After a scuffle couple of days ago in which the franchisees of King XI Ness Wadia and Mohit Burman were reportedly indulged showed its impact on team performance also. Kings XI players were unable to chase 117 for victory and made their exit from the tournament.

Chasing a modest target of 117--having restricted CSK to 116 for nine wickets--the Kings XI folded like a deck of cards, losing by 24 runs and almost certainly out of semi’s race.

S. Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan snapped two wickets each as Kings XI restricted formidable Chennai Super Kings to a paltry 116 for 9 in their must-win match. CSK lost wickets at regular intervals after the good work by their openers to find themselves in a tight spot at tricky Kingsmead track.

CSK, who elected to bat first after winning the toss, probably won this match inside the first five overs, as openers George Bailey (15) and Parthiv Patel (32) reached 40 before losing their first wicket.

By comparison, Kings XI were 26 for 1 after five. That 40-run partnership was the best on the night, and Patel’s effort was the top score. All the Kings XI bowlers claimed wickets except for Brett Lee.

Muttiah Muralitharan-led CSK spin squad sizzled in the tricky Kingsmead conditions. Muralitharan (2 for 8), R. Ashwin (2 for 13) and Suresh Raina (2 for 17) spun their web around Punjab batsmen and saved the day for CSK as Yuvraj men's found runs hard to come by in the low and slow conditions and could only manage 92 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs.

Left-arm pacer Thilan Thushara, playing his first match of the tournament, also picked up two wickets for 28 runs. Muttiah Muralitharan was adjudged man-of-the-match.

With Delhi Daredevils and CSK occupying the top two spots in the points table, Kings XI’s only faint hope is for third-placed Deccan Chargers to give fourth-placed Royal Challengers a massive thumping, so that Kings XI can squeeze in past the Challengers on run-rate.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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