IPL 2019, Qualifier 1, CSK vs MI: Captaincy move that cost CSK the game

Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians are the two most successful franchises in the history of the Indian Premier League. Both of them have lifted the trophy three times, and are hoping to become the first team to do a four-peat in IPL 2019.

Coming into this game, the teams knew that a win in this match would book them a spot in Sunday's final. You could sense the tension in the players right from the start.

CSK captain MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first on a slow pitch. But the batsmen failed to justify Dhoni's decision as the hosts lost three wickets in the powerplay overs.

Ambati Rayudu then built a decent partnership with Murali Vijay before the latter was dismissed by Rahul Chahar. Dhoni took a bit of time to settle, before he launched an attack towards the end.

Jasprit Bumrah and Rahul Chahar were brilliant in the death overs as they restricted CSK to just 131. Rahul Chahar was the pick of the bowlers as he conceded just 14 runs in his quota of four overs while taking two wickets in the process.

Mumbai Indian themselves got off to a horrible start as they lost both Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock early. At one stage, MI's score read 21/2, and this is where CSK should have tried to get more wickets. But Dhoni missed a trick as he gave another over to Deepak Chahar instead of attacking with spin on both ends.

On a pitch which was assisting spin greatly, getting another spinner into the attack would have built pressure on the batsmen. But continuing with Chahar allowed the batsmen time to settle, and they made full use of the opportunity.

Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan built a great partnership to take their team to the cusp of victory. Imran Tahir, who is making a run for the Purple Cap, took two wickets in two balls to give CSK some hope, but it was too little too late.

Mumbai Indians won the match by six wickets with nine balls to spare. That means they have reached the final, while CSK will get another chance to qualify for the same on Friday.

CSK will face the winner of the match between Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. And their fans would be hoping that Dhoni's captaincy is more proactive in that match.

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