Kolkata: A far too superior Mumbai Indians crushed Chennai Super Kings under the weight of a daunting asking rate yesterday to lift the coveted Indian Premier League (IPL) title for the second time, in a virtual replay of the final between the two sides in 2013 at the same venue Eden Gardens.
Put in to bat, Mumbai gave an awesome batting display to plunder 202/5, and then restricted Chennai to 161/8, finishing with a 41 run victory before a capacity 66,000 plus crowd at the iconic ground.
Chasing the tough target, Chennai Super Kings lost an early wicket and never quite seemed like taking up the challenge,virtually choking Aunder pressure as the asking rate kept mounting. In the end, the battle seemed quite one-sided.
Two years back, Mumbai had defeated Chennai by 23 runs to annex their maiden title at the Eden.
Mumbai now have evened with Chennai and Kolkata Knight Riders - each having been crowned champions twice.
Chennai began their reply on the wrong note, as Mike Hussey (4) departed cheaply, but Dwayne Smith (57; 48b, 9x4, 1x6). and Suresh Raina (28; 19b, 3x4, 1x6) set out to repair the damage and take the battle into the opponent camp with a 66-run second wicket stand.
However, veteran office Harbhajan Singh - on a high after his recall to the Indian team - showed the door to Smith, and that proved to be the turning point of the game, as CSK never got going after that.
Wickets tumbled, as Raina became Harbhajan’s victim in the tweaker’s next over, while Dwayne Bravo (9) and skipper M S Dhoni (18) also could not do much.
The dye was cast, and once Dhoni went back in the 16th over, with the score reading 124/5, it was all over. IANS
