Chennai Super Kings would have thought that playing at home against Mumbai Indians would give them an advantage given the home crowd and spinners dominating at the Chepauk pitch.
But it was Mumbai that came out on top against Chennai on Tuesday as they won the first qualifier and entered the final of the Indian Premier League.
Chasing 132 for a win, Mumbai were guided by an unbeaten 71-run innings from Suryakumar Yadav.
Batting first, CSK managed to post a mediocre 131 for 4. At one stage, Chennai were reduced to 32 for 3 early in the innings before MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu shared a 69-run stand for the fifth wicket to take them past 130. Dhoni remained unbeaten on 37 while Rayudu made 42.
But on the first ball of the final over of the CSK innings, Dhoni was caught at backward point. While playing a slog off a Bumrah delivery, Dhoni’s bat slipped and the outside edge flew to the fielder.
Dhoni, however, was not dismissed as Bumrah had bowled a no-ball and Dhoni was called back to the crease. CSK managed only nine runs from the final over.