Brian Lara-led Mumbai Champs suffered their second consecutive defeat in the sixth match of Indian Cricket League Twenty20 tournament in Panchkula on Monday night when they lost by 38 runs to Chennai Superstars, for whom pacer T Kumaran claimed six wickets.
Chasing 157, the highest score of the tournament so far, Lara's men faltered and never really kept up with the asking rate, with top order batsmen Dheeraj Jadhav (30) and former South African all-rounder Johan Van Der Wath (34) being the only ones managing to score almost a run a ball.
Both fell to Kumaran, who became the highest wicket-taker in the tournament so far and was declared man of the match.
Mumbai Champs, who are yet to taste victory in this tournament, were bundled out for 119 in 18.5 overs.
With the asking rate climbing over 12 runs an over, reaching the target was never going to be easy even for a batting genius like Lara, who scored just four after scoring a duck in the first outing against Hyderabad Heroes.
Superstars opener and former Australian all-rounder Ian Harvey struck a quick-fire 63, which came off just 41 balls and was studded with four sixes and six boundaries.
Losing opening partner C Hemanth Kumar (3) early, Harvey weaved a 78-run match-winning partnership with former England wicketkeeper Chris Read, who contributed a useful 34.
"We need to regroup and assess what is not working for us," Lara said after the match.
