CLT20 Highlights: Chennai Super Kings Thrash Dolphins by 54 Runs to Gain First Points
After losing their opening game to Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings got their first points in the Champions League Twenty20 against Dolphins in Bangalore.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men erased memories of their loss to Indian Premier League Champions Kolkata Knight Riders, by beating South African side Dolphins. Catch all the highlights here (SCORECARD):
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23:46 (IST): Dhoni is all praise for his team's all-round display though feels the bowling needs to improve.
"We batted really well, the wicket remained quite the same, credit to Raina and McCullum for a great start, it was important to utilize all our resources so we went really hard. With out bowling struggling slightly it was important to get those 15-20 extra runs, even if we go down trying to get those runs. If you want to win tournaments you have to come up with better performances, our batsmen won't score 240 every time." Dhoni was pretty scathing on his bowlers there," he said.
Raina is the player of the match and he was happy with the way the tournament is shaping up for Chennai.
"When you have Smith and Baz, if there's a good start then you can play positively. It's a good start for us, looking forward to carrying on from here," he said.
23:24 (IST): It's all over. Mohit gets the final wicket with the last ball of the innings and Chennai have won by 54 runs to record their first points in the tournament.
23:09 (IST): So Chennai on the verge of wrapping it up. Dolphins 165/9 in 17.5 overs, Target: 243.
22:59 (IST): While the run rate has been good from Dolphins, Chennai have taken wickets at crucial moments to leave them hanging. Dolphins 152/8 in 16.1 overs, Target: 243.
22:51 (IST): Dolphins fall apart as they are struggling at 139/7 in 14.1 overs chasing 243.
22:47 (IST): WICKET! Jaarsveld departs for 30 and Bravo has his second. Dolphins 138/5 in 13.2 overs, Target: 243.
22:44 (IST): The match is pretty well poised with Dolphins needing 105 off 42 balls with 6 wickets in hand. Dolphins 138/4 in 13 overs, Target: 243.
22:35 (IST): WICKET! Chetty is gone for 37 and Chennai are back in it now. Dolphins 115/4 in 10.2 overs, Target: 243.
22:23 (IST): WICKET! Maharaj is bowled by Mohit and Dolphins lose their third. Dolphins 90/3 in 7 overs, Target: 243.
22:16 (IST): Runs coming thick and fast for Dolphins. Dolphins 85/2 in 6 overs, Target: 243.
22:06 (IST): WICKET! Delport is bowled for 34 by Mohit. Dolphins 56/2 in 3 overs, Target: 243.
21:58 (IST): WICKET! Ashwin gets Van Wyk trapped lbw and Chennai strike. Chennai 34/1 in 1.4 overs, Target: 243.
21:54 (IST): Nehra's first over goes for 20 runs. Dolphins 20/0 in 1 over, Target: 243.
21:50 (IST): Nehra bowling the opening over for Chennai as Dolphins face a daunting chase.
21:41 (IST): So Jadeja's 40 not out off 14 balls takes Chennai to 242/6. A big ask for Dolphins.
21:32 (IST): Jadeja ensuring that Chennai get a huge score. Chennai 237/6 in 19 overs.
21:26 (IST): Bravo falls trying to force the pace but the damage is done. Chennai 222/6 in 17.5 overs.
21:21 (IST): The 17th over costs 24 runs as Jadeja hits three sixes and one four. Chennai 214/5 in 17 overs.
21:17 (IST): WICKET! Du Plessis' cameo comes to an end on 30. Chennai 190/5 in 16 overs.
21:11 (IST): WICKET! Dhoni is out for a duck. Chennai 174/4 in 15 overs.
21:06 (IST): WICKET! Raina is out for 90 off 43 balls. Chennai 164/3 in 14.2 overs.
20:56 (IST): Raina setting his sights on a hundred as Chennai propel ahead. Chennai 151/2 in 13 overs.
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20:53 (IST): Chennai are well set for a big score as Raina looks in a punishing mood. Chennai 140/2 in 12 overs.
20:48 (IST): Raina reaches his fifty off 27 balls with a huge six. Chennai 117/2 in 10.2 overs.
20:44 (IST): WICKET! McCullum is gone for 49 and Dolphins get some relief. Chennai 99/2 in 8.2 overs.
20:33 (IST): Any hopes of Dolphins getting in a quiet over after the powerplay have been dampened as the 7th over is carted away for 19 runs. Chennai 89/1 in 7 overs.
20:23 (IST): Dolphins have no clue what hit them as Chennai are scoring at a brisk pace. Chennai 65/1 in 5 overs.
20:14 (IST): McCullum really tearing into the Dolphins bowling and smashing 16 runs in the 3rd over. Chennai 30/1 in 3 overs.
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20:04 (IST): WICKET! Smith hits a six and tries to repeat the shot but this time Zondo takes a good diving catch. Maharaj gets a wicket in the first over. Chennai 8/1 in 0.5 overs.
20:01 (IST): Maharaj starts the proceedings for Dolphins and Smith picks up a single off the first ball.
