Dwayne Bravo blasted five sixes in the last two overs to propel defending champions Chennai Super Kings to a tall score which was aided by loose bowling from the Indian component of the Deccan Chargers attack. Faf du Plessis provided the boost at the start, Ravindra Jadeja built on it in the middle and Bravo took Chargers apart at the death.
Forty runs came in overs 19 and 20 bowled by TP Sudhindra and Manpreet Gony. A leading edge off Sudhindra carried all the way over the straight boundary for the first six. Bravo wound up and deposited the next delivery, a length ball, over long-on. Gony was wayward in the final over, and Bravo clattered three sixes off an assortment of full tosses and short deliveries.
Bravo ended on 43 off 18, with Super Kings taking 72 in the last five overs. Du Plessis had set the tone earlier, hitting Gony for three consecutive boundaries in the fifth over. Gony became too predictable with his shortish length, and du Plessis stayed back to steer for four to third man and pull for six over deep midwicket. Gony became predictable again when he went full with the last ball of the over, and du Plessis lofted him over long-off.
Sudhindra had du Plessis holing out to long-on with his first ball, but was to go for 46 in four overs. Suresh Raina and S Badrinath looked in fine touch till Daniel Christian got them. Christian and Dale Steyn were difficult to get away, but Chargers had plenty of weak links in the attack.
Jadeja went after fellow left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma, slog-sweeping and lofting him for three boundaries. Christian was taken for consecutive fours. Jadeja even tried to distract Steyn by moving around in his crease but was dismissed hit-wicket when he trod onto his stumps as he tried to nudge a short of a length Steyn delivery. Jadeja made 48 off 29, not a bad return given his extended poor run recently with the Indian team.
Things weren’t looking as bad for Chargers when Jadeja fell with the score on 147 in the 18th over, but Bravo’s innings could well have taken the match away from them.
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