IPL: 5 best Chennai Super Kings-Mumbai Indians encounters

The 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League will be underway on 7th April 2018 when the defending champions Mumbai Indians take on the Chennai Super Kings at Mumba. These two teams have been arch rivals since the commencement of the league in 2008. Both the teams have huge fan bases and their matches are like those of India and Pakistan.

Over the years they have faced each other 24 times out of which the men in blue have been successful in 13 games. The Mumbai Indians have a better record than the yellow brigade. A lot of players have represented both the teams but there were a few players who stood out in CSK-MI encounters. Let us have a look at the leading run scorers and the leading wicket-takers in the matches played between the two heavyweights.

Leading run scorers

Leading wicket takers

Out of these 24 games, 22 have been played in the IPL. There have been many scintillating nail bitters that have found the audience thrilled to bits. On this note, let us have a look at the 5 most thrilling encounters between the two sides.

#5 Match 25, April 22, 2011

Harbhajan Singh was the man of the match

This was a high-intensity game. The Indian side had won the World Cup twenty days ago under the leadership of MS Dhoni. Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni were face to face in this encounter. The Mumbai Indians were batting first on a slow Chennai pitch. Tendulkar's side had the firepower in the form of Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, and Andrew Symonds.

The Chennai Super Kings started magnificently. They rattled the openers inside the first four overs. Rohit Sharma rescued his side with his gutsy 87. He took the Mumbai Indians to a defendable total of 164.

Dhoni and co. were up for the challenge. They had the likes of Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Michael Hussey, Albie Morkel and Badrinath. The Super Kings started their innings on an average note. Badrinath and Hussey gave pace to the innings after the fall of two wickets. The game was in balance until the 18th over with the Super Kings requiring 30 off the last three.

The turning point of the match was yet to come. Harbhajan Singh scalped three wickets in the over conceding only two runs. The off-spinner dismissed Albie Morkel, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Joginder Sharma. He also kept the in-form Badrinath off the strike. Lasith Malinga ended CSK's hope with another brilliant over. Harbhajan Singh was awarded the man of the match award for his 5 for 18.

#4 Match 8, April 23, 2008

Matthew Hayden was the man of the match

This was the first ever game between these two sides. In the 2008 edition of the IPL, these two teams were considered to be the strongest on paper. A lot of drama was expected in this clash as Dhoni's side was taking on Harbhajan's side in Chennai. The Chennai Super Kings were batting first on a flat pitch.

Despite the fall of two early wickets Matthew Hayden and Suresh Raina played aggressively to add 104 runs together. Hayden scored 81 off 46 balls. The Chennai skipper provided the late flurry by scoring 30 off 16 deliveries. The Super Kings scored 208. Mumbai Indians had little hope of chasing the massive total.

The Mumbai Indians were determined to chase the target. Mumbai lost two early wickets as they were trying to accelerate. Robin Uthappa played the anchor's role to bring his side closer to the target. Manpreet Gony stopped the flow of runs with his economical bowling performance.

The chasing team required 62 off the last four overs. The task was close to impossible before Abhishek Nayar provided the men in blue with a little bit of hope. Nayar smashed 21 runs off Amarnath's over. In the next over, Mumbai Captain Harbhajan Singh hit two sixes off Jacob Oram. With 28 runs required from the last two overs, Muralidharan pulled things back by giving away just nine runs in the penultimate over. He also picked the wicket of Harbhajan.

Joginder Sharma had the ball in hand for the final over. His last over heroics in the 2007 World T20 final will be etched in the heart of every Indian fan. Sharma bowled a good last over to reduce the Mumbai Indians to 202. Matthew Hayden was awarded the man of the match award for his innings of 81.

#3 Match 33, 10 May 2014

MS Dhoni finished the game in his trademark style

The 33rd match of the 2014 edition. The Chennai Super Kings were up against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Mumbai Indians misread the pitch by playing only one spinner on a spinning track. The home team was batting first.

