Champions League Twenty20: Chennai Super Kings' 4-wicket win over Titans, as it happened

The 2010 Champions League Twenty20 champions Chennai Super Kings beat South African T20 giants Titans by 4 wickets at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium in Ranchi on Sunday. Catch all the highlights from the game, as they happened: (Match Scorecard | Text Commentary | Match pics)

 

Post match quotes:

 

Man of the Match Suresh Raina: "We had a very good net session for the last three days. When I went in, we needed to be positive and I got a good partnership with Hussey. They had some good bowlers like Morne Morkel and we had to play the first six overs well. I have been working on the short ball. I had a good tour of South Africa with A team that helped me a lot."

MS Dhoni: "The way Hussey and Raina batted it was very pleasing to see, taking the attack to the opposition. We need to be improving as we go along in the tournament. Need to be prepared to bowl second as well. The bowlers need to do well in the coming games. AB batted really well."

Michael Hussey: "There was quite a bit of dew, so was was very difficult for the bowlers, especially spinners to grip the ball. After losing Murali Vijay early we just tried to be calm and be composed. Raina batted really well and took the pressure off me. I enjoy playing with this side and we have a great bunch of guys.

Henry Davids: "We got a very good score but couldn't defend it. We need to work on the bowling now. We should have won the game. We tried to hit back of a length area but the plan didn't work. The wet ball made things really difficult for the bowlers."

23:30 (IST) Albie Morkel with the winning runs and Chennai secure a 4-wicket win over Titans, with 7 balls to spare. So Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina with their whirlwind 47 each help setup CSK's win. Dwayne Bravo chipped in with a crucial 38 in the middle to make sure the required run rate was well under control.

23:28 (IST) WICKET! Ravindra Jadeja is out bowled on his second ball. Rowan Richards strikes again.

23:25 (IST) SIX and WICKET! After hitting Morne Morkel for a six in the 18th over, Dhoni holes to De Villiers at extra cover off Rowan Richards. Chennai 181/5 after 18.1 overs, need another 5 more to win.

23:15 (IST) WICKET! Dwayne Bravo goes for a hook but gloves a slower bouncer from Rowan Richards to wicket-keeper Mangalisa Mosehle. Bravo made 38 from 26 to take Chennai at threshold of a win. Chennai 172/4 after 17 overs and Dhoni enters the arena at home ground to a rousing welcome.

23:09 (IST) SIX! Bravo hammers De Lange for six over covers. Chennai 168/3 after 16 overs.

22:59 (IST) SIX! No mercy shown by Chennai Super Kings as Dwayne Bravo launches Roelof van der Merwe for six over long off. Chennai 142 for 3 after 13 overs, need another 44 from 42 balls.

22:47 (IST) WICKET! Michael Hussey is gone, he mistimes a lofted off drive and AB de Villiers pouches it at mid-off. Hussey made 47 from 26 balls with 7 fours and a six. Dwayne Bravo at the crease now, partnering S Badrinath. Chennai 114/3 after 10 overs.

22:39 (IST) SIX! What a way to bring up the 100 for CSK, Michael Hussey launches into Henry Davids and its a huge six over long on. Chennai 105/1 after 9 overs.

22:35 (IST) WICKET! A much-needed breakthrough for the Titans. Suresh Raina has to make the long walk back to the hut after a belligerent 28-ball 47. Trying to clear mid-off, Raina found Morne Morkel off the bowling of David Wiese. Chennai 95 for 2 after 8 overs. S Badrinath is the new batsman in.

22:30 (IST) Raina and Hussey have added 80 runs from just 39 balls and the Titans are looking all over the place. Chennai 86/1 after 7 overs.

22:21 (IST) Marchant de Lange comes to the bowling crease and is hit for 14 runs in the first over. Raina and Hussey have already passed a 50-run stand in just 25 balls. Chennai 65/1 after 5 overs.

22:15 (IST) Morne Morkel hit for 24 runs in the 4th over and Chennai bring up their 50 in just 24 balls. Suresh Raina hit Morne for a six and Hussey gathered three fours off the lanky pacer. Chennai on the move at 51 for 1 after 4 overs.

22:09 (IST) Rowan Richards comes to bowling crease and is greeted by Suresh Raina with two back-to-back fours. Chennai 27 for 1 after 3 overs.

21:59 (IST) Players back on the field after a brief stoppage, Van der Merwe completes the the first over. Chennai 9/1 after 1 over.

21:52 (IST) Power failure yet again at the JSCA stadium Ranchi, one of the floodlights has conked off and players have left the arena.

21:50 (IST) WICKET! Big blow as Murali Vijay is out, bowled by an arm ball by Roelof van der Merwe. Vijay goes for duck. Chennai are 6 for 1 after 3 balls in 186-run chase.

21:49 (IST) Michael Hussey gets a four, hits it over backward square for four off Van der Merwe.

21:48 (IST) Roelof van der Merwe will open the bowling for Titans. Michael Hussey to take strike.

21:34 (IST) Titans finish at 185 for 5 in 20 overs. They scored 50 runs in the final 5 overs, losing three wickets.

21:28 (IST) WICKET! Jadeja gets his man this time. De Villers gets height on it but not distance, taken by Dwayne Bravo at long off. De Villiers made 77 off 36 balls, including 3 fours and 7 massive sixes. Titans 179/5 after 19 overs.

21:22 (IST) SIX! De Villiers continues his onslaught, hits Bravo over long on for the maximum. Titans 161/4 after 18 overs.

21:19 (IST) WICKETS! Farhaan Behardien tries to hit Dwayne Bravo over extra cover but finds tall Jason Holder at the position. He made 21 from 14. Two balls later David Wiese (0) fails to keep a short ball down and pulls it in the air, to give Ashwin a simple catch.

