Has complacency set-in in the minds of Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings team? An easy target to chase, pitch is good, though not great, confirmed birth for semi-finals. Every Chennai Supporter had a great shock on the attitude of the Chennai players.
Chasing 127 in 20 overs in a T20 game is easy including regular 50 overs match. The start was good, both Fleming and Parthiv Patel played very well to bring the score to 44 at the end of power play. With 14 overs, 83 to win, with all the 10 wickets in hand, no team would miss it. Today was an exception for Chennai and the day belong to Bangalore! Sure they were expecting another defeat until they got the wicket of Morkel.
The break through came in the form of luck for Kumble and Bangalore. It is like self-goal in football or hockey. The drive by Patel went straight to Kumble for an easy caught and bowled chance, but be missed it and ball popped out of his hands and hit Fleming, the non-striker and rebound in the air again. This time Kumble held it easily. At the end of 10 overs, Chennai were 61 for 1, requiring 66 in 60 balls.
Dhoni got out to a rash shot. He did not time the lofted shot well and gave a simple catch to Kumble at long on.
Fleming hit a six and a four of Vinaykumar in the 13th over. When he gave room for himself to take a full toss and hit it on the leg side. He misses the shot and last his leg stump, which hit keeper Boucher knees, who suffers in real pain. Fleming lost the grip of the bat and it was flying in the air. Umpires found that there were only 3 players in the 30 yard circle and call a no ball. Lucky Fleming. Bats again.
With all this luck where Patel was dropped and Fleming out on a no ball, Chennai should have won this game!
The luck did not continue for Fleming as he was out sweeping Kumble and caught at deep square leg. He scored 45 off 40 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes. He won the award for DLF most sixes!
In the same over last ball, the final over for Kumble, Badrinath tried to play the sweep, but got trapped plumb in front of the wicket. Two wickets in an over! Bangalore is getting back in the game! Their confidence level goes up!
Steyn was brought in to bowl the 16th over. The good bouncer was well handled by Morkel but it went straight to Vinaykumar in deep square leg. Unnecessary short at this stage as Chennai needed only 34 from 28 balls--not difficult in T20.
Steyn's bowled another short ball to Vidyut and he tried to pull. The ball hit the top of the bat and went straight to short midwicket where Kallis took a good one handed diving catch. One more 2-wicket over for Bangalore.
End of over 16, Chennai were 93 for 6, requiring 34 from 24 balls. Raina hit a boundary of Kallis in the 2nd ball, but did not utilize the rest of the overs. Just with another single, that over added 5 to the total. 29 off 3 overs.
Praven Kumar bowled the 18th over and was smashed for two boundaries by Raina and Gony. With a wide and single, alredy 10 runs of that over in 3 balls, Gony should have played sensible to retain his wicket for other overs. He tried to hit another four of a shot ball and mistimed it and Steyn took the catch near the circle at mid off.
Two overs, 18 runs, 3 wickets in hand. Steyn bowled the penultimate over and gave just 2 runs and Balaji was run out. Last over, 16 runs with 2 wickets.
Raina trying for scoring all the runs of Praveen Kumar, could not do much on the yorker length deliveries. Though singles could have been taken in the first two balls, he did not go for it as he was not confident of Nitni.
Third ball was a single and no run on the fourth ball, victory to Bangalore!
No run was scored in the last two balls and Bangalore takes two points and moves one place above in the points table. Dravid is a happy man and was seen pumping in the air just before the last ball.
Earlier, deciding to bat, Bangalore started slow. They never looked dangerous. Kallis was caught at slip by Fleming of Gony. In the next over, Fleming dropped a sitter in slips for Goswami. In the 6th over, Goswami walked himself though umpire ruled him not out for a caught behind appeal. He showed the spirit!
Dravid alone looked dangerous. He found his form and was playing like a real T20 player! He played great innings in the last few matches, though it did not help his team to win.
Misbha, who scored 47 in the previous match, could not continue his form. The outswinger pitched on the off, took the edge of Misbha and went to the right of Patel, who took a brilliant one handed diving catch.
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Dravid hit at least one boundary in regular intervals, almost in every over. He hit two continuous fours of Balaji to take Bangalore to 87 at the end of 16 overs. He was caught at short extra cover by Dhoni of Morkel for 47 off 39 balls with 5 fours.
Praveen Kumar hit two fours of Nitni and then a four and a six of Balaji. Those two overs added 24 to the total.
Last over was bowled by Morkel. Praveen Kumar and Vinay Kumar got out in consecutive deliveries, giving hat-trick chance to Morkel. Praveen was bowled of a yorker and Vinay, trying to slog, saw his off stump flying.
Kumble scored two runs in the next ball and prevented hat-trick. It was almost half-a-chance but missed by Muralitharan.
Kumble was declared man of the match for his 3 wickets.
Match 46
Venue: Chennai
Date: May 21, 2008
Teams: Chenani Super Kings and Bangalore Royal Challengers
Captains: Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rahul Dravid
Toss: Bangalore Royal Challengers and decided to bat
Result: Bangalore Royal Challengers won by 14 run
Man of the Match: Anil Kumble off Bangalore Royal Challengers (India)
Points: Bangalore Royal Challengers-2; Chenani Super Kings-0
Score:
Bangalore Royal Challengers 126 for 8 in 20 overs (JH Kallis 5, SP Goswami 10, V Kohli 10, R Dravid 47, Misbah-ul-Haq 4, MV Boucher 17, B Akhil 6 not out, P Kumar 21, R Vinay Kumar 0, A Kumble 2 not out, Extras-4 (lb 3, wide 1), M Ntini 4-0-27-0, M Gony 4-1-11-2, M Muralitharan 4-0-19-1, L Balaji 4-0-34-1, JA Morkel 4-0-32-4) beat Chenani Super Kings 112 for 8 in 20 overs (PA Patel 24, SP Fleming 45, MS Dhoni 4, SK Raina 21 not out, S Badrinath 1, JA Morkel 1, S Vidyut 0, M Gony 4, L Balaji 0, M Ntini 0 not out, Extras-12 (lb 2, wide 8, nb 2), DW Steyn 4-0-28-2, P Kumar 4-0-26-1, A Kumble 4-0-14-3, JH Kallis 4-0-15-0, R Vinay Kumar 3-0-23-1, B Akhil 1-0-4-0)
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