 Chennai Super Kings clinch thriller against Delhi Daredevils
8th May 2008 23:02 IST
Agencies
Chennai Super Kings scored 15 runs from the last over to snatch a heart-stopping four-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils in a thrilling Indian Premier League return leg match in New Delhi today.
Chasing 188, Super Kings top order clicked for once but the match went down the wire before the visitors reaching the target in the last ball of their innings to hand their opponents their second consecutive loss.
In a cliffhanger of a match which saw fortunes fluctuating from one side to the other, the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side was cruising along at 98/2 after 10 overs but slumped to 166/6 in the penultimate over to find themselves in a precarious position of scoring 15 from the last over off Shoaib Malik with the seventh wicket pair of Subramaniam Badrinath and Manpreet Gony at the crease.
Gony held on to his nerves to hit a six and four from the first two legitimate balls before Badrinath took a single from the last ball to stun more than 30,000 Kotla crowd.
Stephen Fleming top-scored with 44 while his opening partner Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan scored 40 and Dhoni chipped in with a useful 33. Dhoni was adjudged Man of the Match.
The Super Kings, who brought as many four changes in their playing XI today, began on a rollicking fashion with Vidyut, promoted to open the innings in place of out-of-form Parthiv Patel, smashed two boundaries off the first over of Glenn McGrath.
Vidyut, who was in the punishing mood from the beginning, gave the same treatment to Mohammad Asif with two fours in the second over and Fleming joined for another boundary to score 15 runs of the Asif over.
Vidyut outscored his senior partner Fleming to raise 62 for the opening wicket before he was out in the seventh over caught by Shikhar Dhawan at deep mid-wicket off Pradeep Sangwan.
Vidyut hit 40 off 23 balls with the help of six fours and one six.
Fleming also came good after three outings to contribute a useful 44 made from 28 balls and with the help of seven fours and was out after sharing a 36-run stand for the second wicket with Dhoni.
The hiccup for the visitors started with the in-form Suresh Raina falling for one to Sangwan before Dhoni and Albie Morkel shared a 40-run stand for the fourth wicket to take the score to 138/4.
Dhoni and Morkel at first looked cautious before unleashing an onslaught on Virender Sehwag in the 14th over with Morkel hitting three sixes and a four to take 23 runs from that over.
Sehwag, however, avenged by removing Morkel from a run out with a direct hit from the mid-wicket.
Needing 46 from last five overs and six wickets at hand, the match was anybody's and McGrath and Asif ensured that the asking rate crept to 11 from the last three overs.
The actual drama was enacted in the 19th over with Yo Mahesh keeping the home supporters on the edge of the seat by removing Dhoni and Chamara Kapugedara in successive balls to set up a heart-stopping last over.
For Delhi, Sangwan and Mahesh took two wickets each while Asif got one.
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