21:12 (IST) SIX! Titans have scored 113 runs in the last 10 overs with AB de Villiers being the aggressor. Sixteen overs gone, Titans are 145 for 2.

21:08 (IST) Just as the scoring rate was dipping for the Titans, Farhaan Behardien hit Dwayne Bravo for back-to-back fours in the 15th over. Dew already starting to take effect at the JSCA. Titans 135/2 after 15 overs.

21:00 (IST) WICKET! Henry Davids has to take the long walk back after Ashwin pushed it wide outside off stump and Davids misses it only for Dhoni to complete an easy stumping. The Titans skipper hit 52 from 44 balls. Titans 125/2 after 14 overs.

20:56 (IST) SIX! De Villiers you beauty, rocks back to flatter ball from Jadeja and hammers it deep over mid-wicket fence. De Villiers has rocketed to 43 from 19 balls. Titans 117/1 after 13 overs.

20:50 (IST) SIX! AB de Villiers, Henry Davids upping the ante big time now! After Davids hit Ravindra Jadeja's first ball of the match for four past extra cover, De Villiers went for the big slog sweep and deposits it over deep mid wicket for a massive six. Titans 100/1 after 12 overs.

20:44 (IST) Good improvisation by Henry Davids, who plays the lap scoop wide of fine-leg for four off Albie Morkel. Giving him company is AB de Villiers, who is hitting the gaps and running hard for ones and twos. Titans 72/1 after 10 overs.

20:36 (IST) SIX! Henry Davids at it again, goes after R Ashwin in his first over. Davids waits a bit before unleashing a massive heave over straight mid-wicket, with the spin, for the maximum. Titans 56/1 after 8 overs.

 

20:32 (IST) WICKET! Jacques Rudolf is run out, falls to a slight miscommunication and a brilliant work in the deep by Dwayne Bravo. Titans 46/1 after 7 overs. 

20:25 (IST) SIX! Henry Davids attacks Jason Holder and deposits it over deep mid-wicket for 6 - the first of the game.

20:13 (IST) Jacques Rudolf, who scored a double hundred on his Test debut vs Bangladesh, crunches Mohit Sharma wide of extra cover to register his first four.

20:09 (IST) Jason Holder, who is sharing the new ball with Mohit, makes a good start, gives away just two runs from his first over. Titans 10/0 after 2 overs.

20:03 (IST) Henry Davids hits the first boundary for the Titans, a push-drive through covers for four off Mohit Sharma. Titans 8/0 after 1 over.

20:00 (IST) All set for the start of the big game today. Chennai medium pacer Mohit Sharma will open the attack and Titans skipper Henry Davids takes strike.

 

Playing XIs:

CSK: Murali Vijay, Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, Dwayne Bravo, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Albie Morkel, Jason Holder, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohit Sharma.

Titans: Henry Davids, Jacques Rudolph, Heino Kuhn, Roelof van der Merwe, AB de Villiers, Farhaan Behardien, David Wiese, Mangaliso Mosehle(wicket-keeper), Morne Morkel, Marchant de Lange, Rowan Richards.

 

MS Dhoni: Feels great to be back playing after a break of two months. The groundsmen have done a good job in maintaining the pitch and the outfield. There will be lots of dew which will only increase later and bowling second should be difficult. Chris Morris, Wriddhiman Saha, Faf du Plessis and Imtiaz Ahmed miss out from playing XI.

 

Titans skipper Henry Davids: We would have decided to bowl as well, the dew will make the ball skid on. We hope to post a decent total. We have 2 spinners and they should come handy under these conditions. But pace bowlers is our the strength.

19:32 (IST) Toss time and MS Dhoni calls it correctly, Chennai Super Kings will field against Titans.

 

Match Preview

 

 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, refreshed and energised, will once again be instrumental for Chennai as they look to start on a high. Chennai and the rest of the Indian Premier League teams will be dismantled and rebuilt at the 2014 IPL auctions, and for a group that has dominated club-level Twenty20 in India, the CLT20 represents a chance at a final hurrah.

In Chennai's last outing, in the final of the IPL in May against Mumbai Indians, they ended up at the wrong end of the result following a batting collapse. It came on the back of off-field distractions, with their Team Principal, M Gurunath, alleged to have been involved in betting. For a tournament that had gone to plan up until then, it was a disastrous end, and Chennai would be determined to move on.

Titans head into the tournament on the back of an unsuccessful domestic season in which they failed to collect a single trophy. However, they are capable of springing a surprise or two, and have a squad packed with internationals, all capable of making a push for the title. Apart from Morne Morkel and AB de Villiers, Titans have Henry Davids, the captain, Farhaan Behardien, Roelof van der Merwe and Marchant de Lange in their roster, all of whom are capable of making a difference. (Read full preview)

Squads:

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (captain), Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, S Badrinath, Imtiyaz Ahmed, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohit Sharma, Michael Hussey, Dwayne Bravo, Albie Morkel, Jason Holder, Faf du Plessis, Chris Morris.

Titans: Henry Davids (captain), Heino Kuhn, David Wiese, Eden Links, Ethy Mbhalati, Rowan Richards, Mangaliso Mosehle, Cornelius de Villiers, Graeme van Buuren, Morne Morkel, Roelof van der Merwe, Marchant de Lange, Farhaan Behardien, AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph.


Fleming yearns for one last good show by CSK before 2014 auctions

Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming wants Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team to leave an ever-lasting impression on the Championship League T20 before most of the players go under hammer for fresh auctions before next edition of Indian Premier League.

"The team has prepared well and is motivated to perform well," Fleming told reporters at the JSCA stadium ahead of his team's match against Titans here on Sunday. (Read more)