. It’s a superb over from Chahar, who is getting the ball to turn at a good pace! What an over for MI.

Raina is the new man in and gets off the mark with a sweep.

After 2 overs, CSK 6/0 (du Plessis 6, Watson 0):

Krunal Pandya from the other end and he almost gets the breakthrough. Bowls one wide of du Plessis and tossed up as well, the outside edge just evades Bumrah at short third and goes for the first four of the match. Some turn on offer already as Watson is beaten by a peach off the last ball.

After 1 overs, CSK 1/0 (du Plessis 1, Watson 0):

A typical Chennai start this, not from Watson though. Faf du Plessis plays out five dot balls and takes a single off the last ball. CSK rarely get bothered by a slow start in the powerplay.

7.30 pm: Lasith Malinga, straight away, into the action with the new ball. He has not opened the bowling in most games this year so that’s an interesting call from Rohit right away.

The match is underway!

7.28 pm: Well, well. Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis continue to open the batting for CSK despite M Vijay’s reentry into the XI. Vijay will presumably slot in the middle order, perhaps at No 4.

7.25 pm: A poster spotted in Chepauk: “What do we say to the God of cricket? Not today”

Not sure if that Game of Thrones fan quite got the context right, there.

Anyway, the atmosphere is electric as always in Chennai. We are all set...

7.17 pm: Dhoni has been the main man for CSK but he doesn’t have a great record against MI pace ace Bumrah:

Innings - 9; Runs - 39; Dismissals - 3.

Key battles to watch out for:

• MS Dhoni vs Lasith Malinga / Jasprit Bumrah
• Hardik Pandya vs Dwayne Bravo
• Deepak Chahar vs Rohit Sharma

7.14 pm: Focus on CSK’s batting

The CSK top-order has fired in fits and starts in the league phase and will need to come out all guns blazing against a formidable MI bowling attack that includes Jasprit Bumrah [17 wickets], Lasith Malinga [15 wickets], the Pandya brothers [Hardik with 14 wickets and Krunal with 10 wickets], leggie Rahul Chahar [10 wickets].

Suresh Raina has found some form with back-to-back half centuries. Faf du Plessis made a superb 96 in Mohali too. Remains to be seen where Vijay slots in that top order.

Skipper Dhoni [CSK’s highest run-getter with 368 runs from 12 matches, 3 fifties] has been the mainstay of a rather inconsistent CSK batting unit and he, along with Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis and Suresh Raina, will hold the key in the crunch game against Mumbai.

CSK, however, will miss the services of the Kedar Jadhav, who sustained a shoulder injury in the last league match against KXIP.

7.10 pm: Both captains played it diplomatic at the toss about the big game pressure...

Dhoni: “Mumbai are a balanced side but we don’t think too much about the opposition. We’d rather focus on our preparation.”

Rohit: “We do have a good record here but that doesn’t matter much. Got to focus on our strengths and play good cricket tonight to come out on top.”

7.08 pm: PLAYING XIs - Will we see Vijay open the batting for CSK?

Mumbai Indians:

Quinton de Kock (wk), Rohit Sharma (capt), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Jayant Yadav (in for Mitch McClenaghan), Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga.

Chennai Super Kings:

Shane Watson, Murali Vijay (in for Kedar Jadhav), Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (w/c), Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir.

7.05 pm: TEAM NEWS

The captains have both made one change each to their playing XIs. Mumbai replace Mitchell McClenaghan with Jayant Yadav. Chennai bring in Murali Vijay for the injured Kedar Jadhav.

7.00 pm: MS Dhoni wins the toss (Mumbai technically the “home” team because they finished first so Rohit was tossing). ‘Thala’ Dhoni calls heads and it is heads. CSK will be batting first.

6.59 pm: We are close to the toss. Mumbai Indians have shown the tendency to bat first on occasion this IPL and even though Rohit loss the toss in Chennai a few days back, batting first proved to be crucial for Mumbai.

6.57 pm: Sanjay Manjrekar in the pitch report says do not expect a high-scoring match. After all, there has not been a single 180+ total in Chennai this season. There will be plenty of eyes on how the pitch plays though, the Chepauk tracks have come under plenty of criticism.

6.55 pm: Rohit Sharma seemed confident ahead of this match: “We know about the IPL that the business end matters, we always come back well in the second half of this tournament.”

6.53 pm: MI are the only team in IPL who have a winning record overall against CSK.

Good news for CSK is that the men in yellow have a slightly better record against MI in playoffs.

Head to head in IPL:

Overall: Matches – 26, Mumbai Indians – 15, Chennai Super Kings – 11.

Since 2015: Matches – 8, Mumbai Indians – 6, Chennai Super Kings – 2.

In knockouts / playoffs: Matches – 7, Mumbai Indians – 3, Chennai Super Kings – 4.

6.49 pm:

• It was a long time coming, it was not pretty but Rohit Sharma’s first half century of the season helped MI end another CSK streak — this time, their winning run at Chepauk. Mumbai won by 46 runs and managed to keep their incredible record of not losing in Chennai for four consecutive times (a streak that dates back to 2010 for various reasons) while CSK suffered their first defeat at Chepauk since their return. Worth remembering, though, that Dhoni was missing in action in that match.

643 pm:

• When the two sides met early on in Mumbai, Rohit’s men brought an end to the defending champions’ unbeaten start to the season. The star of the show was Hardik, of course, with his power-hitting and crucial breakthroughs with the ball. In what will be a night to remember for the young all-rounder, MI produced a clinical performance to hand CSK their first defeat of the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League. And a convincing 37-run defeat at that.

6.35 pm: On Tuesday, the Super Kings will be banking on home comfort to turn the tide against an opposition that seems to be peaking at the right time. CSK boast of a tremendous record at home this season, winning six of their seven games at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

The one blip? Against Mumbai, of course.

In fact, Mumbai Indians have historically done well in Chennai. Since 2013, CSK have lost only four matches at the MA Chidambaram Stadium and three of those losses were against the Paltan.

6.30 pm: Three time-champions vs three-time champions. The team that finished No 1 on table and in form vs the team that has played in the Indian Premier League playoffs in all 10 seasons they have been part of the tournament. Some call it the El Clasico of IPL, but you do not need such monikers to be excited about Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings.

Hello all, and welcome to the first playoff game of the 2019 season.

Chennai Super Kings host Mumbai Indians at the Chepauk in Qualifier 1 of the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League. The match promises to be an intense battle as it pits the two most successful teams in the T20 tournament’s history against each other.

Rohit Sharma-led MI have won the title thrice, as have Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s CSK. Mumbai, though, lead Chennai 15-11 in their IPL head-to-head, with their two most recent victories coming this year.