IPL-4 (01st May): Chennai get past bellow-par Deccan

By Team Bellevision
Bellevision Media Network

Chennai, 01 May 2011: Chennai Super Kings bowlers displayed lot of discipline at the death to defeat Deccan Chargers by 19 runs in an IPL match at the Chepauk on Sunday. Chasing a stiff target of 166, the defending champions restricted Chargers to 146 for eight in 20 overs despite a flying start by the visitors. Pint-sized Chargers opener Sunny Sohal (56, 30 balls, 6x4, 4x6) initially scared Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men with some clean hitting but once he was gone, CSK came back into the match.

 

Credit should be given to CSK as Chargers had raced to 71 for no loss in only 6.4 overs, courtesy Sohal. Dhoni made some smart bowling changes and his bowlers led by Albie Morkel (3/38 and 19 off 6 balls), Doug Bollinger (2/26) and Ravichandran Ashwin (0/23 off 4 overs) bowled well in the final overs as CSK notched up their fifth win in eight matches and are now fourth in the points table.

 

Sohal scored the fastest 50 of this edition when he reached the landmark in 24 deliveries with the help of a flat-batted six off Ravichandran Ashwin. Sohal’s approach was a bit unorthodox but yielded rich dividends. When Morkel delivered a well-directed short-ball aimed at his rib-cage, he lost his balance but hung his bat to get a four through third man region. The little man wasn’t unperturbed by short stuff as he made room moving towards leg-stump to hit Morkel over extra cover.

 

Such was Sohal’s authority that his senior partner Shikhar Dhawan hadn’t even reached double figures when he completed his 50. Sohal finally departed trying an ugly reverse sweep to a low full-toss from Shadab Jakati onto his stumps. Dhawan (19, 27 balls), who is having a lean patch, was gone when he tried to hit Jakati over deep mid-wicket but the ball turned enough to castle him. Skipper Kumar Sangakkara (15, 1x4, 1x6) announced his arrival with a sweetly-timed boundary off Suraj Randiv, followed by slog sweep off Jakati that got him six runs.

 

But Bharat Chipli (17) failed to keep down his flick and became Morkel’s first victim. However, post Sohal’s dismissal, the fizz was gone and suddenly the CSK bowlers looked like getting a hang of things. In his bid to step up the rate, Sangakkara moved towards off-stump trying to guide a Doug Bollinger delivery past fine leg but couldn’t connect as the ball hit middle stump. After that, it was about holding their nerves which CSK bowlers did.

 

 

Earlier, a fine half century from Suresh Raina, backed by superb slogging by Albie Morkel at the death, helped defending champions Chennai Super Kings post commendable 165 for five against Deccan Chargers on a slow Chepauk track. While Raina showed signs of returing to form with a 35-ball 59 (6x4, 2x6), it was Morkel (19, 6 balls, 3x6) who hit three of the biggest sixes in the penultimate over off Ishant Sharma’s (4-0-41-0) bowling to spoil his figures.

 

The last five overs saw CSK smashing 69 runs, with Raina doing the bulk of the scoring. Opting to bat on a slowish track, Murali Vijay and Michael Hussey made quiet start before Pragyan OJha (3/26) dismissed Vijay. Ojha angled one into Vijay (3, 14 balls) who was cramped for room while going for a cut shot. Vijay was struggling to keep the scoreboard ticking on a slowish pitch and the dismissal only ended his misery.

 

Raina, who hasn’t had a great IPL so far, showed a lot of composure on a slow track where one found it difficult to readily go after the bowling. At the other end, ’Mr. Dependable’ Hussey went about his job with a lot of precision, hitting the odd boundary in between a lot of singles and twos. Hussey’s batting was an example of how to keep the scoreboard ticking on a difficult track without taking any undue risks. The only blemish was a pull shot which Cameron White dropped at square leg.

 

Hussey saw off the dangerous Ishant Sharma’s skiddy first spell and then opened up against the other bowlers. The duo brought up the team’s 50 in 8.3 overs and their 50 partnership came off 47 balls. Considering the conditions, the rate at which they scored wasn’t bad at all. After adding 60 runs in 8.5 overs when another half century looked imminent for Hussey, he perished mistiming a long hop from Harmeet Singh. Ideally the ball should have sailed over the ropes but Hussey managed to hit down Ishant’s throat at deep square leg.

