Chennai Super Kings have the final hurrah
Navi Mumbai: Albeit dropped twice during his innings, Suresh Raina scored an unbeaten 57, took a wicket, and claimed one of the finest catches of the year to inspire Chennai Super Kings past the formidable Mumbai Indians in a thrilling conclusion to the 2010 Indian Premier League (IPL) here at the DY Patil Stadium on Sunday.
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In a tantalizing climax, Mumbai Indians, chasing 169, recovered from 114-6 after 17 overs to finish at 146-9, falling 22 runs short of clinching their maiden IPL championship. Although Kieron Pollard powered Mumbai back into the contest through a whirlwind knock of 27 runs from 10 balls, it was only a brief interlude in an otherwise slow chase that saw the required run rate mounting to 27 off the last seven balls. The penultimate over saw Rayudu and Pollard fall off consecutive balls, sealing the fate of the contest.
Raina once again proved that fortune favours the brave. The southpaw swung his willow at almost everything, batting on a surface that was not giving him full value for his shots. Chennai recovered from 108-5 after 15 overs to post a competitive total of 168, thanks largely to Raina’s efforts.
Earlier, Mumbai’s openers made a conscious approach to tone down their aggressive stroke-play against Chennai’s potent, yet unorthodox, opening duo of Ashwin and Bollinger. The extra carry in the surface led to Dhawan’s dismissal, as the left-hander edged one to Dhoni in the second over. Tendulkar struck a glorious paddle-sweep off Ashwin in the third over to give the crowd some joy.
Just when it appeared like the wheels were coming off Mumbai’s batting, Nayar broke the shackles in the tenth over with two back-to-back sixes off Shadab Jakati. Mumbai went into the last ten needing a taxing 111 runs, but with an optimistic crowd supporting their cause. The thirteenth over, bowled by batting hero Raina, proved fatal, as Nayar and pinch-hitter Harbhajan fell in a space of three balls. Nayar dropped the ball to short mid-wicket and took off for a quick single but found himself on the receiving end of a direct hit by keeper Dhoni. Mumbai went into the second time-out (13 overs) at 80-3.
Mumbai went into last seven overs needing 89 runs – at a required rate of 12.8 – with Duminy, Pollard and Tiwary waiting in the dugout. There was a huge cheer in the ground when the sight screen reflected that Mumbai were three runs ahead after the 14-over stage, but there was an equally deafening reaction two balls later when Tendulkar holed out to Bollinger off Jakati while trying to clear long-off. Tendulkar’s knock of 48 runs was studded with seven glorious boundaries.
Pollard’s whirlwind gave Mumbai more than a glimmer of hope, but it was Chennai Super Kings who held their nerves on the day and emerged triumphant. Both Mumbai and Chennai will be seen next in action in the Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa later this year.
