Match 54: CSK v. KXI: Chennai is King! Dhoni beat Yuvaraj!

Kings XI Punjab, the dream to enter the last four was completely shunned by poor batting. Chasing 117, with the batting strength of Katich, Yuvaraj, Sangakkara, Pomersbach, Irfan, it was surprising that Kings XI meekly surrendered to the bowling attack of Super Kings.

Dhoni rightly used the spin attack very well. He also introduced Ashwin into the attack in this crucial game and it worked for him! These three spinners picked 6 wickets among them giving just 38 runs in 12 overs.

CSK got the break-through in the 2nd over when Thushara picked Sohal caught by Patel for 3. Murali was brought into attack in the 5th over itslef and he conceeded 1 run.

Ashwin was given the ball and 3 runs were added to scoreboard. Murali picked Katich in his next over when Katich move across to play it fine missed the ball and lost his leg stump.

The trick of playing out Murali worked against KXI. End of 10 overs, KXI were 42 for 2. Murali picked Pomersbach caught by Raina at slip.

The big break through came in the 13th over bowled by Raina. Yuvaraj gave room to play the short ball to the off side but the ball kept low and hit the stumps.

End of over 15, KXI were 59 for 4, needed 58 in the last 30 balls. Ashwin picked two wickets in 16th over--Sangakkara was caught & bowled and Mota was trapped leg before. Lee trying to charge gave a simple catch to Oram at long on.

48 from 18 balls, 3 wickets in hand. Gony dropped a catch at short fine leg for Irfan Pathan and it went for four.

Last 2 overs needed 40 runs, 8 runs were scored off Thushara's over and Irfan got out in the 5th ball.

Last over, 32 runs. Only 7 runs were scored as Kings XI messed the nice chance and threw themselves out of the tournament. The only chance KXI has is, in the match between Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers, the losing team has to lose in a big way--either by runs or with more balls remaining.

Murali was given man of the match for his wonderful spell of 4-0-8-2.

Earlier, deciding to bat first, Chennai started well scoring a four in each over during powerplay. When Baily was out, the score was 40 in 4.5 overs.

But, Chennai lost wickets quickly and did not build partnerships. Patel was the top scorer with 32 runs. Badrinath and Dhoni fell cheaply for 4 and 2 respectively. Both the wickets were picked by Sreesanth in the 10th over. Dhoni's wicket was amazing as Sreesanth sent a beautiful inswinging yorker and Dhoni did not bring down the bat in time to save his stumps. The tail did not add any value as they all fell for single digit score.

With this victory, it was sure that Chennai has booked their place for the semi-finals and occupy the 2nd spot below Delhi. The third and fouth spots will be decided after the match between Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers on 21st. The winner will qualify but the last position will be decied based on the net run rate. Either the loser of the match or Kings XI Punjab will take the 4th spot.

Scoreboard:

Match # 54
Date: Wednesday May 20, 2009
Teams: Chennai Super Kings v. Kings XI Punjab
Captains: Dhoni and Yuvaraj
Toss: CSK, decided to bat
Venue: Kingsmead, Durban
Result: CSK won by 24 runs
Points: CSK 2; KXI 0
Man of the Match: Muralitharan off CSK

Chennai Super Kings Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Bailey	Run Out (Yuvaraj)	15	12	3	0
P Patel	b Powar	32	23	4	1
Raina	c Lee b Mota	20	21	2	0
Badrinath	c I Pathan b Sreesanth	4	9	0	0
Dhoni	b Sreesanth	2	2	0	0
Oram	c & b I Pathan	17	21	1	0
Gony	b Chawla	7	5	0	1
Ashwin	c Pomersbach b I Pathan	8	15	1	0
Thushara	Run Out (Katich/Sangakkara)	1	5	0	0
Balaji	Not Out	2	6	0	0
Muralitharan	Not Out	1	1	0	0
Extras	(b 3, lb 2, w 2)	7	-	-	-
Total	for 9 wkts in 20 overs	116	-	-	-

Fall of Wickets: 1-40 (Bailey, 4.5 ov), 2-54 (Patel, 6.5 ov), 3-68 (Badrinath, 9.3 ov), 4-70 (Dhoni, 9.5 ov), 5-87 (Raina, 13.3 ov), 6-96 (Gony, 14.4 ov), 7-105 (Oram, 17.4 ov), 8-109 (Ashwin, 17.6 ov), 9-114 (Thushara, 19.4 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
B Lee	4	0	16	0
I Pathan	4	0	32	2
Powar	4	0	19	1
Sreesanth	4	0	23	2
Chawla	2	0	13	1
Mota	2	0	8	1

