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Dharamsala, April 18: Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s explosive 29-ball 54 (5x4, 2x6) virtually took Chennai Super Kings to the semi-finals after conquering Kings XI Punjab by six wickets in a thrilling Match 54 of the IPL-2010 at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium here on Sunday evening.
Chennai Super Kings, who needed a win to move into the last four stage, finished the league with 14 points from 14 matches. Chasing an imposing 194 runs for victory, Dhoni went berserk as he slammed two sixes and a boundary in the last over bowled by Irfan Pathan. Chennai Super Kings reached 195/4 with two deliveries to spare. At the end of the 54th match, Chennai Super Kings moved to the second spot and with a healthy net run rate of +0.274. The bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab slipped to their tenth defeat from 14 matches and finished their campaign on a losing note. Chennai Super Kings had a horrifying start. Matthew Hayden (5) continued his poor form with the bat. Off-spinner Ramesh Powar, who bowled beautifully, packed off Hayden in the third over. The left-handed Hayden was smartly stumped by Sangakkara. Murali Vijay, too, went the same way. He was foxed by the canny Powar and was stumped for 13. Chennai Super Kings were 27/2 in 4.1 overs. The skilful Suresh Raina, who became the first batsman to complete 1300 runs in the IPL tournament, batted beautifully for his 27-ball 46. The left-hander put on 62 runs in 34 balls with S Badrinath for the third wicket before Raina (5x4, 3x6) was caught in deep cover in the tenth over. However, Badrinath stroked away to a fine 36-ball 53 (7x4, 2x6). He was the third stumped victim and this time the bowler was leg spinner Piyush Chawla. The fourth wicket pair of Badrinath and Mahendra Singh Dhoni realised 59 runs in 7 overs. But Badrinath’s departure at 148/4 in 16.4 overs put Chennai Super Kings in a tight spot. But in the end, Dhoni, who played a cool and calculated knock, demolished Kings XI Punjab to have the last laugh. The Kings XI Punjab bowlers failed to defend the total as VRV Singh, Pathan and Theron proved expensive. Earlier, Aussie left-handed opener Shaun Marsh struck a 57-ball 88 not out (8x4, 5x6) and Irfan Pathan (44 not out off 27 balls, 4x4, 1x6) added 99 runs in 8 overs to propel the bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab to an impressive 192/3 in 20 overs. Mahela Jayawardene (21 off 8 balls; 2x4, 2x6) began spectacularly. He smashed two sixes off medium-pacer Sudeep Tyagi. But a leaping Tyagi had his revenge when he pulled off a super catch at mid-off off Albie Morkel to dismiss Jayawardene. Chennai Super Kings could have had Marsh but Morkel grassed a sitter at short fine leg in the fourth over off off- spinner R Ashwin. Enjoying the charmed life, Marsh flayed the Chennai Super Kings. He was involved in 56-run stand for the second wicket with skipper Kumar Sangakkara, who made a 24-ball 33 (5x4). Ashwin broke the partnership by bowling Sangakkara. Chennai Super Kings captured the third wicket in the next over when Yuvraj Singh (1) fell to Suresh Raina and Kings XI Punjab were 93/3 in 12 overs. Pathan and Marsh then mauled the Chennai Super Kings attack to take the Kings XI Punjab to a healthy total. Chennai Super Kings bowling was a big disappointment. They were erratic and were punished. Morkel was hit for 48 runs in four overs while Tyagi conceded 24 runs in two overs. Ashwin was the best bowler on view, giving away only 20 runs in four overs. Chennai Super Kings made two changes, bringing in Justin Kemp and Sudeep Tyagi for Michael Hussey and L Balaji respectively. Kings XI Punjab dropped Reetinder Sodi, Shalabh Srivastava and Vikramjeet Malik and brought in Sunny Sohal, Ramesh Powar and VRV Singh for this match.
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