Chennai blown to smithereens

That big fat Man of the Match cheque was mere consolation for his heroics 8212; Albie Morkel...

That big fat Man of the Match cheque was mere consolation for his heroics 8212; Albie Morkel would have preferred a small ticket to the semi-finals instead of the ambiguity that has surrounded his team8217;s further progress in the IPL. A ten-run defeat is perhaps the best margin to differentiate Super Kings from the Royals; the hosts first failed to start well with the ball, and then faltered towards the finish with the bat as well. Chennai squandered 52 runs in the first five overs, allowing the Royals maximum scoring opportunities and get to 211. Then, needing 55 off the last five in a well-planned chase, they could muster only 45 to end up at 201 for 7.

Morkel8217;s blazing bat cleared the ropes four times over and seven down the ground to keep the home side in the hunt but he was left stranded by Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Badrinath8217;s critical failure at the crease. Super Kings required 15 runs off the last six balls, with Manpreet Singh Gony at the crease alongside Morkel, but both bats failed to find the sweet part of the bat while Sohail Tanvir kept spotting his right areas.

Morkel8217;s 71 off 40 balls was the perfect match for Graeme Smith8217;s innings in the first half that made a big impact in the course of the match. And within the attractive and glamourous cover-page of big-hitting, there was a 8216;short8217; story written by Swapnil Asnodkar and Parthiv Patel together that added value to the overall package. Asnodkar packed in the excitement from the beginning with his horizontal bat timed effectively off the back-foot while the latter was responsible for carrying the story through to a pulsating climax.

The match was neatly set up when Parthiv left the centre-stage, but the end didn8217;t match up to his expectations. Despite a brave effort with the bat, they had to pay the penalty for failing with the ball. Asnodkar and Graeme Smith punished the Super Kings for all little errors in line and length in their rollicking opening partnership of 127 in just 68 balls; Manpreet Singh Gony kept feeding the openers to hit through the square region even as Chennai8217;s bowling resources were running out of options.

Makhaya Ntini and L Balaji both lacked variations. Smith punished Balaji for 20 runs in one over and enjoyed an even spread against Muttiah Muralitharan and Ntini. Smith reached his half-century in a mere 29 balls with seven fours and a six and kept going at the same pace, despite picking up a niggle and losing his partner Asnodkar to a run-out.

Next man, Kamran Akmal, coming in today for Shane Watson, didn8217;t provide any respite and runs kept flowing at frantic pace before a tired Smith exited nine short of what would have been a well-deserved century; his 91 was studded with nine boundaries and four sixes. Rajasthan Royals lost a bit of momentum after that, especially towards the last five overs with only 44 raked in despite a quickfire half-century from Akmal.

Scoreboard

Rajasthan Royals: G Smith c Dhoni b Raina 91; S Asnodkar run out Dhoni/Patel 41; Kamran Akmal not out 53; Y Pathan c Muralitharan b Morkel 6; Mohd. Kaif c Mukund b Morkel 10; T Kohli run out Badrinath/Patel 3

Extras: LB-5, W-1, NB-1 7

Total: For 5 wkts in 20 overs 211

Fall of Wickets: 1-127, 2-150, 3-178, 4-199, 5-211

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Bowling: Ntini 4-0-43-0, Gony 3-0-32-0, Morkel 4-0-35-2, Muralitharan 4-0-31-0, Balaji 3-0-45-0, Raina 2-0-20-1

Chennai Super Kings: P Patel st Akmal b Warne 54; S Fleming run out Tanvir/Akmal 7; S Raina c Kaif b Warne 45; A Morkel c sub Jadeja b Tanvir 71; MS Dhoni c Kaif b Tanvir 12; S Badrinath c Kohli b Munaf 1; M Gony not out 2; A Mukund b Tanvir 0

Extras: B-1, LB-2, W-3, NB-3 9

Total: For 7 wkts in 20 overs 201

Fall of Wickets: 1-14, 2-84, 3-157, 4-182, 5-188, 6-201, 7-201.

Bowling: Sohail Tanvir 4-0-33-3, Y Pathan 3-0-31-0, Munaf Patel 4-0-55-1, Pankaj Singh 4-0-30-0, Shane Warne 4-0-35-2, Salunkhe 1-0-14-0.