Kings XI Punjab Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Sohal	c P Pathal b Thushara	3	9	0	0
Katich	b Muralitharan	8	13	1	0
Pomersbach	c Raina b Muralitharan	26	32	1	1
Yuvaraj	b Raina	6	19	0	0
Sangakkara	c & b Ashwin	7	9	0	0
Mota	lbw b Ashwin	5	10	0	0
I Pathan	c Oram b Thushara	14	12	1	0
B Lee	c Oram b Raina	6	7	1	0
Chawla	Not Out	4	4	0	0
Powar	Not Out	7	5	1	0
Extras	(lb 3, w 3)	6	-	-	-
Total	for 8 wkts in 20 overs	92	-	-	-

Fall of Wickets: 1-6 (Sohal, 1.5 ov), 2-32 (Katich, 6.5 ov), 3-45 (Pomersbach, 11.1 ov), 4-49 (Yuvraj Singh, 12.4 ov), 5-59 (Sangakkara, 15.1 ov), 6-60 (Mota, 15.3 ov), 7-67 (Lee, 16.5 ov), 8-83 (Pathan, 18.5 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
Gony	2	0	9	0
Thushara	4	0	28	2
Muralitharan	4	0	8	2
Ashwin	4	0	13	2
Raina	4	0	17	2
Balaji	2	0	14	0

Match 34: CSK v. KXI: Hayden talk with Bat! Dhoni's Risk and Brilliance help CSK beat KXI!

In a wonderful rain-affected match, CSK beat KXI by 12 runs using D/L method. Though CSK scored 185 in 18 overs at 10.27 per over, KXI was asked to chase one more additional run based on Duckworth-Lewis method.

CSK did surprise things in the match and he took all the risks in the world. He decided to bat first, decided to send Badrinath as the opener, decided to bowl Raina in the last few overs when Yuvi and Jayawardene were going in great guns and on the way to victory. Though batting first and Raina bowling decided the match, decisoin to send Badrinath as opener did not work out.

He was caught at thirdman on the first ball of the innings. He played upper cut of a short ball on the off stump, but it went straight to field VRV singh. Hayden and Raina played one more superb innings to put CSK in control.

Except the 2nd and 7th over of the 18 over match innings, remaining overs had either a four or a six or both. Only Rajasthan Royals has the record of scoring boundaries in most overs--19.

At the end of 2 overs, CSK were 13 for 1, looking as if they are going slow. But, the third over bowled by Irfan Pathan opened up the gate for CSK. Raina hit the first ball for a six over long off. The second ball was smashed through covers for a boundary. The field setting was tight on the off side, but that did not stop Raina to smash the last ball for another boundary through backward point.

Sreesanth bowled a good first over in which he gave away just 6 runs. Abdulla's first over added 10 to the total. At the end of the powerplay, CSK were 57 for 1.

In the 8th over, rain interupted the play for about an hour and a half. The match was reduced to 18 overs-a-side.

Raina got out in the 10th over by Chawla, trying to pull the short ball over midwicket, hit the bottom of the bat and went straight to Goel.

Dhoni once again provided that he is the man for hitting hard. Though he did not score runs in the first four balls he faced, he hit a boundary of the last ball of that over. End of 10 overs, CSK were 80 for 2.

The next three overs added 25 to the total including a 5-run over by Sreesanth. But, the 14th and 15th over went in favor of CSK as Hayden hit 3 sixes of Piyush Chawla, all were clearly it and cleared the boundary comfortably.

Dhoni took turn in the next over as he hit 2-4-6-2-6-4 which brought 24 to the total. From 24 in 16 balls, Dhoni went to 48 in 22 balls.

Pathan bowled the 15th over and gave away 9 runs. It was Sreesanth, who again became costly in the slog overs. Though he picked Hayden caught at long on by Jayawardene, he went for 22 runs which included 3 sixes and a legbye four. The first six was almost a one-handed shot. He moved across and swung the bat on the leg side to hit it over the fine leg boundary.

Second and third six were huge and Sreesanth had no answer. If I were the captain, I would drop Sreesanth as he is not a good sports person. He said few words to Hayden after getting him caught at long on. Hayden went to 89 from 71 in just 6 balls.

Last over was not that great as CSK added nine to the total and finished the innings with 185.

Chasing 187 in 18 overs, no one thought KXI would come that close. Sohal was bowled in the first over for 2. Katich hit two fours of Morkel and started to relax his shoulders.