19:44 (IST): In a very rare occasion, both the captains are also the wicketkeepers of their respective teams.
19:40 (IST): Here are the teams for the match:
Chennai: DR Smith, BB McCullum, SK Raina, F du Plessis, MS Dhoni(wicketkeeper and capatain), DJ Bravo, RA Jadeja, R Ashwin, A Nehra, IC Pandey, MM Sharma
Dolphins: MN van Wyk (wicketkeeper and captains), CS Delport, C Chetty, KA Maharaj, K Zondo, D Smit, VB van Jaarsveld, AL Phehlukwayo, R Frylinck, KJ Abbott, CJ Alexander
19:35 (IST): Dophins have won the toss and they will bowl first.
TAG OF FAVOURITES
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Without a point in their respective opening matches, Chennai Super Kings and South African champions Dolphins will be keen to get their campaigns going when they face each other here under lights Monday in a Group A game of the Champions League Twenty20.
Coincidentally, both the teams lost matches from seemingly winning positions as the Super Kings were let down by their bowlers at the death which allowed Kolkata Knight Riders to scramble home by three wickets in Hyderabad, while Dolphins conceded two sixes off the last two deliveries and lost to Perth Scorchers by six wickets at Mohali.
Super Kings might be suffering from embarrassment of riches in their batting that fetched them two Indian Premier League (IPL) crowns besides a Champions League T20 title but as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has repeatedly said, it is their bowling at the death that has been cause for concern.
As for Dolphins, their chances on Monday would depend much on how fast they recover from the body-blows they suffered at Mohali where paceman Robbie Frylinck sinned by sending down two full tosses that were smashed for sixes by Mitchell Marsh in the final over. (Read: Chennai Super Kings Start Favourites Against Dolphins)
DHONI 'REVOLTS' FOR BIRYANI
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In a rare show of 'anger', Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his Chennai Super Kings teammates reportedly walked out of a five-star hotel in Hyderabad on Wednesday because they were refused from eating home-cooked biryani sent by Team India team-mate Ambati Rayudu, who is a local lad.
The incident happened soon after Chennai Super Kings lost their Champions League Twenty20 opener against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
The sudden change in hotels caught the security off-guard, but Dhoni was adamant, said the report. Tournament officials said about 180 rooms were booked for the Champions League Twenty20 at Grand Kakatiya. The rooms had been cleared by security officials. (Read: Denied Home-Cooked Biryani, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and CSK Storm Out of Hyderabad Hotel: Reports)
NEHRA'S BITTERNESS
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Out-of-favour with the national selectors, Ashish Nehra produced a sensational spell of pace bowling for Chennai Super Kings, albeit in a Champions League Twenty20 losing cause against Kolkata Knight Riders, and then hit out at critics for always highlighting his injuries.
Nehra, now 35, had made his international debut in 1999 amid promises of a long and successful career. However, frequent injuries and dip in form did not allow him to play more than 120 ODIs and 17 Test matches. (Read: People Have Always Overreacted to my Injuries, Says a Bitter Ashish Nehra)
STUNNED IN OPENER
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Andre Russell smashed a breathtaking half-century while Ryan ten Doeschate struck a fine unbeaten 51 to guide IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders to a seven-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in a Group A match of the Champions League Twenty20.
Chasing a competitive 158 for a win, KKR were in trouble after slumping to 51 for five inside 10 overs.
However, Russell (58 off 25) and ten Doeschate shared match-winning 80 runs for the sixth wicket off just 42 balls to keep KKR afloat.
After Russell's dismissal, ten Doeshchate took the onus on himself to guide KKR home and managed to achieve that with six balls to spare.
KKR's chase, however, started on a horrendous note as they lost their first four wickets inside the 30-run mark.
Left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra (4/21) was the wrecker-in-chief for KKR. He accounted for the wickets of KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir, Manish Pandey and Manvinder Bisla in quick succession to rattle CSK. (Read: Andre Russell, Ryan ten Doeschate Ensure Winning Start for Kolkata Knight Riders)
DOLPHINS 'HOOKED' BY MARSH
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The immensely talented Mitchell Marsh hit successive sixes off the last two deliveries as Perth Scorchers from Australia beat South Africa's Dolphins by six wickets in a group league match of the Champions League T20.
Needing 12 off the last two deliveries, Marsh dispatched seamer Robbie Frylinck over deep mid-wicket and long-on to successfully chase down a target of 165 set up by the Dolphins.
Ther final six sparked off wild celebrations as it turned out to be a disappointing end for the unfancied Dolphins, who were favourites till the final two deliveries of the match.
It was ironical that Frylinck, who himself while batting hit two sixes off Yasir Arafat during the last over of the Dolphins innings, couldn't defend those two big hits, when he came on to bowl the final over in the Scorchers innings.
Predictably, Marsh was awarded man-of-the-match award for his 40 off 26 balls with three fours and two sixes. (Read: Mitchell Marsh Wins Thriller for Perth Scorchers)