Samson, Hosein maul MI for CSK's first win on the road

The buzz around IPL's biggest marquee fixture had not died down, even as its biggest faces, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, were not fit to play. But Chennai Super Kings had little reason to complain, handing Mumbai Indians a 103-run thrashing at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, marking their biggest ever win by runs in the IPL. Sanju Samson's second ton of the season carried CSK to 207, before the spin duo of Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad blew MI away, combining for six wickets.

Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 207/6 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 101*, Ruturaj Gaikwad 22; AM Ghazanfar 2-25, Ashwani Kumar 2-37) beat Mumbai Indians 104 in 19 overs (Tilak Varma 37; Akeal Hosein 4-17, Noor Ahmad 2-24, Anshul Kamboj 1-10) by 103 runs.

Samson's hundred underlined CSK's batting effort, but they won this game with the ball in the Powerplay. Akeal Hosein, left out against Sunrisers Hyderabad, showed CSK what they missed. He got the ball to drop and turn as Danish Malewar edged behind for a duck in the first over. Mukesh Choudhary then tied Quinton de Kock up before the latter played onto his stumps. Hosein made it three wickets in as many overs as he cleaned up Naman Dhir. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma were kept quiet for the rest of the Powerplay, which MI ended at 29/3.

How did CSK's own Powerplay go?

Ruturaj Gaikwad took the attack to Hardik Pandya, but AM Ghazanfar sent him packing for 22 in the third over. Samson took charge, powering CSK past 50 by the end of the fourth over before Sarfaraz Khan joined in, getting off the mark with a boundary off Bumrah. He then attacked Mitchell Santner before perishing to the sweep, with CSK sending Shivam Dube in the final Powerplay over. Despite those two wickets, a Powerplay of 73/2 laid the perfect launchpad.

It was an innings embellished with exquisite strokeplay, starting with a cover drive off Bumrah in the first over. A dab between short third and backward point and a host of pulls stood out, as did his sense of batsmanship. He attacked favorable matchups while playing out Bumrah and Ghazanfar. Once CSK lost Dewald Brevis, Samson took it upon himself to bat through.

He got his fifty off 26 balls while never looking out of control. He ramped up the gears at the death and farmed strike in the final over, eventually notching up a hundred off the final ball with a boundary over square leg. It carried CSK despite a host of cameos around, for the visitors had their eyes on a total upwards of 220 at the halfway mark.

How did Jasprit Bumrah bowl?

He picked up a wicket, getting Kartik Sharma out off a full toss in a manner eerily similar to how he dismissed MS Dhoni in this fixture last year. Bumrah kept things tight, although he went for 13 in his second after Samson gave CSK momentum. Bowling overs 17 and 19, his yorkers were unhittable as Kartik found out before his dismissal. He gave away just two runs in the 17th and 10 in the 19th, with Samson ramping a free hit to the fine leg fence. His 1/31 went a long way in MI restricting CSK to 207.

Was there any hope at all for MI in the chase?

Not after they were rocked early. Choudhary was surprisingly given his fourth over on the bounce and it produced 16 runs, while Noor Ahmad's first ball was speared short and way down leg. Despite all that, MI were 69/3 at the end of the 10th over, needing to go at nearly 14 an over. Once Hosein returned and had Tilak playing on, another procession began. Noor landed the killer blows, dismissing Pandya and Sherfane Rutherford off consecutive deliveries before Hosein ended with a fourth. MI folded for 104 with an over left.

Shardul Thakur batted? How did that happen?

Mitchell Santner's splendid catch to dismiss Kartik came at a cost, as he landed badly on his shoulder which he later iced. He was subbed out for concussion, bringing Thakur into the chase as a like-for-like replacement. It didn't help MI's cause though as he finished with a 12-ball 6.

MI have a five-day break at home before they host Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday (April 29). CSK return home and face Gujarat Titans on Sunday (April 26).