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Wednesday 20 May 2015

MI Crush CSK To Enter IPL Final

#CSK vs #MI
#Qualifier 1
#Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
19th May 2015

A superb all round performance from Mumbai Indians​ ensured they qualified for the IPL - Indian Premier League​ final beating Chennai Super Kings​ by 26 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. 

Watched by a sea of blue MI fans, they batted and bowled CSK out of the game easily. Their openers put another sterling show by setting up 90 for the opening stand to lay foundation for #Pollard to play his usual cameos to end with a flourish and set a challenging 188 run target for CSK to win.

After a lucky horror decision against Dwayne Smith and accounting for Mike Hussey, Faf Du Plessis and Suresh Raina momentarily steadied the ship and looked threatening. It all ended in one dramatic and special Harbhajan Singh​ over. He claimed wickets of Suresh Raina​ and MS Dhoni​ off consecutive deliveries firmly turned tide in their favor.

The middle and late order batsmen tried hard but the target was beyind them.

MI will head to Kolkata for the IPL final (24th May 2015) and await winner of Qualifier 2, scheduled for 22nd May 2015 in Ranchi. CSK will now play that game against winners of the Eliminator (#RCB or #RR).

#LIVE #SCORES
MI - 187 for 6, 20 overs
CSK - 162 all out, 19 overs 

Man of the Match: #Kieron #Pollard

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Tuesday 19 May 2015

Harbhajan Double Strike Puts Mumbai Firmly Ahead

#CSK vs #MI
#Qualifier 1 
#Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
19th May 2015

#MI slightly ahead of the game after the first strategic timeout in CSK innings.

A horror lbw decision against #DwayneSmith by umpire Illingworth in the first over, set them on the backfoot rightaway. The aging #MikeHussey was unable to push things through really fast and eventually was caught behind off #VinayKumar. 

#FafduPlessis and #SureshRainia have stepped up the gas, especially Plessis to infuse life in this CSK innings. 

But, Harbhajan's 11th over of the innings turned things on its head.
He had #SureshRaina caught and bowled off the second ball. Big wicket.
The bigger wicket awaited next delivery when he trapped #MSDhoni plumb in front. The celebrations from the MI team and crowd were amazing.

He almost had DwayneBravo on the last ball of the same over but he missed a simple caught and bowled chance. However, this over has put MI firmly ahead in this game and the IPL final beckons!

#LIVE #SCORE
MI - 187
CSK - 95 for 4 in 12 overs

Game ON>>>

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Pollard Cameo Helps MI Set 189 Target For CSK

#CSK vs #MI
#Qualifier 1 
#Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
19th May 2015

A stunning 17 ball 41 by #KieronPollard has helped #MI set a formidable target of 188 against #CSK. After 17 overs, CSK had pulled back the MI innings wonderfully through #Bravo and #Nehra.

But the last three overs belonged to Pollard.
He ripped into the CSK seamers - Bravo and Mohit to leapfrog their total to 188.
46 runs came off the last 3 overs.

Over 18 - 15 runs
Over 19 - 15 runs
Over 20 - 16 runs.

Massive damage done.
A couple of iffy decisions on wides cost CSK a bit, though.
MS Dhoni seemed disappointed and talked to umpire Dharmasena about it.

So, how does this pan out now?
188 in 20 overs. Can CSK pull this off? or will MI restrict them?
Game on... 

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CSK Claw Back Through Bravo and Nehra

#CSK vs #MI
#Qualifier 1 
#Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
19th May 2015

Looking straight down the barrel (staring at chasing 200), #CSK have clawed back brilliantly through #Bravo and #Nehra.

Overs 16 and 17 have been game changers for CSK.
Just 8 runs came off these two overs and two key wickets lost.
#RohitSharma and Hardik Pandya both fell trying to hit long shots, pegging MI back.

MI's hopes to reach 200 now rest on #Pollard and #Rayudu.
3 overs to go. Game on...

#LIVE #SCORE
MI - 156 for 4, 18 overs 

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First TimeOut - MI 48 For No Loss In 6 Overs

#CSK vs #MI
#Qualifier 1 
#Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
19th May 2015

First #Strategic #Timeout of the game.
#MI started cautiously in the first 4 overs.
#Nehra and #Ashwin troubled them with swing and spin.
But, they've covered up brilliantly in the next 2 overs
#Simmons and #Parthiv have opened up and smashed Ashwin and Nehra for 14 runs each to even things out.

The battle looking exciting already.

Dhoni has utilized 3 overs each from his top 2 bowlers.
So, its going to be interesting how he's going to go from here?

For MI, they need to carry on the momentum..

