Mumbai: An inspired-all round performance guided Mumbai Indians to their third final in the IPL history, as they convincingly beat the Chennai Super Kings by 25 runs in the IPL qualifier at the Wankhede Stadium here on Tuesday.

This win propelled Mumbai to the final to be played at the Eden Gardens on Sunday, while Chennai Super Kings will get yet another chance to qualify for the final, when they meet the winner of the Eliminator between the Royal Challengers of Bangalore and the Rajasthan Royals.

For Mumbai Indians, Malinga clinched three wickets, Harbhajan Singh and Vinay Kumar got two wickets each, while McClenaghan and Suchith chipped in with a wicket each, as they bowled out CSK for 162.

Earlier, led by solid contributions from Lendl Simmons, Parthiv Patel and Kieron Pollard, Mumbai Indians amassed 187 for 6, in their quota of 20 overs. Simmons scored a fluent 65 off 51 balls with help of three fours and five massive sixes. Following Mumbai’s brisk start and solid foundation laid by their openers, the CSK bowlers did well to restrict them under the 200-run mark. The Indian trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Ashish Nehra proved effective in the middle overs for the Super Kings, keeping a check on the Mumbai Indian’s momentum, time and again.

Simmons and Patel were at it again as they constructed a stand of 90 in the first 11 overs. Both batsmen attacked and played with their usual freedom. Since the two have come together, MI have had those consistent starts at the top. Once they had that 90-run stand, MI were well-placed and looking at a score over 200. However, that is when CSK managed to pull things back.

CSK the home team

This game was like no other CSK-MI contest at the Wankhede Stadium. Not only was it a qualifier, but CSK were the designated home team for the game as they had topped the table. However, a look at the crowd reflected, whom the ground belonged to. MI won the toss and elected to bat first, retaining the side that beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in the crucial last league game. CSK made two changes as Brendon McCullum and Ishwar Pandey made way for Dwayne Smith and Mohit Sharma.

MI innings highlights

Overs 1-5: MI openers Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel got their team off to a great start despite CSK skipper MS Dhoni starting off with spinner R Ashwin. It was seam from the other end with the new ball being shared by Ashish Nehra.

Overs 5-10: Opener Lendl Simmons got to his half-century as MI look set for a big score against CSK. Fellow opener Parthiv Patel also got into his stride after getting his eye in.

Overs 10-15: CSK finally struck to remove MI openers Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel. Simmons was dismissed for 65 by Ravindra Jadeja, while Dwayne Bravo got Parthiv’s (35) wicket. MI skipper Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard are at the crease.

Overs 15-20: CSK bowlers pegged things back slightly to restrict MI to 186/6. At one point, Mumbai were looking good for a score above 200 after winning the toss and opting to bat.

CSK innings highlights

Overs 1-5: CSK made a worst possible start in pursuit of 188, as they lost Dwayne Smith in the first over itself. A brisk stand between Mike Hussey and Faf du Plessis propelled them to 46/1 at the end of five overs with Du Plessis being the more aggressive partner.

Overs 5-10: MI got a crucial breakthrough during this period with a wicket of Michael Hussey. CSK added just 40 runs during this phase as the Mumbai Indians looked to tighten the screws on the Super Kings.

Overs 10-15: CSK were almost bowled out of the contest by this juncture as Harbhajan Singh got two wickets in an over. The CSK chase wilted as they lost Raina, Dhoni, du Plessis and Bravo, all in quick succession.

Overs 15-20: The contest was as good as over as CSK’s tail averted the inevitable till the 20th over. This remarkable winning streak of MI continued as they upstaged one of their famous wins against CSK.