Chennai edge out Mumbai in thriller
A spirited late assault from Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh threatened to gatecrash the Chennai Super Kings' first home game, but the Mahendra Dhoni-led side held their nerve to clinch a thrilling six-run win. A 104-run stand between Matthew Hayden and Suresh Raina had lifted Chennai to 208 for 5, but Nayar nearly pulled off a stunning victory with a 20-ball 45.
With Mumbai at 141 for 6 mid-way through the 16th over, the contest seemed pretty much over. Sixty-two were required off the last four overs, but Nayar and Harbhajan didn't give up the chase. P Amarnath had conceded 36 off his first three overs, and the batsmen went after him. Harbhajan clubbed a six over long-off, before the left-hander Nayar took two fours through the leg-sides, and made it 21 for the over by launching an overpitched ball over long-off. Amarnath finished with 57 off his four, the most runs conceded in the tournament.
Jacob Oram wasn't thrifty in his first spell, going for 40 off his three, and two sixes from Harbhajan saw him finish with 53 off his quota. It came down to 28 off 12, and in between the gamesmanship between rival offspinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan, the Sri Lankan got the better of his counterpart, and gave away only nine, leaving Nayar with the onerous task of managing 19 off the final over.
As he had done during the World Twenty20, Dhoni entrusted the final over to Joginder Sharma, but in Lance Klusener-like fashion Nayar carved boundaries off the first two balls, and Joginder overstepped. Nayar drove it straight to Badrinath at backward point, but took the single, leaving Ashish Nehra on strike for the following free hit. Joginder committed no errors from there on, sealing the six-run win.
Chennai had been put in by Mumbai Indians at the toss, but captain Harbhajan, standing in place of the injured Tendulkar, needed to utilise eight bowlers to stem the flow of runs as the batsmen made merry. Hayden came up against old nemesis Pollock, who knowing the Australian's tendency to stand out of his crease, summoned Luke Ronchi up to the stumps. Hayden responded with a deft paddle sweep for four before smashing two fours over the bowler's head. To make matters worse, four byes came off the final delivery of the over, which cost an expensive 18 runs.
Hussey, top scorer in Chennai's previous game, failed to cash in, bottom-edging one onto the stumps while giving Dhaval Kulkarni the charge, but his team-mate Hayden was muscling the ball cleanly, biffing a short one from Nehra to bring up the 200th four of the tournament. He was joined by Raina, who was content with pushing the ball into the gaps for singles. Kulkarni varied his length to good effect in his first spell, and wasn't afraid to push in the occasional bouncer, including one that surprised Raina.
Harbhajan brought himself on in the eighth over and Raina, stepping out, nearly found the fielder in the deep. Dwayne Bravo, a last-minute addition to the Mumbai Indians squad, came on at the other end, and Hayden nearly cleaned up Raina with the straight boundary. Harbhajan conceded only 14 off his two overs but Raina broke the shackles by clubbing a low full toss over long-off. The 50-partnership came off 35 balls, and Chennai were set once again for a big score.
After ten overs, they were at 82 for 2, and it soon became 112 for 2 after 12. Bravo was pulled for six over midwicket by Raina before Vikrant Yeligati gave away 16 off only over. Pollock came on for his second spell, and this time Hayden brought out the reverse-sweep, a shot that would have surely deflated the South African. Raina cashed in as well, guiding one past through the short fine leg, and Pollock was to finish with 0 for 32 off his three overs.
Mumbai lost Ronchi early in their reply, and Jayasuriya, who made full use of Oram's poor control, departed trying to pull one shot too many against Manpreet Gony. A rather unknown entity, the tall Gony was excellent with his line and length, using his height to good effect. His first over was a maiden, and Dhoni bowled him through his four, after which his figures were an impressive 4-1-18-1.
Robin Uthappa led a revival with his 43, taking 19 off an Oram over, but he was bowled trying to guide Joginder over midwicket. Pollock took 11 singles before carting Amarnath for a six, but the bowler had the last hurrah, castling the South African. Muralitharan was plugging the runs at one end, but three wides first up indicated how he was struggling to grip the ball.
Bravo played a good hand as well with his 24, but it was left to Nayar and Harbhajan to dig Mumbai out of the hole. They almost delivered, but after two games, Mumbai, whose owners paid the highest for the franchise, find themselves winless, while Chennai are sitting pretty with two wins out of two. They would definitely need some inspiration from Sachin Tendulkar, their icon.
