Chennai pip Kolkata in a thriller
Before the start of "India's biggest cricketing spectacle" it was repeatedly said that the World Cup hangover would remain and the tournament would not live up to its hype. But all such notions were dismissed after 40 overs were bowled at the MA Chidambaram stadium. What followed a glitzy opening ceremony was a closely contested Twenty20 match, where both sides were in their comfort zone for most part of their innings. In the end, Chennai Super Kings proved to be better handlers of a pressure situation, pipping Kolkata Knight Riders by just two runs in a thrilling final over finish.
Dropped Catches, Anirudha special and a respectable total
Asked to bowl first, Kolkata could not have asked for a better start as left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla struck in the very first over to dismiss Murali Vijay for 5. However, the Gambhir-led side failed to capitalize on that, with easy catches going down. The culprit was Yusuf Pathan, who first dropped Srikkanth Anirudha off his own bowling in the 4th over. The former Rajasthan Royals player, in the very next over which was bowled by Laxmipati Balaji, gave Suresh Raina a chance to continue his innings, putting down a simple chance offered to him wide of mid on.
The dropped catches were a blessing for Chennai as both Anirudha and Raina made most of the chances given to them. The white ball paid a constant visit to the boundary ropes as the right-hander and the left-hander flayed Kolkata's bowling. Jacques Kallis was at the receiving end in the 6th over, conceding three boundaries, although a couple of those were streaky ones. Raina, on the other hand, was not as flashy as Anirudha, but he too scored at a steady rate. It was just the kind of partnership Chennai would have hoped for, especially after the early loss.
It seemed Kolkata were not destined to catch anything on the day and Yusuf Pathan got a taste of his own medicine when Eion Morgan, considered one of the best fielders in the Knight Riders line-up, let go off a very easy offering at mid-wicket. Providence it seemed was in favour Anirudha who survived yet again and seemed destined for a big knock. Luck though did not favour Raina much as the very next ball after Morgan's slip-up, he skied one in the mid-wicket region and this time, the fielder was Ladda who held on to the catch resulting in Raina's walk-back on 33.
The left-hander's departure slowed things down for Chennai as Abdulla and Ladda brought down the run-rate between 11th to the 15th over. It was then Anirudha and Dhoni in their elements, upping the ante towards the latter overs with the Indian chief selector's son also going past the 50-run mark. Kallis, who was taken for runs early on, tasted revenge when he got rid of Dhoni and Anirudha in the final overs. However, Kallis' economy rate took a beating in the final over despite getting the wicket of Anirudha for 64 as Scott Styris and Albie Morkel got the big hits going to help Chennai finish with a respectable total of 153/4.
Steady Kallis, A middle order failure and Dhoni's almost flawless wicket-keeping
Jacques Kallis seemed intent to make up for the runs conceded while bowling, despite picking up two wickets. Chasing 154 to win, Kallis' intent was to get Kolkata off to a good start, and the South African allrounder did just that, making the most of the new ball, crisply hitting it and finding the ropes at a regular frequency. He was particularly severe on Chennai's latest foreign recruit Tim Southee, scoring 3 consecutive boundaries off him in the 4th over.
Kallis' opening partner Manvinder Bisla lent a steady hand as the Chennai bowlers failed to make inroads for a long part of the innings. MS Dhoni was to be partly blamed for Chennai's inability to pick up early wickets as the Indian skipper, missed a stumping chance off Randiv's bowling to let Bisla survive. The breakthrough finally came for Chennai in the 9th over when Dhoni did not miss and promptly shattered the wickets to have Bisla stumped off Jakati on 27.
It was all MS Dhoni from that moment on. Following Bisla's dismissal, Yusuf Pathan occupied the crease and he almost immediately survived a stumping chance off Randiv's bowling. At the other end, Kallis looked pretty well settled and was about to reach his fifty. Then came an act of brilliance from the Chennai skipper while Yusuf Pathan could be blamed for lazy running between the wickets. Responding to Kallis' call, who had tapped the ball behind square, Pathan strolled for what he thought was an easy single. However, he was left stunned as Dhoni pounced on to the ball quickly and hit the stumps direct to find Yusuf short.
While Kallis did manage to go past 50, he fell to Ashwin immediately after that and Eion Morgan followed suit, again out stumped by Dhoni this time off Raina's bowling as Kolkata were letting the advantage slip. Gautam Gambhir's decision to come down the order might have been a good one, assuming he was keeping himself from coming on to the field in case he was needed in the middle order. He certainly was needed and a captain's knock from there would have justified his decision. But when he was most required, Gambhir was run-out for just 1 as Chennai occupied the driver's seat.
