IPL 2021 Match 27: Mumbai Indians beat Chennai Super Kings by 4 wickets — as it happened

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Kolkata: It took an awe-inspiring display of power-hitting from Kieron Pollard as his 87 off 34 balls, studded with eight sixes and six fours, took Mumbai Indians over the line in a high-scoring thriller against Chennai Super Kings in New Delhi today.

A target of 219 looked out of the champions' reach when they lost the top three of captain Rohit Sharma, the in-form Suryakumar Yadav and Quinton de Kock with 80-odd runs on the board. A 89-run stand for the fourth wicket, which saw Pollard and Krunal Pandya take advantage of a flat batting surface and the smaller square boundaries, kept the champions in the chase.

Earlier, Chennai Super Kings rode half-centuries by Faf du Plessis (50), Moeen Ali (58) and a ruthless 72 off 27 balls by Ambati Rayudu to reach a colossal total of 218 for four against Mumbai Indians in New Delhi. It was the yellow shirts' highest ever total against Mumbai, two of the most decorated sides, in the history of IPL - which eventually fell short.

Relive the match as it happened ...

Kolkata: It was an awesome batting display by Chennai Super Kings as they rode half-centuries by Faf du Plessis (50), Moeen Ali (58) and a ruthless 72 off 27 balls by Ambati Rayudu to reach a colossal total of 218 for four against Mumbai Indians in New Delhi.

This is the yellow shirts' highest ever total against Mumbai, two of the most decorated sides, in the history of IPL.

When Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma decided to chase after winning the toss, he would have possibly shown confidence on his big-hitting line-up for a crack at a total in the region of 180-plus. However, they will need an extraordinary effort here to make a match of it.

Rayudu, coming in at number five, showed some extraordinary hitting - attack Jasprit Bumrah time and again to finish with seven sixes and four boundaries in his innings.

Kolkata: A Mumbai Indians versus Chennai Super Kings clash has been one of the traditional rivalries in the history of IPL - and it will be no different when they face off at the neutral venue of Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi today.

It will be interesting to see if the current champions, in fourth spot of the table after their seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals on Thursday, can build on the last win which saw them chasing down a par target on a decent batting surface. Opener Quinton de Kock’s return to form was a heartening one for the Mumbai Paltan, though a few question marks still linger about their middle order.

Chennai have looked the most well-rounded side at the halfway mark, with Dhoni’s captaincy always an added bonus for them. With the erstwhile Kotla wicket doing a bit for the seamers, Mumbai’s best chance lies in chasing after restricting the rivals with the Trent Boult-Jasprit Bumrah combination making early inroads.

Surely, we have a cracker of a contest on our hands.