The inaugural match of the Indian Premier League 2012 saw Chennai Super Kings – searching for a hattrick of championship – locking horns with Harbhajan’s Mumbai Indians. MI bowlers dealt a heavy blow to CSKs hope when the undefeated home record of CSK was broken in the first match of IPL 2012.
Scorecard
Indian Premier League 5: Schedule and Results
MI leads CSK 5-4 now in 9 matches, registering second consecutive victory over CSK after their victory in 2011.
Harbhajan Vs Dhoni
The newly-appointed MI captain, Harbhajan Singh has a lot at stake than just the IPL matches. Dhoni is the established leader, even Harbhajan’s captain. At home, Dhoni has made CSK undefeatable. Both lead strong teams. But in the inaugural match it was Harbhajan who outwitted his Indian team captain Dhoni. His team’s fielding – which saw Bhaji himself winning Karbon Kamaal Catch award of the match – and his planned use of bowlers led to CSKs downfall.
CSK Caught Unaware
CSK probably never dreamnt of a beating at home, after impeccable record of 2011. Despite having some of the best allrounders, batsmen and bowlers the Super Kings could just see Mumbai fielders and bowlers bowl them out only for 112. Known for their Australian fighting spirit, their bowlers did delay the inevitable till 17th over, but lack of wickets failed to make a match out of the defeat. While the foreign fleet of Plesis (opener), allrounders Albie Morkel and Dwayn Bravo and Bollinger (fast bowler) could not do much to change the fate, even in Indian biggies, except Raina’s knock Murali Vijay, Dhoni, Badrinath, Ashwin or Jadeja could not put up a decent fight.
Jonty Rhodes Impact and MI’s Bowlers
The IPL started with a sharp run out by Rayudu. Plesis was caught short in the first over. Talking about quality of matches, IPL would need such fielding effort more. MI affected 3 run-outs in the match. The MIs bowling led by Malinga and Harbhajan was ably supported by Pollard and Pragyan Ojha. None of the bowlers let CSK batsmen breathe freely. The bowling and fielding unit working together may be the turning point for MI in 2012.
Levi – The Man to Watch
After hitting the fastest T20 international century, Richard Levi announced his arrival at IPL with his half-century on debut. His 34-ball half-century earned him the Man of the Match.
Low Score, Still Batsmen is MOM!!
T20 is a batsmen game. But IPL management can help by not making it so clear. Despite having the opposition on mat with just 112 runs to chase, the committee could not decide on one bowler and instead rewarded Levi for his half-century. Irony or Norm!!
Head-to-Head
- 2008
CSK def MI by 6 runs
MI def CSK by 9 Wickets
2009
MI def CSK by 19 runs
CSK def MI by 7 Wickets
2010
MI def CSK by 5 Wickets
CSK def MI by 24 Rruns
CSK def MI by 22 Runs
2011
MI def CSK by 8 runs
2012
MI def CSK by 8 wickets
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