 Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders via D/L method
18th May 2008 23:03 IST
Agencies
A floodlight disruption and a norwester curtailed a promising match, as Chennai Super Kings inched closer to a semi-final berth with a two-run victory against Kolkata Knight Riders via Duckworth-Lewis method in an Indian Premier League match in Kolkata today.
Replying to the Knight Riders' modest total of 149/5, that saw Super Kings pacer Makhaya Ntini get a hat-trick, the Chennai team were 55/0 after eight overs, when a sudden burst of wind resulted in some of the bulbs in each of the four light towers conking off at the Eden Gardens.
The play was immediately halted and the situation turned worse as a norwester with high wind velocity raged accompanied by rains, tossing into the air the tarpaulin sheets, which had been brought in to cover the wicket and the outfield.
The Duckworth-Lewis rain rule was called into play and the authorities declared Chennai Super Kings the winner by two runs, based on the complex DL formula, after waiting in vain for 90 minutes for the situation to improve.
The Knight Riders were 46/2 after eight overs, but the Chennai side needed to make 53 without losing a wicket for a victory.
In the end, a boundary hit by Stephen Fleming (32 not out, 20b, 6x4) with a fine leg glide in the penultimate delivery sent down by Ajit Agarkar proved crucial in sealing the win for the Chennai team, who now have 12 points from 11 matches and look well poised to make it to the last four.
A ball earlier, Ashok Dinda had failed to latch on to a catch offered by Parthiv Patel (19 not out, 28 b, 2x4) at long off.
The Knight Riders were now staring down at the wrong end of the barrel, and their hopes of making the cut for the semis look dim.
continued.. |
