Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians by 38 runs in the Eliminator to progress to Qualifier 2 against Delhi Daredevils and dump Mumbai out of the Indian Premier League in Bangalore.
It needed an inspired closing partnership between MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo for the Chennai Super Kings to reach 187-5 after it looked like they would fall well short of a competitive total.
Needing 188 to win Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals and were never able to seriously pose a threat to MS Dhoni’s Super Kings who remain on course for yet another IPL final.
Opener Dwyane Smith contributed 38 from 22 balls but no-one else was able to build an innings and Mumbai limped out of the tournament.
The Super Kings got off to a terrible start losing Murali Vijay (1) and Suresh Raina (0) inside the opening two overs to Dhawal Kulkarni. But the former champions are made of stern stuff and Michael Hussey (49 from 39 balls) with Subramaniam Badrinath (47 from 39 balls) put on 94 for the third wicket before Hussey was caught on the rope going for his 50. Ravindra Jadeja came and went for 1 before MS Dhoni and Dwyane Bravo exploded info life.
The pair blitzed 73 from the final five overs, including a ridiculous six from Dhoni off Lasith Malinga, to see CSK through to 187-5 and set a target that proved to be too much for Mumbai.
CSK will now face Delhi Daredevils on Friday in Qualifier 2 for the right to play Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League final on Sunday.
In the LV= County Championship division one, Somerset and Durham were into day two at Taunton. Somerset were chasing Durham’s imposing 384 all out and ended the day on a healthy 357-8 thanks in part to Nick Compton (64), James Hildreth (53), Craig Overton (50) and a more-than-useful 67 not from the evergreen Peter Trego to leave the Cidermen just 27 runs shy of Durham’s first innings total.
At Liverpool, it was all about South African Ashwell Prince as Lancashire made a steady start against Middlesex. The classy left-hander brought up his century from 206 balls with eight fours. Steven Croft kept him company before departing for 78 as the current champions ended the day on 276-4 at stumps.
Surrey’s game with Warwickshire at The Oval looks like it could go all the way as Warwickshire ended the day on 106-1 with Varun Chopra finishing on 59 not out. Earlier in the day Surrey posted 223 all out with only Rory Hamilton-Brown (34), Tom Maynard (39) and bowler Jon Lewis (37) getting close to forging an innings of note.
In division two, Essex entertained Derbyshire at a sun-soaked County Ground, Chelmsford but it was slow going on a pitch that offered little to either batsmen or bowlers.
Former Essex skipper Mark Pettini, who stepped down for this season, was the rock of the home side’s innings but even his 56 took a mammoth 202 balls to compile as Essex posted 182 all out. In reply Derbyshire had reached 37-1 with David Masters trapping Paul Borrington LBW for 3.
Sean Ervine had a day to remember at Southampton as his unbeaten 109 pushed Hampshire up to 316 on their first day’s play against Glamorgan. Only seven overs were possible in Glamorgan’s reply but they emerged unscathed to end on 13-0.
Leicestershire were put to the sword by Kent’s Matt Coles as they were rushed out for just 141 at Canterbury. Coles finished his work with figures of 5-41. And despite Matthew Hoggard dismissing Sam Northeast with the first ball of Kent’s innings Robert Key (23 not out) and Brendan Nash (50 not out) saw them to 104-2 at the close.
Finally, Northamptonshire look like building a healthy first innings at the newly acquired County Ground as they reached 302-4 at stumps against Gloucestershire. James Middlebrook was the tormentor-in-chief with a well-crafted 121 and with Kyle Coetzer (81 not out) still at the crease Northants will be looking to just bat once if they can.
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Orange Cap for Most Runs, Purple Cap for most Wickets and Yellow Cap for the Winning Team!!!
Chennai Super Kings Beats Mumbai Indians By 38 Runs – IPL 5 2012
Chennai Super Kings beats Mumbai Indians by 38 runs – IPL 5 2012
MS Dhoni`s 21 ball 50, Chennai Super Kings eliminated Mumbai Indians and moved one step closer to the finals, Mumbai Indians skipper Harbhajan Singh had won the toss and elected to field against Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League eliminator at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore tonight.
The Super Kings made two changes, bringing in S Badrinath for Anirudha Srikkanth, who is not fit. Chennai also replaced Yo Mahesh with Shadab Jakati.
Teams:
Chennai Super Kings: M Vijay, MEK Hussey, SK Raina, MS Dhoni (C & WK), DJ Bravo, RA Jadeja, JA Morkel, R Ashwin, BW Hilfenhaus, SB Jakati, S Badrinath.
Mumbai Indians: DR Smith, SR Tendulkar, RG Sharma, KD Karthik (WK), AT Rayudu, JEC Franklin, KA Pollard, Harbhajan Singh (C), SL Malinga, RP Singh, DS Kulkarni.
Now the 2nd Semi-final will be between Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super kings!
MS Dhoni blitz eliminates Mumbai::
Well begun is half the job done, they say. But they also say how you start doesn’t always matter; it is how you finish that invariably does.
