One of the things that MS Dhoni brings to the table is an attitude. Hard to define in one word, on a cricket field, it can loosely translate into a never-say-die spirit added with a dash of swagger. He has successfully imparted this important ingredient to the squads that he leads — be it Team India or Chennai Super Kings.
So what if CSK huffed and puffed their way to a hardly awe-inspiring 142 for seven in 20 overs after winning the toss in their semifinal encounter against Deccan Chargers? When they came on to bowl, it seemed as if there was only one team on the field.
The fact that they swept aside the defending champions by 38 runs at the DY Patil Stadium and set up a mouthwatering title clash against Mumbai Indians on Sunday is not the point. The point is they did with a swagger!
Two things happened simultaneously under lights in Navi Mumbai on Thursday. After restricting CSK’s powerful batting line-up to a modest total, the defending champions made the mistake of taking things too cautiously. While CSK bowlers bowled a tight line and the fielders threw themselves all around the park, DC openers Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs allowed the bowlers to dominate, scoring just 2 runs in the first two overs.
Though DC didn’t lose a wicket in the first five overs, they only had 19 runs on the board, allowing the asking rate to touch almost nine and that too when the target was a measly 143.
From thereon it was one mighty struggle for Adam Gilchrist and his men. Be it Doug Bollinger (4/13), R Ashwin (1/14) or Shadab Jakati (2/44), they bowled as if there was no tomorrow. Suresh Raina, CSK’s highest run-scorer so far in IPL 3, failed on Thursday with the bat, but he more than made up for it with his fielding. He was a livewire on the night, not letting even a fly past him!
And Raina is just one example. Ashwin and Bollinger, as similar as chalk and cheese, have been CSK’s top two bowlers in IPL 3. They showed again why.
Bollinger, who was instrumental in removing dangerman Gilchrist and in-form T Suman in the same over, was almost unplayable at times. No wonder he finished with four deserving wickets at the end.
At no stage did DC give the impression that they want to make a match of it. Their highest scorer was Andrew Symonds with a princely score of 23 off 22 balls, and that perhaps tells the story.
Earlier CSK reached 142/7. S Badrinath was the highest scorer with 37 and S Anirudha (24 off 15) hit a few lusty blows towards the end to perk up the total past the 140-mark. In the end, though, it was 38 runs too many. The Super Sunday promises to be an engrossing one.
