IPL 2019: Hardik Pandya's all-round display inspires Mumbai Indians to 37-run win over CSK

However, the turning point was when their partnership ended, bringing Hardik and Kieron Pollard to the crease. The duo put up a quick-fire 45 as Chennai conceded 51 runs in the final three overs. Pandya went after the bowling and raced to 25 off eight deliveries with Dwayne Bravo, whose final over went for 29, severely punished.

The Indian all-rounder then starred with the ball as well after some fine work from Jason Behrendorff and Lasith Malinga to take out CSK’s top order. Kedar Jadhav battled on with a defiant innings of 58 from 54 deliveries but that was about the extent of Chennai’s resistance as Pandya picked up 3-20, including the prized wicket of MS Dhoni, from his four overs to help Mumbai over the line.

ROHIT ADDS TO INDIA’S CONCERNS

This was another disappointing display at the crease from the Mumbai skipper and is genuine cause for concern. Remove Rohit Sharma from the equation and the batting order lacks star quality. Even though he’s managed knocks of 46 and 32 in his previous two outings, he’s hardly looked assured in the middle.

After four innings, Sharma boasts an average of 26.75 and a strike rate of 130.48. On the surface, that isn’t exactly alarming but the numbers are deceiving. He’s consistently looked streaky at the start of his innings and his dismissal on Wednesday, prodding uncertainly at Ravindra Jadeja’s delivery spinning away from off stump, did not inspire confidence. His form coupled with that of Virat Kohli’s doesn’t bode well at all for India.

The two stars of their batting line-up have a combined average and strike rate of 23 and 114.9 in this IPL season. The campaign is still young but concerns are growing ahead of this summer’s World Cup.

PANDYA POWER

With his fine knock of 31 from 19 deliveries against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday, Hardik Pandya showed us a glimpse of what he’s capable of and he drove home his point with a stunning cameo at the Wankhede against CSK.

Thanks largely to the efforts of Suryakumar and Krunal, Mumbai were able to stabilise their innings after losing De Kock, Sharma and Yuvraj cheaply but at 112-4 with 16.4 overs played, setting a competitive target seemed unlikely.

Pandya and Pollard found themselves in the middle together and wasted no time getting to work with the Indian excelling with a superb display of power-hitting. He went berserk in the final over. After Pollard had already done his share of damage, Pandya came on strike when they ran three. He proceeded to dispatch the final three balls of the innings for two sixes and a boundary.

His innings of 25 off eight deliveries made a massive difference and swung the pendulum Mumbai’s way. He wasn’t done yet though. While he’s been expensive with the ball this season, Pandya came good on this occasion. He was aided by a seaming wicket off which he managed to generate some bounce as well. His final over, the last of the match, did hurt his economy but also earned him a wicket as he finished with figures of 3-20.

CSK’S RUN ENDS

This was always pegged as a clash of titans even if CSK went into the encounter as favourites. Despite finding themselves in precarious situations this season, they always seemed to come through and get the job done with Dhoni leading the way.

After three wins from three, Mumbai ensured their winning streak went no further. It was a pretty convincing win for the home team and CSK certainly need to address some issues. Their bowling in the death overs will naturally come under scrutiny. Another cause for concern is the collapse of their top order.

Champions usually respond though and how CSK approach their next game against Punjab will say a lot about their title credentials this season.