On Wednesday in front of a packed house at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, it was the second saying that prevailed, thanks to Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s power-packed show, allowing Chennai to brush off a poor start with bat and ball to stay alive in the tournament.
For Mumbai, who first had Chennai in all sorts of trouble at 30 for two after the first six overs and then themselves raced to 54/1 at the same stage of their innings, it was the intervening period that cost them the game and forced their exit from IPL 5. Having allowed Chennai to recover strongly to post as much as 187 for six, that too through just two partnerships of note, Mumbai had too big a mountain to climb and finished with 149/9, leaving their opponents victors by a healthy 38 runs.
Both teams now head to their respective homes, Mumbai to cool their heels and Chennai to take on Delhi on Friday for a place in Sunday’s final against Kolkata. Not bad for a side who were on the edge of bowing out in the league stage itself.
Earlier, it was that familiar blast from the man known to save his best for the business end of things which that enabled Chennai set a big target.
Having lost the toss to Harbhajan Singh, Dhoni, who too would have opted to bowl first like Mumbai did, saw the first two Chennai wickets disappear in a trice. ‘Here we go again’, the Chennai skipper must have muttered when Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina fell to the first two balls bowled by Mumbai seamer Dhawal Kulkarni.
But then, once Dhoni himself made it to the middle following a steady and typically honest third wicket partnership of 94 (72 balls) between Michael Hussey (49, 39b, 8×4, 1×6) and S Badrinath (47, 39b, 6×4, 1×6), the script changed and as it usually happens, turned in favour of the Chennai skipper.
No bowler, no not even Lasith Malinga was spared on the night, with Dhoni (51 not out, 20b, 6×4, 2×6, SR of 255) and his partner-in-crime Dwayne Bravo (33 n.o., 14b, 3×4, 2×6, SR of 236) – during an incredible 73-run, unbroken sixth-wicket stand that came off a mere 29 deliveries – going hell for leather, interspersing the big hits, which included the helicopter shot (Dhoni) and the flying shot (Bravo) with some really quick running between the wickets.
The turnaround started with the hammering of Mumbai skipper Harbhajan for 19 runs in his third over after he had given away just one run from his first two overs at the beginning.
That over, during which both Hussey and Badrinath helped themselves to maximums, ensured that Harbhajan didn’t return for his final over, in a way leading to Kulkarni bowling the final over of the innings, which was then capitalized on by Dhoni and Bravo, the former just about missing out on the fastest fifty of the tournament.
He has at least one more chance to do that though.
IPL 5: Playoff Predictions:
After a gruelling regular season, it’s now time for the IPL 2012 playoffs. The top four teams, which will feature in the league’s post-season, have had varying fortunes thus far–and their individual journeys to the playoffs have been markedly different. Over the next few days, however, these teams–Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings–will have to be at their best to win cricket’s richest annual prize.
With that in mind, here’s how we think the IPL 2012 playoffs will play out.
The top-ranked Delhi Daredevils will take on second-placed Kolkata Knight Riders in Pune for the first playoff qualifier on May 22. KKR have a solid advantage heading into this match. Not only have they beaten DD at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium the last time they met, they are also on a two-game winning streak–which includes a league win over the Pune Warriors India at the same venue a few days ago.
Besides, like every other line-up in the league, even DD’s batters will have a hard time picking Sunil Narine. On turning Indian tracks, the Trinidadian spinner is KKR’s biggest asset and will play a big role in seeing them home!
Eliminator – MI
The Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings will lock horns in the battle of the third and fourth-placed teams in Bangalore on May 23. This eliminator will knock out one of these teams, and we feel that team’s going to be CSK. MS Dhoni and his men have played mediocre cricket this season, and were extremely lucky to qualify for the playoffs ahead of the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
However, we feel their luck is going to run out when they meet the likes of Lasith Malinga, Dwayne Smith, RP Singh and of course, a certain Sachin Tendulkar. Besides, the Men in Blue and Gold have beaten the Yellow Lions in both their regular season encounters, so they do hold the edge in this contest.
Qualifier 2 – MI
After losing to KKR, we feel DD will face MI in the second qualifier in Chennai on May 25. The Mumbai franchise will be especially charged up going into this battle as they’ve lost both their league matches against DD this year and quite convincingly at that. This will be the ideal platform for the Boys from Bollywood to shock–what has been for the most part–the best team in IPL 2012.
In the absence of Kevin Pietersen, the Daredevils have struggled with their top order. Both David Warner and skipper Virender Sehwag have blown hot and cold, and they don’t stand a chance against Malinga and co firing on all cylinders!
Final – KKR
The final in Chennai is likely to be a repeat of the 2011 CLT20 final, as we feel the Kolkata Knight Riders will take on the Mumbai Indians on May 27. However, the result of this game is going to be different from the outcome of CLT20! Given KKR’s recent run, they should be able to prevail in this contest and win their maiden IPL title.
The Gautam Gambhir-led team deserves to win it all, since they have been consistent throughout the season. This will be a fitting end to this year’s IPL indeed!