#LIVE #SCORE
MI - 48 for 0 in 6 overs

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Toss Time - MI Win Toss, Elect To Bat

#CSK vs #MI
#Qualifier 1 
#Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
19th May 2015

We're close to start of Qualifier 1.
Its toss time.
#MSDhoni and #RohitSharma in the centre.
Coin tossed ... and it comes a tail, correctly called by Rohit.

MI have won the toss and elected to bat first.
Massive game this and batting first would be a huge advantage with pressure all around.

Is it going to be the first opportunity or a last min dash performance that would decide the fate of this game? Amazing crowd, great atmosphere and big clash. What else can you ask for.

Let the battle explode.
The big #IPL final is calling....

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What Can MI, RCB and RR Learn From CSK About Fair Play?

As the top two teams at #IPL8 face each other in Qualifier 1 match today, there is an interesting statistic that needs a look in.

On the #Fair #Play Points table, #CSK are as usual on the top (its pretty remarkable, how they do well on both the tables - points and fair play - season after season) and #MI? .. you guessed it right ... at the bottom (this is big pain point in their inconsistent performances over the years).

Is the Fair Play points table is a good indicator of team's consistency, form and winability?
Its an interesting question to answer.

Teams that generally stay on top of this fair play table, either do very well or do very poorly. 

The 2015 Fair Play table looks like this
1. CSK
2. KKR
3. KXIP
4. DD
5. SRH
6. RR
7. RCB
8. MI

Barring CSK that is on top, teams from positions 2 to 5 have been knocked out while teams 6,7 and 8 have qualified for the playoffs. This is an amazing stat. 

Does playing fair mean compromising on winning? or should teams shouldn't care about fair play and focus only on the points table?

This is why CSK is the best team in IPL ever.
And they have been consistent on both tables year after year.

Just goes to show how #MSDhoni has built this team to play fair and yet keep winning. Win at all cost ... may not work all the time .

RR, RCB and MI can really learn from the CSK about this fair play habit!
No doubt they have some outstanding performers and entertainers, but champs with humility are always looked up to by the public!

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Clinical CSK Vs Mercurial MI - Qualifier 1 - Stakes Are High

This is it .. after grueling six weeks of non stop action, drama and amazing performance .. it has come down to the top 4 teams making the playoffs at #IPL - Indian Premier League​. Cant get better and bigger than this!

Qualifier 1 - #MSDhoni​ led table-toppers Chennai Super Kings​, the indomitable force in all seasons of the IPL will take on the mercurial and in-form Mumbai Indians​ led by #RohitSharma​ at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai today. Promises to be a cracker of a game. Remember, winner goes straight to the #IPL final - a massive incentive to win. The loser gets another crack by playing qualifier 2. That's a bonus too!

Team #MI - will be selected from below
Rohit Sharma
Corey Anderson
AC Blizzard
Jaspreet Bumrah, 
Unmukt Chand, 
M de Lange, 
S Gopal, 
Alex Hales, 
Harbhajan Singh, 
Ben Hilfenhaus, 
SD Lad, 
Mitchell McClenaghan, 
Lasith Malinga, 
Abhimanyu Mithun, 
C Munro, 
Pragyan Ojha, 
Harsh Pandya, 
Parthiv Patel, 
Kieron Pollard, 
Navin Rana, 
Ambati Rayudu
Lendl Simmons, 
J Suchith, 
P Suyal, 
Aditya Tare, 
Vinay Kumar, 
AA Wakhare

Team #CSK  - will be selected from below
MS Dhoni,
Kyle Abbott,
Baba Aparajith,
Ravichandran Ashwin, 
Shrinivas Badree, 
AK Bains, 
Dwayne Bravo, 
Faf du Plessis, 
ER Dwivedi, 
Mike Henry, 
Mike Hussey, 
Ravindra Jadeja, 
Brendon McCullum, 
Mithun Manhas, 
RG More, 
Pawan Negi, 
Ashish Nehra, 
Ishwar Pandey, 
Irfan Pathan, 
Pratyush Singh, 
Suresh Raina, 
Mohit Sharma, 
R Sharma, 
Dwayne Smith, 
AJ Tye

Both teams look solid both with the bat and ball.
CSK looks stronger with the bat slightly whereas Mumbai look a shade better on the bowling front.

MS' boys can turn around games on their sheer relentlessness while Rohit can inspire his MI team to produce an incredible batting or bowling innings. Thats how it is pioised? 

So, who will win? who will prevail? who can handle pressure better?
The clinical #CSK or the red-hot #MI? Time will tell.
May the best team win!

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