SHARJAH: Trent Boult starred with the ball and Ishan Kishan with the bat as Indian Premier League champions Mumbai Indians inflicted their biggest ever win over old rivals Chennai Super Kings on Friday. Boult took four wickets as Chennai - at one stage four wickets down with just three runs scored - were restricted to 114 for nine off their 20 overs. Kishan then hit 68 and Quinton de Kock 46 as Mumbai sped to 116 in 12.2 overs without losing a wicket. It was Mumbai's first 10-wicket victory over Chennai and the first time MS Dhoni's Chennai have lost by such a margin. Dhoni admitted the rout "hurt".
Mumbai went to the top of the IPL standings while three-time champions Chennai went to the bottom of the eight-team race amid growing questions about the future of Dhoni and other veterans in the team. New Zealander Boult removed Chennai opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, who took Shane Watson's place for the day, just five balls into the game. Jasprit Bumrah claimed Ambati Rayudu and Narayan Jagadeesan with straight balls in the second over before Boult took the wicket of Faf du Plessis in the third.
Dhoni made 16, hitting a six before being caught next ball off Rahul Chahar. While more wickets fell, Sam Curran saved Chennai from complete disaster with a defiant 52 that guided his side away from their historic low score of 79. Boult who took four for 18 off his four overs, said he kept to his "natural" swing bowling style. "I've been lucky to get the first over, if it's going to swing here it's going to be up front." Chennai beat Mumbai in the opening game of the season, moved to empty stadiums in the United Arab Emirates because of the coronavirus pandemic in India, but Dhoni admitted that nothing has gone right since.
They have now lost eight of their 11 games. "What you need to see is what are the things that are going wrong, especially this year. It hasn't been our year, whether you lose by eight or 10 wickets, it hardly matters, but where we are at this stage of the tournament, it does hurt," he said. "Whenever you're not doing well, there can be a 100 reasons, but one of the main things you ask yourself is whether you've played to the potential you've got no matter the conditions," added Dhoni.
"And this year we haven't. Cumulatively there have been batting failures." Dhoni said that Chennai now need a "clear picture" for the 2021 season for which many questions remain because of the pandemic fallout. "The coming three games will be an ideal opportunity to give platforms. See some of the youngsters in preparation for the next year, see who will bat and who bowls at the death and soaks the pressure," added the captain, who retired a few weeks ago from international cricket and who also faces new doubts about his future.- AFP