 

Raina was then joined by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (21) who tucked around a few deliveries before launching on to Amit Mishra hitting him over long for a six. Raina then got into the act swatting the bowler over deep mid-wicket for another six as 15 runs came off that over. The next over by Harmeet Singh also fetched the defending champions 15 runs, with Raina completing a well-deserved half century off only 31 balls. Along with Dhoni, he added 58 runs in 5.2 overs before he was holed out in the deep.

 

Match Summary

Indian Premier League 2011 Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers, 39th match MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, May 1, 2011

Match Information Toss: Chennai Super Kings (Elected to bat) Match Status: Chennai Super Kings won by 19 runs

Batting: Chennai Super Kings Innings

Batsmen Chennai Super Kings (165/5 in 20 ovs) Runs Balls 4’s 6’s SR Murali Vijay b P Ojha 3 14 0 0 21.43 Michael Hussey c I Sharma b H Singh 46 41 5 0 112.20 Suresh Raina c S Dhawan b P Ojha 59 35 6 2 168.57 MS Dhoni (c) (wk) st K Sangakkara b P Ojha 21 22 1 1 95.45 Albie Morkel run out (C White/K Sangakkara) 19 6 0 3 316.67 Subramaniam Badrinath not out 5 2 1 0 250.00 Srikkanth Anirudha not out 3 2 0 0 150.00 Suraj Randiv             Ravichandran Ashwin             Doug Bollinger             Shadab Jakati             Extras: b - 4, w - 2, nb - 2, lb - 1 9   Total:(165 for 5 in 20 overs) 165 Run Rate: 8.25

Fall Of Wickets

1/18 (Murali Vijay, 3.4 ov.), 2/78 (Michael Hussey, 12.3 ov.), 3/136 (Suresh Raina, 17.5 ov.), 4/157 (Albie Morkel, 19.1 ov.), 5/162 (MS Dhoni, 19.4 ov.)

Bowling: Deccan Chargers

Bowler O M R W Nb Wd ER Jean-Paul Duminy 3 0 21 0 0 1 7.0 Daniel Christian 3 0 12 0 0 0 4.0 Ishant Sharma 4 0 41 0 1 0 10.2 Pragyan Ojha 4 0 26 3 0 1 6.5 Amit Mishra 3 0 34 0 0 0 11.3 Harmeet Singh 3 0 26 1 1 0 8.7

Batting: Deccan Chargers Innings

Batsmen Deccan Chargers (146/8 in 20 ovs) Runs Balls 4’s 6’s SR Sunny Sohal b S Jakati 56 30 6 4 186.67 Shikhar Dhawan b S Jakati 19 27 0 0 70.37 Bharat Chipli c S Jakati b A Morkel 17 15 0 0 113.33 Kumar Sangakkara (c) (wk) b D Bollinger 15 12 1 1 125.00 Cameron White c (sub)F du Plessis b A Morkel 13 18 1 0 72.22 Jean-Paul Duminy c M Hussey b A Morkel 17 11 2 0 154.55 Daniel Christian run out (M Dhoni) 1 1 0 0 100.00 Amit Mishra c & b D Bollinger 2 5 0 0 40.00 Ishant Sharma not out 1 1 0 0 100.00 Harmeet Singh             Pragyan Ojha             Extras: b - 1, w - 3, nb - 0, lb - 1 5   Total:(146 for 8 in 20 overs) 146 Run Rate: 7.30

Fall Of Wickets

1/71 (Sunny Sohal, 6.5 ov.), 2/90 (Shikhar Dhawan, 10.6 ov.), 3/110 (Bharat Chipli, 13.2 ov.), 4/121 (Kumar Sangakkara, 15.5 ov.), 5/137 (Cameron White, 18.1 ov.), 6/143 (Jean-Paul Duminy, 18.6 ov.), 7/143 (Daniel Christian, 19.2 ov.), 8/146 (Amit Mishra, 19.6 ov.)

Bowling: Chennai Super Kings

Bowler O M R W Nb Wd ER Albie Morkel 4 0 38 3 0 2 9.5 Doug Bollinger 4 0 26 2 0 0 6.5 Ravichandran Ashwin 4 0 23 0 0 0 5.8 Suraj Randiv 4 0 34 0 0 1 8.5 Shadab Jakati 4 0 23 2 0 0 5.8