Dhoni powers Chennai into qualifier
BANGALORE: Chennai Super Kings defeated Mumbai Indians by 38 runs in the eliminator of the Indian Premier League at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here Wednesday.
Mumbai Indians ended at 149 for nine in reply to Super Kings' 187 for five. Dwayne Smith top-scored with 38. Albie Morkel and Dwayne Bravotook two wickets each for Super Kings.
Earlier, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni blasted 51 runs off 20 balls while Bravo struck 33 off 14. Michael Hussey and Subramaniam Badrinath made 49 and 47.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed a whirlwind 20-ball 51 down the order to catapult Chennai Super Kings to a challenging 187 for 5 against Mumbai Indians in the IPL eliminator here tonight.
Dhoni smashed an unbeaten 51 off 20 balls and shared an unfinished 73-run stand off 29 balls for the sixth wicket with Dwayne Bravo (33 off 14) to take Chennai close to the 200-mark at the M Chinnaswamy stadium here.
Earlier, S Badrinath (47) and Michael Hussey (49) shared a 94-run stand to help Chennai Super Kings recover from a disastrous start when they were 1-2 in 1.2 overs, courtesy a double strike by Dhawal Kulkarni (3/46).
Invited to bat, Chennai were 47 after nine overs but the defending champions amassed 140 runs off the last 11 overs to set Mumbai a stiff target.
Electing to bowl, skipper Harbhajan Singh led from the front giving away just one run in his first two overs but it was Kulkarni who provided the early breakthrough, removing Murali Vijay (1) and Suresh Raina (0) in his first two balls.
First he had Vijay (1) caught by Rohit Sharma in the first slip and then had Raina edging onto his middle stump for a golden duck.
S Badrinath and Mike Hussey rescued Chennai after the early blows but lost some wickets in the middle overs. They were 118-5 in the 16th over.
But Chennai skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni turned the screws on and showed some urgency making 32 runs in 12 balls. Bravo was giving him able support at the other end scoring briskly.
News Posted: 23 May, 2012
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