IPL 2018, MI vs CSK: 5 reasons why Mumbai Indians lost
The inaugural match of IPL 2018 was a clash between the heavyweights. Three-time champions Mumbai Indians took on the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium.
Chennai won the toss and put the defending champions Mumbai into bat. The Mumbai side struggled to get going in the powerplay but some excellent hitting by the likes of Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, and Krunal Pandya propelled them to a competitive 165.
In reply, Chennai had a disastrous start and were nowhere near the target but some outrageous hitting by Dwayne Bravo, in the end, got them over the line with a ball to spare.
The match turned out to be an all-time classic. Let us have a look at the 5 reasons why the defending champions Mumbai lost the contest, which they were never looked like losing.
#5 Poor death bowling by Mumbai
Mumbai probably has the best death bowling attack in the tournament. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mustafizur Rahman and Mitchell McClenaghan have shown time and again that they can keep their nerves under pressure.
Unfortunately, this was not the case against Chennai. With 47 runs needed off the last 3 overs, everyone thought that the game was done and dusted. However, DJ Bravo had other plans.
He went hell for leather and the Mumbai’s pacers lost the plot. They could not ditch out yorkers and served juicy half volleys or length deliveries that were taken care of by Bravo.
Bumrah, probably the best death bowler in the world, went for 3 sixes, missing his length on every occasion. This eventually resulted in Chennai winning the tense encounter.