The momentum picked up in the 5th over bowled by Gony. Actually he was the culprit both in bowling and fielding. Gony went for 3 continuous sixes all were beautiful and powerful shots by Katich. At the end of powerplay, KXI were 53 for 1.

Goel going for a slog off Jakati, hit it straight to Gony at long on. He fumbled but picked it in 2nd attempt. Muralitharan was brought into the attack but went for 11 runs including a six.

Jakati's next over went for 16 including a six and two fours. Katich touched his 50 in 24 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes. Balaji picked the wicket Katich in his first delivery, a short ball on the off stump, Katich hit it straight to fielder at deep point.

At the end of 10 overs, KXI were 90 for 3 with the balance 8 overs requiring 98 runs. The key moment happened when Yuvaraj tried to clear the long on boundary, hit it straight to Gony, and he missed the chance. The ball went to boundary and added four more to the total. Jayawardene beautifully reverse swept Murali for another boundary.

Balaji's next over went for 15 runs including a four and a six by Jayawardene. Last 6 overs required 73. Murali went for 10 runs including a six by Jayawardene over extra cover.

Pressure started mounting on CSK as everybody was going for runs. Morkel went for 19 runs with Yuvaraj scoring 18 of those including 2 fours and a six. The equation changed to 44 from 24 balls.

Dhoni made a brave move by bringing in part-timer Raina. He bowled beautifully not allowing for a six or a four. He did not flight too much and did not give room. He gave just four runs in his first over. This put pressure on KXI as the equation changed to 40 from 18 balls.

Balaji bowled the 16th over. He also bowled well keeping both Yuvi and Jayawardene not scoring a four or a six. Yuvaraj and Jayawardene had a mix-up, when the fielder fumbled at cover. The batsmen went for the second, fielder threw the ball to Balaji, he collected it but searched the stump as he stood before the stumps and did not have it in his visibility. Jayawardene had luck this time.

Two overs, 31 runs, still reachable by the two settled batsmen--Yuvi and Jayawardene. Raina once again bowled superbly and conceeded just 6 runs. Though both the batsmen tried their best, they couldn't succeed as Raina did not give room or bowl short.

Balaji handled the last over pressure well though he went for a boundary off the first ball. Both Yuvi and Jayawardene could not do much as they just scored 11 runs to end the innings 14 runs shorter.

Hayden was declared man of the match for his 89 off 58 balls.

Scoreboard:

Match # 34
Date: Thursday May 7, 2009
Teams: Chennai Super Kings v. Kings XI Punjab
Captains: Dhoni and Yuvaraj
Toss: CSK, decided to bat
Venue: SuperSport Park, Centurion
Result: CSK won by 12 runs (D/L Method)
Points: CSK 2; KXI 0
Man of the Match: Hayden off CSK

Chennai Super Kings Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Badrinath	c VRV Singh b I Pathan	0	1	0	0
Hayden	c Jayawardene b Sreesanth	89	58	8	6
Raina	c Goel b Chawla	32	20	4	1
Dhoni	Not Out	56	27	7	2
A Morkel	Not Out	2	2	0	0
Extras	(lb 5, w 1)	6	-	-	-
Total	for 3 wkts in 20 overs	185	-	-	-

Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (Badrinath, 0.1 ov), 2-76 (Raina, 9.1 ov), 3-176 (Hayden, 16.6 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
I Pathan	4	0	38	1
Sreesanth	4	0	37	1
Abdulla	2	0	18	0
VRV Singh	2	0	36	0
Goel	3	0	23	0
Chawla	3	0	28	1

Kings XI Punjab Innings: (revised target as per D/L: 187 in 18 overs)

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Sohal	b A Morkel	2	2	0	0
Katich	c Jakati b Balaji	50	25	3	4
Goel	c Gony b Jakati	14	20	1	0
Yuvaraj	Not Out	58	36	5	2
M Jayawardene	Not Out	44	25	3	2
Extras	(lb 3, w 3)	6	-	-	-
Total	for 3 wkts in 20 overs	174	-	-	-

Fall of Wickets: 1-2 (Sohal, 0.2 ov), 2-53 (Goel, 6.2 ov), 3-84 (Katich, 9.1 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
A Morkel	3	0	36	1
Tyagi	2	0	10	0
Gony	1	0	19	0
Muralitharan	4	0	37	0
Jakati	2	0	20	1
Balaji	4	0	41	1
Raina	2	0	8	0