It's time for us Chennaiites to ditch the blue and don the yellow, for the mother of extravagant cricket carnivals is here! The IPL began yesterday in style - at Chepauk, not far from my own residence, the spectatators were treated to music, dances including SRK dancing to Tamil tunes and a final-over thriller.
CSK did not get off to the perfect start, not in the least. Murali Vijay hit one to the boundary and attempted one more, only for the ball to be pouched by a Knight. Raina came and stabilized the game, creating a partnership with Aniruddha Srikkanth before departing. Dhoni came in ahead of Badrinath, Styris and Morkel. He played a cameo, scoring off boundaries and left after a to edge was caught by the keeper. Styris came and left, and Morkel arrived to take the score past 150.
Knight Riders needed 154, which is not too challenging when you have players like Gambhir, Kallis and Yusuf Pathan in the line-up. They started off well, punishing Morkel and Southee. Dhoni stumped Bisla, only to have Yusuf come out. He hit one in the stands before being run out for just 11. Surprise man Tiwary walked out ahead of Gambhir and Morgan. Kallis got his fifty before being caught at short fine leg. Again, Gambhir's entry was delayed as Morgan entered. Raina dismissed him cheaply and Gambhir came on to the field, finally. KKR still had the advantage.
But when the skipper exited after scoring just one, the match looked like it had turned. They required 33 from three overs, nothing is impossible in T20. The penultimate over was expensive, and the visitors needed 9 off the last over, not too hard at all. Southee came along and bowled three yorkers off the final three balls to seal the game for the hosts. Needing four off the final delivery, Bhatia hit a single. And CSK had not embarrassed themselves by way of opening with a loss.
Dhoni already holds the World Cup, IPL, Champions League and No. 1 Test Team. He'll be looking to play like this and do the first ever IPL two-in-a-row.
Whistle podu!
CSK did not get off to the perfect start, not in the least. Murali Vijay hit one to the boundary and attempted one more, only for the ball to be pouched by a Knight. Raina came and stabilized the game, creating a partnership with Aniruddha Srikkanth before departing. Dhoni came in ahead of Badrinath, Styris and Morkel. He played a cameo, scoring off boundaries and left after a to edge was caught by the keeper. Styris came and left, and Morkel arrived to take the score past 150.
Knight Riders needed 154, which is not too challenging when you have players like Gambhir, Kallis and Yusuf Pathan in the line-up. They started off well, punishing Morkel and Southee. Dhoni stumped Bisla, only to have Yusuf come out. He hit one in the stands before being run out for just 11. Surprise man Tiwary walked out ahead of Gambhir and Morgan. Kallis got his fifty before being caught at short fine leg. Again, Gambhir's entry was delayed as Morgan entered. Raina dismissed him cheaply and Gambhir came on to the field, finally. KKR still had the advantage.
But when the skipper exited after scoring just one, the match looked like it had turned. They required 33 from three overs, nothing is impossible in T20. The penultimate over was expensive, and the visitors needed 9 off the last over, not too hard at all. Southee came along and bowled three yorkers off the final three balls to seal the game for the hosts. Needing four off the final delivery, Bhatia hit a single. And CSK had not embarrassed themselves by way of opening with a loss.
Dhoni already holds the World Cup, IPL, Champions League and No. 1 Test Team. He'll be looking to play like this and do the first ever IPL two-in-a-row.
Whistle podu!
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