Mumbai, April 23 (IANS) Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein starred with a four-wicket haul as the Mumbai Indians (MI) were bowled out for just 104 in 19 overs while chasing 208, handing Chennai Super Kings (CSK) a commanding 103-run victory in Match 33 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.

Earlier, opener Sanju Samson’s brilliant unbeaten century off 56 balls helped CSK reach 207/6 despite losing wickets at regular intervals while batting first.

Chasing a daunting target, the Mumbai Indians had a shaky start as opener Danish Malewar fell early, edging a delivery from Akeal Hosein to wicketkeeper Sanju Samson. The early pressure intensified when Mukesh Choudhary struck in the following over, clean bowling Quinton de Kock for just 7 runs.

Hosein continued to trouble the batters and removed the in-form Naman Dhir with a sharp delivery that rattled the stumps. With three quick wickets down, Mumbai were pushed onto the back foot early. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma attempted to rebuild the innings, but runs were hard to come by initially as they managed just 29 runs in the powerplay.

The pair gradually settled in and began to find boundaries, taking the score to 69/3 at the halfway stage. However, just when the partnership looked threatening, Hosein struck again in the 13th over to dismiss Varma for 37 off 29 balls, breaking a crucial 73-run stand.

Mumbai’s hopes suffered a major blow immediately after, as captain Hardik Pandya fell for a duck to Noor Ahmad, while Sherfane Rutherford was dismissed on the very next ball.

Hosein capped off a brilliant spell by removing Suryakumar for 36, effectively ending Mumbai’s resistance. Shardul Thakur, who came in as a concussion substitute for Mitchell Santner, tried to stay till the end but could only manage 6 runs.

Hosein was the standout performer with exceptional figures of 4/17, while Noor Ahmad chipped in with two key wickets. Gurjapneet Singh applied the finishing touch by dismissing Jasprit Bumrah in the 19th over, sealing a dominant victory for CSK.

Chennai Super Kings made a strong start after being asked to bat first, with Sanju Samson and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad attacking early and scoring 26 runs in the first two overs, including 19 off Hardik Pandya. Gaikwad fell for 22 in the third over, but Samson continued the aggressive approach and took Pandya apart again in the fourth over as CSK crossed 50 quickly.

Sarfaraz Khan added quick runs before being bowled by Mitchell Santner for 14, with CSK finishing the powerplay at 73/2. Allah Ghazanfar then removed Shivam Dube with a carrom ball to pull things back. Dewald Brevis counterattacked with 21 off 11 before falling to Ashwani Kumar.

Samson held the innings together, reaching his fifty in just 26 balls. Kartik struggled for timing and was dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah for 18, while Jamie Overton chipped in with a quick 15.

In the death overs, Samson dominated and brought up his century in 54 balls. He remained unbeaten on 101, hitting 10 fours and six sixes to power CSK past 200. For the Mumbai Indians, Ghazanfar (2/25) and Ashwani Kumar were the standout bowlers.

Brief scores:

Chennai Super Kings 207/6 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 101*, Ruturaj Gaikwad 22; AM Ghazanfar 2-25, Ashwani Kumar 2-37) beat Mumbai Indians 104 all out in 19 overs (Tilak Varma 37, Suryakumar Yadav 36; Akeal Hosein 4-17, Noor Ahmed 2-24) by 103 runs

–IANS

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