Three wickets for Matheesha Pathirana before Devon Conway top-scores in the chase with 44 helped CSK over the line with 14 balls remaining
Chennai: Mumbai Indians 139-8, Chennai Super Kings 140-4 - Chennai Super Kings won by six wickets
A series of useful contributions from all parts of the Chennai Super Kings side proved too much for Mumbai Indians, who were beaten by six wickets at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Inserted after losing the toss, MI made a poor start to the innings after reaching just 34 for 3 at the end of the powerplay, their lack of dominance underlined by Deepak Chahar's (2 for 18) removal of Rohit Sharma for a three-ball duck.
Suryakumar Yadav (26 off 22) and eventual top-scorer Nehal Wadhera (64 off 41) then switched the momentum back in MI's favour, combining for a rapid 55-run fourth-wicket partnership.
Nehal Wadhera struck his first half-century of the competition (R.SATISH BABU/AFP via Getty Images)
Wadhera, later supported ably by Tristan Stubbs (20 off 21) for the second 50-run partnership of the innings, offered hope of dragging MI to a respectable total, only to be dislodged by CSK's stand-out bowler Matheesha Pathirana (3 for 15) in the 18th over.
Tushar Deshpande (2 for 26) then combined with Pathirana to deliver at the death, giving CSK a target of 140 to win after only three Mumbai batters reached double figures.
CSK made an electric start to the chase with the help of Devon Conway (44 off 42) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (30 off 16), racking up 55 for 1 at the end of the powerplay.
MS Dhoni satisfied the home crowd by hitting the winning runs (R.SATISH BABU/AFP via Getty Images)
Conway soon became the glue that kept the CSK batting unit together, orchestrating what would become a consummate team performance in which all-bar one of the lineup hit double figures.
The Kiwi looked set to see his team over the line, only for Akash Madwhal (1 for 4) to join Piyush Chawla (2 for 25) in resisting the irresistible CSK juggernaut that was heading for another victory.
Captain MS Dhoni (2* off 3) sealed the deal, hitting the winning runs which saw CSK move second in the table, trailing league leaders Gujarat Titans by just one point. MI, meanwhile, remain sixth with a playoff spot still lying tantalisingly out of reach.
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