Chennai Super Kings vs Brisbane Heat, M13 - Report: CLT20-2013

The Chennai Super Kings registered their third win in three matches in the Karbonn Smart CLT20 2013 when they defeated Brisbane Heat by eight wickets at the JSCA International Cricket Stadium in Ranchi. After restricting the Australian side to 137, CSK romped home in 16 overs to bag four points from the match and confirm their progression to the knockouts. (Also Read: Chennai Super Kings vs Brisbane Heat, M13 - Stats Highlights: CLT20-2013)

Needing to score at close to seven runs an over, CSK opener Michael Hussey got the run-chase off to a brisk start scoring a boundary off the second delivery. He picked up a second boundary in the second over when he dispatched Matthew Gale through square-leg. (Also Read: Ravichandran Ashwin the bowler and the thinker)

The Australian dominated the strike early on, facing 11 deliveries in the first two overs. Murali Vijay, who had been dismissed for a duck in the previous two outings, began cautiously, but pounced on the opportunity when it presented itself. Cameron Gannon delivered one on his pads and the right-hander gleefully put it to the fine-leg boundary. The next delivery was fluently driven away to the extra cover boundary.

After a brief lull in play, Vijay upped the ante hitting Daniel Christian for a boundary through midwicket and followed it up with consecutive sixes off Nathan Hauritz. After a fierce straight drive and a drive through cover – both of which sped to the boundary – the right-hander was dismissed for 42 when he top-edged a short delivery from Ben Cutting to be caught at fine-leg.

Suresh Raina walked out to the middle and wasted no time. He picked up two sixes and a boundary and raced to 23 before missing an in-cutter from Christian to be trapped in front of the stumps. 

Hussey though kept accumulating the runs, and in the company of his skipper MS Dhoni, took his team home with 25 balls to spare. The Australian remained unconquered on 57, while Dhoni finished the match in style – much to the delight of his home crowd – by hitting Cutting for a six straight down the ground.

Christian (1/16) and Cutting (1/38) were the wicket-takers for Brisbane Heat, who are now out of the race from progressing to the semi-finals.

Earlier in the evening, the Heat recovered from a dire position to finish their 20 overs at 137/7. Debutant opener Dom Michael was dismissed in the very first over of the innings. The innings was steadied by two consecutive partnerships; James Hopes and Chris Lynn added 24 runs, following which Lynn and Christian added 25 runs.

The Heat were placed at 54/2 at the end of six overs, but then collapsed in spectacular fashion owing to some poor shot selection by the batsmen. Ravindra Jadeja, brought into the attack in the seventh over, dismissed Christian with his first delivery and followed it up with the dismissal of Joe Burns four balls later. Six runs later, Lynn didn’t pick Ravichandran Ashwin’s leg-spinner and miscued one to point, while attempting to hit one through the leg-side. Chris Sabburg, batting at No.7, dragged a delivery from Suresh Raina onto his stumps to leave his team reeling at 66/6.

The Heat innings was revived briefly after the spinners had done all the damage and the medium-pacers were brought back into the attack. Chris Hartley and Ben Cutting punished Dwayne Bravo, Jason Holder and Mohit Sharma in the final three overs of the innings adding 50 runs. Bravo leaked 16 runs in the 18th over (including two sixes), while Holder conceded 13 runs in the 19th (including a boundary and a six). The final flourish came in the form of the assault on Mohit Sharma, who was taken for 21 runs in the 20th over; Cutting hit consecutive sixes, while Hartley picked up two boundaries. Brisbane Heat finished their 20 overs at 137/7; Hartley was dismissed off the last ball of the innings, while Cutting remained unbeaten on 42. The seventh-wicket pair added 71 runs in 7.3 overs.

The Chennai Super Kings spinners were sensational – despite not having conditions that aided bowlers of their tribe. Ashwin finished with incredible figures of 4-1-10-1, while Jadeja’s figures read 4-0-18-2. Raina rolled his arm over pretty effectively too, conceding just nine runs in his three-over spell.

Trivia: Brisbane Heat managed to score only 37 runs and lost four wickets in the 11 overs that the Chennai Super Kings spinners bowled in tandem.

There were 59 dot balls in the Brisbane Heat innings.

Michael Hussey’s innings of 57 had 21 singles. There were only 34 singles in the entire Brisbane Heat innings.

Man of the Match: Michael Hussey for his unbeaten 57.

Vijay: "There was good bounce in the wicket, and dew around. I just wanted to time the ball rather than hit it. I'm trying to learn as much as I can from Hussey. We are playing good cricket at the moment. "

James Hopes: "We lost our way in the middle of the innings, the batsman haven't done the job again. We had made 50-odd in six overs that usually sets you up for 160. It's a steeping learning curve to be here, and a bit of an eye-opener. We can play with a great deal of freedom in the final game."

MS Dhoni: "I think it was a very good performance, for the spinners there was a fair amount of dew, it gripped a bit for them ,but they bowled superb lengths. We thought we would be chasing 120-odd runs, but the chase was very well done with the help of Raina, Hussey and Vijay. I think Jadeja will keep improving, the more games he plays, Ashwin is one of the smarter spinners we have, Raina knows what needs to be done. Death bowling is still an area we need to improve, but it is tough for every team. People of Ranchi always want a six."

Man of the Match is Michael Hussey: "I certainly don't feel it (younger). I'm a bit embarrassed to be here actually, I thought Ashwin was a good shout for Man of the Match. The spinners did a great job. Excellent conditions here, I've really enjoyed the stadium and the crowds as well. To get through to the semi-finals was the first goal, and it is great to be there."

source: clt20.com