On Saturday, May 6, the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai hosted the 49th game of the current Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, featuring a matchup between the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings and the five-time winners Mumbai Indians.
Mumbai Indians’ first innings of the match was a rout at the hands of Chennai’s bowlers. Matheesha Pathirana, a pacer for Sri Lanka, bowled a critical spell, helping the hosts restrict the five-time winners to a low score. Pathirana bowled four overs and ended up with three wickets while only allowing 15 runs.
As a result of his efforts, he was named the game’s Player of the Match. Additionally, in the post-game presentation, Chennai captain MS Dhoni praised Pathirana for his recent efforts. Dhoni said that he believes the 20-year-old should focus on the limited-overs format and avoid red-ball cricket.
“I would prefer him not to play red-ball cricket and play all the ICC tournaments, he would be a great asset for Sri Lanka. He was slightly lean last season and has added muscle this season,” MS Dhoni said in the post-match presentation.
On Saturday, Chennai Super Kings defeated Mumbai Indians by a score of six wickets in the Indian Premier League.
When asked to bat, Mumbai Indians could only muster a disappointing 139 for 8. Nehal Wadhera’s 64 runs off 51 balls was the sole bright spot, while Suryakumar Yadav’s 26 runs off 22 balls was the second-best performance. Skipper Rohit Sharma (0) went scoreless for the second game in a row.
For CSK, wickets were taken by fast bowlers Deepak Chahar (2/18 in 3 overs), Tushar Deshpande (2/26 in 4 overs), and Matheesha Pathirana (3/15 in 4 overs). In response, CSK posted the runs in 17.4 overs, with major contributions from Ruturaj Gaikwad (30 off 16 balls) and Devon Conway (44 off 42 balls).
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