The Mumbai Indians had a slow start on a sluggish wicket. Opener Lendl Simmons scored a run a ball 38 to ensure that MI did not lose more wickets. Rohit Sharma played a valuable knock of 59 to help his team to get to 157. MI was under immense pressure. Chasing at the Wankhede seemed an easy task with the presence of dew.

The Super Kings got off to a shaky start losing opener Brendon McCullum early. Dwayne Smith and Faf Du Plessis rotated the strike and kept the scoring rate intact. Malinga was brought back into the attack. He produced a wonderful over in which he dismissed the dangerous Du Plessis.

The away side required 27 off the last three overs and the onus was on their skipper MS Dhoni. Malinga produced another good over. CSK required 11 off the final over with Dhoni on strike. Kieron Pollard had the responsibility of bowling the final over. Dhoni finished the game on the third ball of the over. He hit a six on the second delivery and then finished the game in his trademark style. Dwayne Smith was awarded the man of the match award for his 57.

#2 Match 43, May 8, 2015

The 43rd match of the 2015 edition of the tournament. Dhoni's men were taking on Rohit Sharma's side at Chennai. The Chennai Super Kings were batting first on a slow Chennai wicket. Both the teams were in stupendous form in this edition of the tournament.

The Super Kings started steadily. Opener Dwayne Smith took his time to score 27 off 34 deliveries. The Mumbai bowlers kept the runs down in the initial stages of the innings. The home side was struggling for runs until the end of the 16th over. Southpaw Pawan Negi came to the crease and played a quickfire knock.

Negi scored 36 off 17 balls to get his side to a reasonable total of 158. Captain MS Dhoni was the top scorer of the innings with his 39 off 32 deliveries. Chasing 159 was not easy on a slow Chennai wicket. CSK had three spinners in their lineup in form of Ashwin, Jadeja, and Negi.

The away team started their innings on a fantastic note. The openers scored 84 before Parthiv Patel was dismissed in the 11th over. The game soon drifted away from the men in blue. They lost three wickets for two runs. Rohit Sharma tried to get his side in a good position but he was dismissed on 18.

The chasing side required 30 off the last two overs with all-rounder Hardik Pandya on strike. Pawan Negi had the responsibility of bowling the penultimate over of the innings. Negi had conceded nine runs in three overs before the commencement of this over. Negi was a contender for the man of the match award before Pandya ruined his game.

Hardik Pandya smashed three sixes off Negi to bring the game in MI's court. Ambati Rayadu too joined in with a six on the last delivery. Pawan Negi conceded 25 runs off the over. The final task was completed by Ambati Rayadu who scored a boundary off Dwayne Bravo's second delivery. Pandya was awarded the man of the match award for three catches and his fiery innings.

#1 Match 49, May 6, 2012

This is the most thrilling CSK-MI encounter ever. It was a doubleheader day in the IPL and the audiences had grabbed their seats with utmost excitement. The 49th game of the 2012 IPL was played at Mumbai. The Chennai Super Kings were batting first on an extremely hot day.

The away side started their innings on a splendid note putting 47 runs for the first wicket. Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay, and Dwayne Bravo made valid contributions to get the Super Kings to 173. Vijay ensured that the men in yellow got off to a good start. Dhoni's hitting in the final overs helped the Super Kings to the total. RP Singh and Malinga scalped three wickets each.

The Wankhede Stadium has always been famous for batting second with the dew around. This time was no different. A bit of dew came in as the second innings progressed. The home side lost their wicket in the third over with only eight runs on the board. Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma added 126 runs for the second wicket before Tendulkar was dismissed.

The Mumbai Indians soon lost their way. The chasing team lost five wickets for 24 runs in the next four overs. The Harbhajan led side was in a spot of bother in the final over. 16 were required off the final over. Ben Hilfenhaus had the ball in hand. He dismissed Lasith Malinga on the second delivery of his over.

The home side required 14 off the last three deliveries. Dwayne Smith was on strike. Mumbai Indians had very little hope of winning the game. Smith smashed Hilfenhaus for one six and two fours to seal the victory for his side. Smith scored an unbeaten 24 off 9 deliveries. He was awarded the man of the match award final flurry.