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'He Was Magical,' Shardul Thakur Lauds Pathirana For His Clinical Four-fer vs MI

Pathirana was exceptional with the ball [AP]Pathirana was exceptional with the ball [AP]

On Sunday evening, Chennai Super Kings extended their winning streak, defeating arch-rivals Mumbai Indians by 20 runs in a high-voltage contest at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. 

Batting first, CSK posted a mammoth 206-run total on the board, thanks to scintillating half-centuries from Shivam Dube and Ruturaj Gaikwad and a stunning final-over cameo from ex-captain MS Dhoni. 

While chasing the steep target, MI started well, but eventually fell short by 20 runs, as Matheesha Pathirana rattled them with a sensational four-wicket haul. 

After the game concluded, Pathirana received massive applause from Shardul Thakur for his bowling exploits. Speaking to the presenter, Thakur said, 

"Pathirana was magical and the way he bowled the yorkers was amazing to see. Not much dew today. When Rohit was going strong, we felt the game was sliding away a little but I wanted to challenge Rohit to hit me on the bigger side."

Thakur, who bowled tight lines during the game, also hailed Dube, Gaikwad and MI's lone warrior Rohit Sharma for their stellar batting efforts, while praising his teammates for holding their nerves in this high-octane face-off. 

"Playing against opponents like MI, especially at the Wankhede is not easy. Rohit, Ruturaj and Shivam the way they batted; but at the end of the day, we held our nerve better. We spoke about keeping it simple, meaning we need to have fielders where we bowl," Thakur added. 

"This is a repeated pitch and MI played on it on April 11. We felt we needed to bowl slower ones into the pitch," he concluded. 

With this win, CSK claimed the third position in the standings with eight points to their name. They will take on Lucknow SuperGiants in the 34th group-stage game of the tournament on April 19.