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In the end, the acceleration did not come. After scoring at a healthy clip for the majority of their innings, and despite sending the strongest in their arsenal upfront, Chennai Super Kings did not find that end-over propulsion on a muggy evening at Chepauk. In fact, they slowed down: having made 118 for 3 in 14 overs, Super Kings scored only 42 off the final six. The pitch slowed up during the course of their innings, though, and timing the ball was not easy. Deccan Chargers have their task cut out during the chase.
While Chargers will not be extremely displeased with their bowling performance, they will be with their fielding. Amit Mishra dropped Faf du Plessis on 10; he went on to top-score for Super Kings with 42. In the final over, Ankit Sharma and Parthiv Patel failed to call for a catch off Dwayne Bravo and conceded two runs off that delivery. The next ball went for six and the last two for two each. In a format of small margins, Chargers were generous once again. They could have been chasing 140 instead of 160.
At one stage, however, Super Kings' top order was building a platform for 180. M Vijay, who opened because Michael Hussey was replaced by Ben Hilfenhaus, flung his bat around before he was caught early, but thereafter there were brisk partnerships between the rest. Suresh Raina and du Plessis added 64 in 7.2 overs. The highlight of that was Raina, who took six balls to score, pulling and hooking Veer Pratap Singh for consecutive sixes.
After Raina fell, however, Chargers began to nip promising innings in the bud. Raina was out for 32, du Plessis for 42 and the dangerous Albie Morkel for 13. Morkel heaved across the line at Abhishek Jhunjhunwala's spin and was bowled. The responsibility lay with MS Dhoni, who scored steadily to make 34, but he too struggled for fluency. It wasn't until that dropped catch off Bravo and the six that ensued, that Super Kings finally began to sprint. But by then the innings was over.
While Chargers will not be extremely displeased with their bowling performance, they will be with their fielding. Amit Mishra dropped Faf du Plessis on 10; he went on to top-score for Super Kings with 42. In the final over, Ankit Sharma and Parthiv Patel failed to call for a catch off Dwayne Bravo and conceded two runs off that delivery. The next ball went for six and the last two for two each. In a format of small margins, Chargers were generous once again. They could have been chasing 140 instead of 160.
At one stage, however, Super Kings' top order was building a platform for 180. M Vijay, who opened because Michael Hussey was replaced by Ben Hilfenhaus, flung his bat around before he was caught early, but thereafter there were brisk partnerships between the rest. Suresh Raina and du Plessis added 64 in 7.2 overs. The highlight of that was Raina, who took six balls to score, pulling and hooking Veer Pratap Singh for consecutive sixes.
After Raina fell, however, Chargers began to nip promising innings in the bud. Raina was out for 32, du Plessis for 42 and the dangerous Albie Morkel for 13. Morkel heaved across the line at Abhishek Jhunjhunwala's spin and was bowled. The responsibility lay with MS Dhoni, who scored steadily to make 34, but he too struggled for fluency. It wasn't until that dropped catch off Bravo and the six that ensued, that Super Kings finally began to sprint. But by then the innings was over.