20 overs Warriors 128 for 7 (Murali 3-16, Ashwin 2-16) v Chennai Super Kings
It was a reverse sweep that changed the entire complexion of the game. Davy Jacobs had started off imperiously and catapulted Warriors to 45 in the sixth over. Then R Ashwin got one to turn quickly towards the leg stump, Jacobs went for the reverse sweep, but was trapped in front. It's a shot that he has successfully played in the previous game; the adventurous unorthodox spirit is his calling card, and he has reaped much success with that approach. But tonight it hurt his team. After Jacobs fell, Muttiah Muralitharan suffocated the Warriors with his skill, and L Balaji maintained the pressure with a disciplined spell in the middle, keeping the Warriors to 128.
Warriors' Achilles heel is their lower order. Johan Botha bats at no 6; the batting isn't that deep. And so, the middle-order chose caution over valourm and Chennai closed in. L Balaji, who grew in confidence with the Warriors' non-violent approach against him, slipped in a few quiet overs with his steady line and length stuff. Ashwin continued to tease them with his variations and Muttiah Muralitharan came on in the 10th over to harass them with his ability.
He kept his doosras to a minimum, and ripped offbreaks across at varying pace. Success came in the 14th over: Mark Boucher, who has fallen most to Muralitharan than any other bowler in his career, was bowled, and Justin Kreusch was beaten by the dip and flicked straight to midwicket.
There was a brief little moment in the 17th over when things stirred at the bull ring. "Fast cars and big shots, that's Criag Thyssen," Jacobs had said earlier in the week. Tonight Thyssen went after Balaji to pick up three boundaries - a pulled four, a delicate late steer and a muscled six over midwicket. The home supporters in the crowd started to find their voice: They chanted out "Let's go Warriors" and tried to inspire the local team. Perhaps, it came too late in the day for the Warriors. Time will tell.
By the half-way mark Jacobs' blitz at the start seemed a distant memory. As ever, he moved around on his nimble feet and ripped shots with slaughterhouse finality. He smashed Doug Bolinger and Albie Morkel to all parts of the ground. There were his usual shuffle-and-smash shots, but there were also some skilful upper cuts and neat cover drives. Things looked so bright for them in the sixth over but it was all to unravel very quickly.
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