A spirited late assault from Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh threatened to gatecrash the Chennai Super Kings' first home game, but the Mahendra Dhoni-led side held their nerve to clinch a thrilling six-run win. A 104-run stand between Matthew Hayden and Suresh Raina had lifted Chennai to 208 for 5, but Nayar nearly pulled off a stunning victory with a 20-ball 45.
With Mumbai at 141 for 6 mid-way through the 16th over, the contest seemed pretty much over. Sixty-two were required off the last four overs, but Nayar and Harbhajan didn't give up the chase. P Amarnath had conceded 36 off his first three overs, and the batsmen went after him. Harbhajan clubbed a six over long-off, before the left-hander Nayar took two fours through the leg-sides, and made it 21 for the over by launching an overpitched ball over long-off. Amarnath finished with 57 off his four, the most runs conceded in the tournament.
Jacob Oram wasn't thrifty in his first spell, going for 40 off his three, and two sixes from Harbhajan saw him finish with 53 off his quota. It came down to 28 off 12, and in between the gamesmanship between rival offspinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan, the Sri Lankan got the better of his counterpart, and gave away only nine, leaving Nayar with the onerous task of managing 19 off the final over.
As he had done during the World Twenty20, Dhoni entrusted the final over to Joginder Sharma, but in Lance Klusener-like fashion Nayar carved boundaries off the first two balls, and Joginder overstepped. Nayar drove it straight to Badrinath at backward point, but took the single, leaving Ashish Nehra on strike for the following free hit. Joginder committed no errors from there on, sealing the six-run win.
Chennai had been put in by Mumbai Indians at the toss, but captain Harbhajan, standing in place of the injured Tendulkar, needed to utilise eight bowlers to stem the flow of runs as the batsmen made merry. Hayden came up against old nemesis Pollock, who knowing the Australian's tendency to stand out of his crease, summoned Luke Ronchi up to the stumps. Hayden responded with a deft paddle sweep for four before smashing two fours over the bowler's head. To make matters worse, four byes came off the final delivery of the over, which cost an expensive 18 runs.
Hussey, top scorer in Chennai's previous game, failed to cash in, bottom-edging one onto the stumps while giving Dhaval Kulkarni the charge, but his team-mate Hayden was muscling the ball cleanly, biffing a short one from Nehra to bring up the 200th four of the tournament. He was joined by Raina, who was content with pushing the ball into the gaps for singles. Kulkarni varied his length to good effect in his first spell, and wasn't afraid to push in the occasional bouncer, including one that surprised Raina.
Harbhajan brought himself on in the eighth over and Raina, stepping out, nearly found the fielder in the deep. Dwayne Bravo, a last-minute addition to the Mumbai Indians squad, came on at the other end, and Hayden nearly cleaned up Raina with the straight boundary. Harbhajan conceded only 14 off his two overs but Raina broke the shackles by clubbing a low full toss over long-off. The 50-partnership came off 35 balls, and Chennai were set once again for a big score.
After ten overs, they were at 82 for 2, and it soon became 112 for 2 after 12. Bravo was pulled for six over midwicket by Raina before Vikrant Yeligati gave away 16 off only over. Pollock came on for his second spell, and this time Hayden brought out the reverse-sweep, a shot that would have surely deflated the South African. Raina cashed in as well, guiding one past through the short fine leg, and Pollock was to finish with 0 for 32 off his three overs.
Mumbai lost Ronchi early in their reply, and Jayasuriya, who made full use of Oram's poor control, departed trying to pull one shot too many against Manpreet Gony. A rather unknown entity, the tall Gony was excellent with his line and length, using his height to good effect. His first over was a maiden, and Dhoni bowled him through his four, after which his figures were an impressive 4-1-18-1.
Robin Uthappa led a revival with his 43, taking 19 off an Oram over, but he was bowled trying to guide Joginder over midwicket. Pollock took 11 singles before carting Amarnath for a six, but the bowler had the last hurrah, castling the South African. Muralitharan was plugging the runs at one end, but three wides first up indicated how he was struggling to grip the ball.
Bravo played a good hand as well with his 24, but it was left to Nayar and Harbhajan to dig Mumbai out of the hole. They almost delivered, but after two games, Mumbai, whose owners paid the highest for the franchise, find themselves winless, while Chennai are sitting pretty with two wins out of two. They would definitely need some inspiration from Sachin Tendulkar, their icon.
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