Kings hold their nerve

Chennai survive late assault to beat Mumbai Indians by six runs

Joginder Sharma has risen from near-obscurity once again. India8217;s Twenty20 hero, out of the spotlight since last September8217;s effort at the Wanderers, proved on Wednesday night that the last over in Johannesburg was not exactly a flash in the pan. He might not have looked on top of the game then, and he didn8217;t on Wednesday against the Mumbai Indians, but he still managed to help his side eke out to a thrilling six-run victory at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Chasing 208, Mumbai needed 19 runs off the last six balls. Abhishek Nayar started off by picking two consecutive boundaries. The third delivery, a no-ball, saw the batsmen change ends and Ashish Nehra, who came on strike, wasted the resulting free-hit. Though he was back on strike with eight runs to get off two balls, Nayar8217;s effort still saw them finish six short after his side8217;s experienced top-order had crumbled. He finished unbeaten on 45 off 20 balls with six boundaries and a six.

In hindsight, it must be said that Harbhajan Singh could have done more, first with the ball and later with the bat. Leading the side in Sachin Tendulkar8217;s absence, he preferred not to bring himself on to bowl when his team was getting clobbered in the death overs. And after playing his part in a valiant chase 8212; he scored 28 off 14 deliveries 8212; he lost his cool with the finish in sight, top-edging a heave off Muttiah Muralitharan.

Earlier, Harbhajan Singh won the toss and put the opposition in, a baffling decision on a pitch suited to strokeplay. The hosts raked up 208 for 5, with 65 coming in the last five overs alone. Matthew Hayden, Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni8217;s brute force in the middle-overs and a sharp spell from Manpreet Gony ensured that Chennai8217;s bowling weaknesses were once again hidden away under a mountain of runs.

Raina overcame a wobbly start, but slowly changed gears as the overs progressed. He reached his fifty in exactly the same number of balls as Hayden 8212; 33 8212; as the two provided maximum entertainment with hits that ranged from powerfuls drives to short-arm jabs over mid-wicket. At one point, Hayden actually reverse-swept the quick bowlers, such was the disdain with which he was treating the likes of Dwayne Bravo and Shaun Pollock.