IPL 6 Qualifier 1: MI v/s CSK - The Quick Flicks

Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium played host to a rather exciting game between two-time champions Chennai Super Kings and the mighty Mumbai Indians. It made for an intense game of cricket after a rough week with the spot-fixing scandal and the pull-out of the Sahara franchise from the tournament. The crowd witnessed a magnificent display of hitting from the Men in Yellow as the Blue Brigade struggled to pick up wickets, thus culminating in a strong win for the South side.

Here are some of the snapshots from tonight’s game:

Boundary off the First Ball, Boundary off the Last

CSK batting stalwart Michael Hussey started the innings and finished it in style – scoring boundaries off both the first and the last ball. Interestingly, both were full tosses – one on the pads, one around off – and both deliveries deserved the treatment they received. These 8 runs came in handy as CSK ended up scoring a massive 192 runs for the loss of just one wicket – all thanks to a superlative batting performance from Mr. Cricket!

Cow-Corner Fetish Artist On Song

Suresh Raina completed 4000 T20 runs during his unbeaten knock tonight. The cow-corner fetish artist unleashed his signature heaves as he smashed the MI bowling to pieces. His rapid scoring on a flat track proved to be instrumental in Chennai’s final score. I’m not a fan of this guy, but he does play some good shots at times. Along with Hussey, Raina is one of the key players in the top order for the Super Kings.

To Stay Or Not To Stay – That Is the Question!

With just one more ball to go in his side’s innings, captain MS Dhoni quietly walked back into the dressing room. Perhaps he realized his expectations were more than fulfilled by the two southpaws out in the middle, or maybe he simply wanted to use the loo. Either way, he disappeared for the last ball – something that is rather unlike him.

Missing Sachin

Mumbai Indians would have done well had the great man been on the field tonight. His tips and strategic inputs would have benefited them, especially when Hussey and Raina were going ballistic at both ends. I, for one, would have loved to see him roll his arm over, because MI’s regular bowlers were being tonked all over the ground.

The Madness of Mr. Smith

With Mumbai facing a huge target and needing a flying start, the big West Indian unleashed his massive, booming shots as the CSK bowlers scurried for cover under his relentless assaults. His blazing innings brought the merest trace of a frown on MSD’s face, but the West Indies all-rounder succumbed to the pressure of keeping the run rate under control and lost his wicket to Sir Ravindra Jadeja. A fine innings by the Caribbean import though!

SRJ and DJB – The Men With the Golden Arms

CSK all-rounder ‘Sir’ Ravindra Jadeja struck at exactly the right moments for his side. He removed both the big West Indians Smith and Pollard, and also picked up the wicket of Dinesh Karthik with a flat length ball on middle stump. He is the only player in the whole world who can win games without batting at all. Ditto for West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, whose incisive spell broke the back of MI’s middle and lower order.

Mumbai still have a shot at making the finals if they can manage to win the second qualifier. Chennai, of course, will look to add a third IPL trophy to their cabinet. Let’s just hope the remaining three matches help to reduce some of the pain caused by the shameful spot-fixing scandal.