CSK vs MI M14 - CLT20-2012

Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians Match 14 Report CLT20 2012:

Blazing innings from Murali Vijay and Faf du Plessis set up Chennai Super Kings’ 6-run win over the Mumbai Indians at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg today. Put in to bat, the Chennai Super Kings put up 173 on the board and then kept their opponents down to 167.

Needing 174 for their first win in the competition, the Mumbai Indians lost the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Dwayne Smith early in the run-chase. Rohit Sharma, batting at No.3, and Karthik then revived the innings with a 64-run partnership.

Karthik welcomed Ravindra Jadeja with two sixes and a boundary in an over that netted the Mumbai Indians 19 runs; the wicketkeeper-batsman pulled two deliveries into the stands at midwicket and then smashed one straight down the ground. Though he lost the company of Sharma (who threw his wicket away after compiling a fluent 32) and Ambati Rayudu, the 27-year-old played some stunning shots to keep his team in the chase. In the sixteenth over, he hit Ravichandran Ashwin for a boundary and a six to get to his half-century off 37 balls.

Ashwin came in for some stick in his following over too; after Karthik had hit him for a six and turned the strike over, the big Kieron Pollard deposited him in the stands twice and then picked up a boundary off the last delivery. The over would cost CSK 24 runs. Mumbai Indians, who needed 51 runs prior to that over, were suddenly faced with a more manageable 27 of two overs.

Karthik was dismissed for 74 in the penultimate over after he was beaten by a leg-cutter and played all over it. In his 45-ball blitzkrieg, he hit four boundaries and six stunning sixes and was involved in a 60-run stand with Pollard.

With Mumbai Indians needing 19 off the last over, MS Dhoni took a huge gamble when he threw the ball to Jadeja. He might have been reflecting back on that decision after Pollard deposited the first ball over long-off. However, a stunning catch from Suresh Raina – running in from long on before pouching the ball inches from the ground – cut short Pollard’s innings. The Trinidadian scored 31 and hit one boundary and three sixes in his 17-ball cameo. Mumbai Indians eventually finished at 167 for 7.

Ben Hilfenhaus was the outstanding bowler on the night. When most bowlers came in for stick, the Australian only conceded 14 runs in his four-over spell and even picked up the wickets Sachin Tendulkar early on and Karthik. Albie Morkel and R Ashwin (who had a forgettable match, conceding 47 runs in his four overs) were the other wicket-takers for the Chennai Super Kings.

Earlier in the evening, Murali Vijay set the tone for the innings in the first over of the match when he charged down the ground and slapped Pragyan Ojha for a six over extra cover. du Plessis then opened up as he got stuck into Mitchell Johnson and smashed him for a six and two boundaries. Vijay wasn’t to be left behind in the race; he got stuck into Dhawal Kulkarni in the following over and hit him for a six and two consecutive boundaries. It was du Plessis’ turn in the fifth over; he took full toll of Lasith Malinga’s erroneous line. The Chennai Super Kings had raced to 62 in five overs.

Vijay would be dismissed in the ninth over when he attempted to send a Pragyan Ojha delivery into the stands but missed it altogether and lost his stumps; he scored 39 from 25 balls and hit five boundaries and two sixes.

At 100 for 1 at the half-way mark, the Chennai Super Kings looked good to post a total in excess of 200. However, Lasith Malinga put the brakes on the innings with twin strikes in his second over; he dismissed the well-set du Plessis (caught at long-on) and then had the dangerous Suresh Raina caught behind. du Plessis made 52 off 33 balls, and hit six boundaries and a six in his knock.

MS Dhoni then came to the party; the CSK skipper helped himself to a quick fire 35. He hit three boundaries and two sixes in his 19-ball knock. He would become Malinga’s third victim of the evening when he cut a wide delivery from the pacer to the man at point. CSK lost their way when they could only manage 73 runs in the backend of the innings; they eventually finished at 173 for 8 in their twenty overs. R Ashwin remained unbeaten on 13 (5 balls) alongside Ben Hilfenhaus (0).

Malinga, with five wickets, was the star performer among the Mumbai Indians’ bowlers, while Ojha was the most economical performer. Dwayne Smith was the only other bowler to take a wicket.

Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 173-8 in 20 overs (Murali Vijay 39, Faf du Plessis 52, MS Dhoni 35, Lasith Malinga 5-32) beat Mumbai Indians 167-7 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 32, Dinesh Karthik 74, Kieron Pollard 31, Ben Hilfenhaus 2-14, Albie Morkel 2-28, R Ashwin 2-47) by 6 runs.

Man of the Match: Ben Hilfenhaus for his economical figures of 4-1-14-2.

source: clt20.com

Chennai Super Kings win by 6 runs

• Dhoni: "It was important to back Jadeja at the death and we wanted to give him as much help as possible. We should have got a few more with the bat but I was delighted with our performance on the whole. Our nerve held under pressure and that was the key in this match."
• Harbhajan: "I think we bowled really well after the first 10 overs to restrict them to 173. I think the way we batted towards the end was a treat to watch and it was a great fight at the end of the day. I am proud of the boys and congratulations to Chennai."

Related Links:
CLT20-2012:Mumbai Indians Squad and ScheduleCLT20-2012:Chennai Super Kings Squad and Schedule