An unbeaten half-century from Suryakumar Yadav and disciplined bowling helped Mumbai Indians see off Chennai Super Kings by six wickets on Tuesday to reach their fifth Indian Premier League final.

Yadav’s 80-run third-wicket partnership with Ishan Kishan, who made 28, was key in Mumbai cruising to victory.

Coming into the match, CSK had lost both their league stage matches against MI. In fact, MI are the only team to have beaten CSK in Chennai this year. Both those streaks extended for one more season.

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Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar returned impressive figures of 2/14 from his four overs to restrict holders Chennai to 131/4, a total Mumbai surpassed with nine balls to spare in the first qualifier of the tournament.

Yadav top-scored with 71 not out off 54 deliveries to drive Mumbai’s chase as the three-time IPL winners await the second finalist in the title clash on Sunday.

The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai, also three-time champions, still have a chance to qualify for the final when they play the winner of the eliminator in the second qualifier on Friday.

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Mumbai put their opponents on the back foot from the very start as hosts Chennai slipped to 32/3 after electing to bat first.

Ambati Rayudu, who made 42, and Dhoni, who scored 37, put on an unbeaten 66-run fifth-wicket stand to give the Chennai total some respect.

“Somebody has to lose, things really didn’t go our way, especially batting,” said Dhoni. “These are the best batsmen we have got, it looks like we are batting well, but at times they pull off shots that shouldn’t be played. Hopefully, we will do well in the next game.”

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For MI, this means an opportunity to clinch their fourth IPL title and they have a break to recuperate.

“Three days now in which we can switch off before the final. Much needed break,” said an elated Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma. “I knew we have the bowlers to restrict them. Have the confidence in our batters as well. Was important to restrict them to as little as possible, because it can get tricky against their quality spinners.”

Here’s a look at the statistical highlights of MI’s clinical win over CSK:

  • Rohit Sharma’s phenomenal IPL record in Chennai
  • Mumbai’s great record against CSK
  • Since 2013, CSK have lost only five matches at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai; four of those losses are now against MI.
  • This was also CSK’s sixth straight loss at Chepauk against Mumbai — a streak that includes a Champions League T20 match.
  • In comparison, according to ESPNCricinfo, all the other IPL teams, put together, have come here 49 times and picked up ten wins.
  • Not much went CSK’s way, but there was a milestone for Imran Tahir. With his two wickets off consecutive balls in this match, the 40-year-old has now picked up 300 wickets in T20 cricket; by getting there in 247 matches, he became the quickest spinner to get to the milestone.
  • Earlier in the day, CSK joined KKR as the only side in IPL history to use just three overseas players in a playoff match.
  • Mumbai Indians have now reached their fifth IPL final. The only year they lost was an even-numbered year (2010). The other three (2013, 2015, 2017) resulted in MI becoming champions. Will 2019 produce the same result for Rohit’s men?