Dhoni's role from behind the stumps yielded one more wicket when Manoj Tiwary, after a useful cameo which took Kolkata closer to the target, fell to Randiv, stumped by the skipper. It was then all down to the final over with 9 runs required and Southee was brought on to bowl. Dhoni's plan to bring the Kiwi on worked brilliantly as he brought about the dismissal of Laxmi Ratan Shukla and more importantly, bowled a tight over to give away just 6 runs to get Chennai get off to a winning start in the 4th edition of the Indian Premiere League.
Dropped Catches, Anirudha special and a respectable total
Asked to bowl first, Kolkata could not have asked for a better start as left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla struck in the very first over to dismiss Murali Vijay for 5. However, the Gambhir-led side failed to capitalize on that, with easy catches going down. The culprit was Yusuf Pathan, who first dropped Srikkanth Anirudha off his own bowling in the 4th over. The former Rajasthan Royals player, in the very next over which was bowled by Laxmipati Balaji, gave Suresh Raina a chance to continue his innings, putting down a simple chance offered to him wide of mid on.
The dropped catches were a blessing for Chennai as both Anirudha and Raina made most of the chances given to them. The white ball paid a constant visit to the boundary ropes as the right-hander and the left-hander flayed Kolkata's bowling. Jacques Kallis was at the receiving end in the 6th over, conceding three boundaries, although a couple of those were streaky ones. Raina, on the other hand, was not as flashy as Anirudha, but he too scored at a steady rate. It was just the kind of partnership Chennai would have hoped for, especially after the early loss.
It seemed Kolkata were not destined to catch anything on the day and Yusuf Pathan got a taste of his own medicine when Eion Morgan, considered one of the best fielders in the Knight Riders line-up, let go off a very easy offering at mid-wicket. Providence it seemed was in favour Anirudha who survived yet again and seemed destined for a big knock. Luck though did not favour Raina much as the very next ball after Morgan's slip-up, he skied one in the mid-wicket region and this time, the fielder was Ladda who held on to the catch resulting in Raina's walk-back on 33.
The left-hander's departure slowed things down for Chennai as Abdulla and Ladda brought down the run-rate between 11th to the 15th over. It was then Anirudha and Dhoni in their elements, upping the ante towards the latter overs with the Indian chief selector's son also going past the 50-run mark. Kallis, who was taken for runs early on, tasted revenge when he got rid of Dhoni and Anirudha in the final overs. However, Kallis' economy rate took a beating in the final over despite getting the wicket of Anirudha for 64 as Scott Styris and Albie Morkel got the big hits going to help Chennai finish with a respectable total of 153/4.
Steady Kallis, A middle order failure and Dhoni's almost flawless wicket-keeping
Jacques Kallis seemed intent to make up for the runs conceded while bowling, despite picking up two wickets. Chasing 154 to win, Kallis' intent was to get Kolkata off to a good start, and the South African allrounder did just that, making the most of the new ball, crisply hitting it and finding the ropes at a regular frequency. He was particularly severe on Chennai's latest foreign recruit Tim Southee, scoring 3 consecutive boundaries off him in the 4th over.
Kallis' opening partner Manvinder Bisla lent a steady hand as the Chennai bowlers failed to make inroads for a long part of the innings. MS Dhoni was to be partly blamed for Chennai's inability to pick up early wickets as the Indian skipper, missed a stumping chance off Randiv's bowling to let Bisla survive. The breakthrough finally came for Chennai in the 9th over when Dhoni did not miss and promptly shattered the wickets to have Bisla stumped off Jakati on 27.
It was all MS Dhoni from that moment on. Following Bisla's dismissal, Yusuf Pathan occupied the crease and he almost immediately survived a stumping chance off Randiv's bowling. At the other end, Kallis looked pretty well settled and was about to reach his fifty. Then came an act of brilliance from the Chennai skipper while Yusuf Pathan could be blamed for lazy running between the wickets. Responding to Kallis' call, who had tapped the ball behind square, Pathan strolled for what he thought was an easy single. However, he was left stunned as Dhoni pounced on to the ball quickly and hit the stumps direct to find Yusuf short.
While Kallis did manage to go past 50, he fell to Ashwin immediately after that and Eion Morgan followed suit, again out stumped by Dhoni this time off Raina's bowling as Kolkata were letting the advantage slip. Gautam Gambhir's decision to come down the order might have been a good one, assuming he was keeping himself from coming on to the field in case he was needed in the middle order. He certainly was needed and a captain's knock from there would have justified his decision. But when he was most required, Gambhir was run-out for just 1 as Chennai occupied the driver's seat.
Dhoni's role from behind the stumps yielded one more wicket when Manoj Tiwary, after a useful cameo which took Kolkata closer to the target, fell to Randiv, stumped by the skipper. It was then all down to the final over with 9 runs required and Southee was brought on to bowl. Dhoni's plan to bring the Kiwi on worked brilliantly as he brought about the dismissal of Laxmi Ratan Shukla and more importantly, bowled a tight over to give away just 6 runs to get Chennai get off to a winning start in the 4th edition of the Indian Premiere League.
No comments:
Post a Comment