CSK beat RCB by 3 wickets in Qualifier 2, enter record 6th IPL final
Ranchi : A clinical Chennai Super Kings today defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by three wickets in a nail-bitting second qualifier to sail into the final of the Indian Premier League tournament, making it a record sixth appearance in eight editions of the event.
CSK rode on veteran Mike Hussey’s 56 off 46 balls to chase down the modest 140-run target with just one ball to spare.
Opening the batting, Hussey, the Mr. Cricket who will be 40 in another five days, anchored the CSK innings with his vast experience and decorated his knock with three boundaries and two sixes.
CSK will now face Mumbai Indians in the summit clash of the tournament in Kolkata on Sunday.
Earlier, left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra shone with the ball as Chennai Super Kings produced a fine bowling display to restrict Royal Challengers Bangalore to a modest 139 for eight.
Nehra (3/28) picked up three crucial wickets to dismantle RCB’s innings. He was ably supported by Ravichandran Ashwin (1/13), Mohit Sharma (1/22), Dwayne Bravo (1/21) and Suresh Raina (1/36).
Chris Gayle top-scored for RCB with a unfamiliar 41 off 43 balls which was studded with two fours and three sixes.
Young Sarfaraz Khan (31 off 21 balls) played short little cameo towards the end to give RCB bowlers something to defend. Dinesh Karthik (28 off 26) also played a good hand but just when his team need him, the wicket-keeper batsman perished in search of quick runs.
Sent into bat, Gayle and skipper Virat Kohli made a steady start to RCB’s innings on a slow and difficult pitch.
Gayle smashed Nehra for a six in the second ball off the innings to make his intentions clear.
In his next over, Nehra once again was at the receiving end, this time Kohli smacked the left-arm pacer for a four and six in consecutive balls.
But Nehra had the last laugh as he struck twice in his next over to rattle RCB’s innings.
First Nehra removed Kohli, who flicked the first delivery off the fifth over straight to Mohit at short fine leg and then four balls later he dismissed in-form AB de Villiers.
De Villers was adjudged LBW after he missed an inswinger that struck his back pad but TV replays showed the ball pitched just outside the leg stump.
The twin blow dealt a severe blow to RCB’s innings as even big-hitting Gayle found it difficult to rotate the scoreboard, leave aside hitting big shots. —PTI
Bangalore
C Gayle c&b Raina…………………….41
V Kohli c Mohit b Nehra…………….12
AB de Villiers lbw b Nehra……………1
M Singh c Hussey b Ashwin…………4
D Karthik c Mohit b Nehra………….28
Sarfaraz c Negi b Bravo……………..31
D Wiese c Bravo b Mohit……………12
H Patel run out…………………………..2
M Starc not out………………………….1
S Aravind not out……………………….0
Extras: lb2, w5…………………………7
Total: For 8 wkts in 20 ovrs……..139
Bowling: Nehra 4-0-28-3, Ashwin 4-0-13-1, Mohit 4-0-22-1, Raina 3-0-36-1, Bravo 3-0-21-1, Negi 1-0-4-0, Jadeja 1-0-13-0.
Chennai
D Smith c Starc b Aravind…………..17
M Hussey c Patel b Wiese…………..56
F du Plessis b Chahal…………………21
S Raina c Wiese b Chahal…………….0
MS Dhoni c Karthik b Patel…………26
P Negi run out………………………….12
D Bravo b Starc…………………………..0
R Jadeja not out…………………………0
R Ashwin not out……………………….1
Extras: b3, lb1, w3……………………7
Total: For 7 wkts in 19.5 ovrs…..140
FoW: 1-21, 2-61, 3-61, 4-108, 5-135, 6-135, 7-139
Bowling: Starc 4-0-27-1, Aravind 4-0-25-1, Patel 3.5-0-26-1, Wiese 4-0-30-1, Chahal 4-0-28-2
