Kumaran bowls Superstars to 38-run win

Chennai Superstars 157 for 8 (Harvey 63, Astle 3-36) beat Mumbai Champs 119 (Kumaran 6-21) by 38 runs
Scorecard

Mumbai Champs lost their second match in a row after T Kumaran struck with 6 for 21 to hand Chennai Superstars a 38-run win.

After winning the toss, the Superstars were given a powerful start by Ian Harvey, who hit six fours and four sixes in his 41-ball 63. He added 78 with Chris Read before Read was trapped leg before by Nathan Astle for 34. But Harvey stuck into Astle in the 13th over, hitting two sixes and a four off the first three balls before he holed out to fine leg off the last ball. The over had cost 18 runs and the Superstars were at 109 for 3. After Harvey's dismissal, the Superstars steadily lost wickets and only added another 48 in the next seven overs. Their total of 157 is the highest so far in the tournament and Harvey's 63 is the highest individual score so far.

The Champs began the chase positively with Dheeraj Jadhav flicking three fours off Harvey in the first over. But by the halfway mark of the innings they had lost their openers and were at 56 for 2. But the Champs had Astle and Johan van der Wath at the crease to counter the required run-rate that was steadily climbing. Kumaran, though, having snapped up Jadhav for 30, was planning a counter-attack of his own. In the 15th over he bowled Astle and had a defensive van der Wath caught off Russel Arnold. Though Brian Lara was at the crease, the chase had more or less slipped out of the Champs' hands. In fact, over the last six games, only one team has won while chasing.

Kumaran further dealt crushing blows when he dismissed Lara, Shreyas Khanolkar and Subhojit Paul in the same over. By then the Champs needed 45 off 12 balls and with only two wickets remaining. They lost those in the penultimate over, handing an easy victory to the Superstars. The Champs are the only side to remain pointless this far into the tournament.