KIMBERLEY: Matthew Hayden (48, 44b, 4x4, 1x6) and S. Badrinath (59 n.o., 41b, 9x4, 1x6) guided Chennai Super Kings to a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match at the De Beers Diamond Oval on Saturday. After Chennai had restricted Rajasthan to 140 for seven, Hayden and Badrinath added 89 in 10.5 overs for the third wicket, the former setting the chase up and the latter exploding in the 16th over, to take Super Kings to the top of the table. Badrinath was named the Man-of- the-Match for his innings.
Chennai lost opener M. Vijay in the third over, and it wasn’t until Suresh Raina struck Amit Singh for six and four off consecutive deliveries in the sixth over that the side got a move on. But Amit had his revenge in the same over when Raina top-edged a pull to be caught at point.
UnplayableYusuf Pathan had managed sharp turn with the new ball, and when Warne brought himself on in the seventh over to Badrinath, he looked very nearly unplayable.
Badrinath survived the period to support Hayden. The big left-hander played Pathan with care, but he reverse-swept Warne before jumping down the track to hit the leg-spinner for a six. Chennai scored 67 for two in 10 overs before the strategic time-out. Warne bowled a splendid 11th over, conceding just three, as Rajasthan began to tighten the screws.
Hayden eased the pressure against Ravindra Jadeja, hitting him for a four and milking two twos.
Badrinath then took 20 off the 16th over, bowled by Shane Harwood, including a magnificently improvised six and three fours to swing the momentum. Although Warne had Hayden stumped down the leg-side off a wide, it came too late, for Badrinath’s shrewdly timed burst had settled the contest.
Earlier, Graeme Smith (30) and Swapnil Asnodkar (26) added 53 for Rajasthan’s second wicket after Albie Morkel struck in the first over. Rajasthan appeared to be recovering nicely, but Muttiah Muralitharan struck twice. The off-spinner had Asnodkar leg-before with a doosra from around the stumps. He then had Smith overbalancing in an attempt to heave across the line for Dhoni to remove the bails.
Ravindra Jadeja batted impressively during his 19-ball stay for 27. L. Balaji dismissed the left-handed Jadeja with the first delivery of the 15th over. Raina took a fine catch just behind point. Rajasthan lost wickets in a heap, and appeared in danger of being bowled out. Rajasthan needed inspiration and quick runs. Warne provided both, racing to 21 in 11 balls, as the 20th over went for 14.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment