Champions League Twenty20, Highlights: Chennai Super Kings Stay in Race for Semis After Beating Perth
Chennai Super Kings defeated Perth Scorchers by 13 runs to stay in contention for the semi-finals. Chasing 156, Perth were restricted to 142/. Follow highlights here:
MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Ashish Nehra starred as Chennai Super Kings notched up a narrow win against the Perth Scorchers. Follow live updates and live cricket score here: ( Scorecard | Points Table)
23:10 IST: Chennai Super Kings have won by 13 runs and they keep alive their chances of a semi-final berth alive. Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers with 3/20 off four overs. Nehra picked up 2/27.
22:58 IST: WICKET! Turner is run out and the curtains are almost down on Perth, who are 123/6 off 18 overs, chasing 156 vs Chennai Super Kings.
22:35 IST: WICKET! It's another one down; Perth have lost half their side as Nehra picks up his second, seeing off Adam Voges for 27. The Scorchers are 73/5 off 12.3 overs and are in desperate need of a blistering knock down the order.
22:30 IST: WICKET! Third scalp for Ashwin as he snares Whiteman for 5; Perth are in all sorts of trouble, chasing 156 vs Chennai. The Aussies are 68/4 off 11.3 overs, chasing 156.
22:20 IST: WICKET! But Marsh is unable to capitalise as he holds out in the deep off the bowling of Ashwin, who has picked up his second wicket of the match. Perth 55/3 off 10 overs.
22:14 IST: Hastings had Marsh caught by Dhoni BUT it's a front-foot no-ball. What a moment in the game. Marsh gets a free-hit.
22:12 IST: John Hastings has replaced Mohit Sharma in the attack. Perth are struggling and they are well beyond the required rate but with Mitch Marsh still in the middle, anything is possible.
22:07 IST: Chennai have knocked off two dangerous batsmen but they cannot afford to relax yet with Mitchell Marsh at the crease. His unbeaten 40 off 26 balls against the Dolphins gave the Scorchers a sensational win a few days back. Dhoni & Co. have to watch out for Junior Marsh here.
21:56 IST: WICKET! R Ashwin has joined the party for the Super Kings; he has removed the dangerous Ashton Agar for four as Perth slip to 26/2 off four overs.
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21:49 IST: WICKET! Nehra has struck early again as CJ Simmons departs for 13. Perth 18/1 off 2.4 overs chasing 156 vs Chennai Super Kings.
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21:26 IST: That's a massive score in these conditions. Chennai finish with 155/6 in their 20 overs, thanks to late-order cameos from Jadeja (44 not out) and Dhoni (35).
21:21 IST: WICKET! MS Dhoni falls for 35 off 16 balls and that's a great effort for the Super Kings.
21:18 IST: Dhoni smashes three successive sixes off Yasir Arafat as Chennai race away to 142/5 off 19 overs. This is some serious aggression from the Chennai captain at the back-end of the innings.
21:11 IST: Dhoni and Jadeja have started fighting back for Chennai Super Kings with a brisk stand for the sixth wicket. CSK 118/5 off 18 overs.
21:04 IST: SIX! Dhoni carts Yasir Arafat for a huge one as Chennai seek to up the ante against Perth. This is good, aggressive batting from the skipper, who has decided it is time to explode.
20:58 IST: WICKET! Poor batting by Chennai so far and it gets worse as Bravo falls to Turner for 27. CSK are 79/5 in 14.3 overs after being asked to bat by CSK.
20:54 IST: Both Jadeja and Bravo, two of the cleanest striker of the ball in world cricket, are all at sea against a 43-year-old left-arm spinner. Brad Hogg is still a master. CSK 69/4 off 14 overs.
20:45 IST: WICKET! Brad Hogg strikes to remove Mithun Manhas, who had taken some time for his 18 and CSK are 56/4 off 11.1 overs vs Perth.
20:43 IST: CSK have to get a move-on somehow. After 11 overs, they are 56/3 and time is running out quickly.
20:36 IST: Dwayne Smith needs to play a big innings here; then there are the likes of Dhoni and Jadeja to follow and Chennai can still hope for a big total.
20:28 IST: WICKET! Another big one down for the Super Kings. Yasir Arafat has snared Dwayne Smith for 11 and CSK are reeling at 33/3 in 5.3 overs. This is a great effort from Perth Scorchers first up.
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20:19 IST: Chennai 23/2 after four overs with Mithun Manhas and Smith in the middle. Perth will be fancying their chances of restricting the star-studded Super Kings to a modest total.
20:16 IST: WICKET! This is disaster for Chennai Super Kings as Suresh Raina is run out for 1. Chennai 16/2 off 2.5 overs after being asked to bat by Perth.
20:12 IST: WICKET! Big blow for CSK, who have lost birthday boy Brendon McCullum for 11 to Paris. Chennai Super Kings are 15/1 off 2.3 overs as Suresh Raina joins Dwayne Smith in the middle.
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20:04 IST: Chennai openers Smith and McCullum will look to get off to a quick start here; they are 9/0 after the first over.
19:53 IST: This is going to be an exciting clash between two very good sides. Chennai are missing the explosive Faf du Plessis due to illness and that is a bit of a blow for them but the IPL side have enough firepower to put up a big total on the board.
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19:35 IST: Perth Scorechers won the toss and elected to bowl against Chennai Super Kings in a must-win game for both sides. Two changes for CSK; while John Hastings replaces an unwell Faf du Plessis, Mithun Manhas has come in for Ishwar Pandey. Perth have brought in Michael Beer as an extra spinner.
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Left disappointed after their Group A match of the Champions League Twenty20 was washed off without a single ball being bowled against Lahore Lions, Chennai Super Kings would be looking to shut out Perth Scorchers on Saturday to book their last-four spot.
The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team stays on second spot with six points in three games, after getting two from Thursday's match, while Lahore had registered their first points on board after losing their opening encounter to table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders.
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Skipper MS Dhoni's Life to be made into a movie
A special treat awaits fans of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. A biopic on the life of the cricketer is all set for a 2015 release with actor Sushant Singh Rajput playing the lead role. The first poster of the film was tweeted by Dhoni's wife Sakshi.
An excited Sakshi took to Twitter to share the first poster of the film MS Dhoni - The Untold Story. "Clearing out all those rumours being carried out past few days.It was all false.. Here you go ....BOOM !!!" she wrote on the micro-blogging site. The tweet received a good response from her followers - a clear sign that fans of the Indian cricket captain can't wait to see his life on the big screen.
Can Chennai Exploit 'Home' Advantage?
Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming said his team team would like to play good cricket to get into the semifinals of Champions League T20 and added that it looked to take maximum advantage of playing at one venue instead of travelling across the country.
"Being in one place is an advantage. You are usually travelling and bouncing all over the country, but we need to make most of this advantage," he told reporters at the pre-match press conference at the Chinnaswamy stadium here.