Mumbai: Openers Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum were in explosive form as Chennai Super Kings carved out an emphatic six wicket win over a lacklustre Mumbai Indians with 20 balls to spare at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday.
Dwayne Bravo struck the winning runs as Chennai reached 189/4 in 16.4 overs in reply to a challenging 183/7 posted by Mumbai.
Suresh Raina remained unbeaten on 43 off 29 balls to enable his side register their third consecutive victory.
In contrast, Mumbai Indians’ luckless campaign continued, as they slumped to their fourth straight defeat.
The visitors got off to an electrifying start with Smith and McCullum striking the ball to all parts of the stadium as the the first 50 came in just four overs.
Smith and McCullum continued the assault, making a mockery of Mumbai’s bowlers, to pile on 90 runs in just six overs.
Smith (62 in 30 balls) brought up his half century in just 22 balls, whereas McCullum (46 from 20) helped his side reach the 100 run mark in just 6.5 overs.
With the duo smacking the ball ruthlessly, Mumbai had no answer.
All of Mumbai’s bowlers — Vinay Kumar, Jagadeesha Suchith, Pawan Suyal and Lasith Malinga — leaked heavy runs.
Only when Rohit Sharma turned to seasoned off-spinner Harbhajan Singh did the breakthrough come, with McCullum going off his second delivery.
It was double delight for Mumbai, as the spinne got the crucial wicket of Smith in the same over.
Chennai were then 115/2, but the foundation laid by the openers made it easier for the incoming batsman to successfully hunt down the Mumbai total.
Earlier, a late assault by Kieron Pollard (64 off 30 balls) and a timely knock by skipper Rohit Sharma (50 off 31) helped Mumbai post a challenging score.
The Mumbai duo rescued the hosts from 57/4 by putting together a rollicking 33-ball 75-run stand.
Opting to bat first, Mumbai got off to a worst possible start after losing opener Parthiv Patel without scoring, Corey Anderson for four and opener Lendl Simmons or five inside four overs.
At 12/3, the hosts tried to retrieve the situation by using the pinch hitting capability of Harbhajan Singh, who nearly pulled off an improbable victory against Kings XI Punjab last week.
Harbhajan straight away took on the bowlers, scoring a quickfire 24 off 21 balls, which included two fours and a six.
But Harbhajan’s innings came to an end in the 10th over, which brought together Pollard and skipper Rohit.
They went on the offensive, bringing up the 50 partnership off 23 balls.
As Rohit was aiming to finish it off for Mumbai, Nehra struck again, Bravo taking the catch in the deep.
For Chennai, Ashish Nehra was again the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-0-23-3.
