Mumbai Indians ended Chennai Super Kings’ undefeated start to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 after beating them by 37 runs at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard played crucial roles in the win and combined to smash 29 in the last over of the first innings to propel MI to 170. Our bowlers were also on top of their game tonight with everyone playing their part as Mumbai Indians became the first franchise in the IPL to reach 100 wins.

With a target of 171 to defend, both our opening bowlers picked up wickets in their first overs. Jason Behrendorff produced an excellent delivery to dismiss Ambati Rayudu in the first over, while Lasith Malinga got the better of Shane Watson, whose cut shot went straight into Pollard’s palms. Pollard was at it again in the field and this time in spectacular fashion as he pulled off a jaw-dropping one-handed catch at the point boundary to send Suresh Raina back to the dugout in the end of the fifth over.

Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni then put on a 54-run partnership, but Chennai found it difficult to score at a brisk pace with our bowlers containing them excellently in the middle overs. Hardik dismissed Dhoni first and then Ravindra Jadeja in the 15th over as MI inched closer to victory. Malinga put the final nail in Chennai’s coffin three overs later by dismissing Jadhav and Dwayne Bravo. Hardik also got our last wicket in the game and ended with impressive figures of 3 for 20 as we picked up our first home win of the season.

Earlier, after a slow start that saw us lose Quinton de Kock, Mumbai managed to build some momentum on a seaming wicket in the fourth over through Suryakumar Yadav. Suryakumar and Rohit Sharma got us to 40 by the end of the powerplay, but our skipper was caught behind soon after. Rohit’s dismissal brought Yuvraj Singh out to the middle, however, the powerful left-hander fell to Imran Tahir, trying to clear to ropes.

The loss of Rohit and Yuvraj in quick succession meant that Suryakumar had to alter his approach slightly and partner Krunal Pandya, who walked out to bat at five. Krunal’s time at the crease was action-packed. The stylish left-hander hit some attractive strokes, was dropped by a fielder and even successfully used a review to his benefit after he was wrongly adjudged out for being trapped in front of the stumps.

Krunal hit five boundaries and a six in his 42 from 32 deliveries and put on a 62-run partnership with Suryakumar before Mohit Sharma brought an end to his stay at the crease. Suryakumar then reached his fifty with a brilliant six and hit another boundary in the subsequent over before perishing having scored 59.

The removal of Krunal and Suryakumar resulted in Hardik and Pollard finding themselves with the responsibility of powering Mumbai to a big score with two overs remaining. The hard-hitting duo made the most of their opportunity with Pollard clearing the boundary ropes twice and Hardik smashing a boundary and three maximums, including a delightful helicopter shot at the backend of the innings. Pollard and Hardik’s 45-run partnership from 13 balls also ensured we had some momentum going into the second innings with the ball.

Brief score: Mumbai Indians 170 for 5 in 20 overs (Suryakumar 59; Ravindra Jadeja 1/10) beat Chennai Super Kings 133 for 8 in 20 overs (Jadhav 58; Hardik 3/20) by 37 runs

Man of the Match: Hardik Pandya

Our next match will be against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday.