Chennai grounds high flying Kolkata Knight Riders by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

---

Ground:	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Scorecard:	Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings
Player:	MS Dhoni, S Badrinath, M Vijay, JM Kemp
Event:	Indian Premier League 2009/10

---

DateLine: 17th March 2010

 

The high flying Kolkata Knight Riders were brought to earth by Chennai Super Kings which recorded a comprehensive 56-run win at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday night.

 

On a two-paced wicket, Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (66 not out) and S Badrinath (43 not out) figured in an unbroken 109-run stand for the fourth wicket which carried the wobbling Chennai team from 55 for three to a position of strength.

 

Chennai’s hopes for a dashing start evaporated quickly as Hayden played on. M Vijay still searching for the form at this level found Kolkata new ball bowlers hot to handle. He left without creating much impression. Murali Karthik varied his pace and flight cleverly to keep the run-rate in check and prised out Raina who fell trying to play the big shot early. Raina dismissal brought Dhoni and Badrinath together and two played themselves in and exploded in the latter part of the innings to flay the Kolkata attack. Kolkatans got it woefully wrong in the death overs as Dhoni used his brute strength while Badrinath improvised effectively. Angelo Mathew whose niggardly spell had kept the run-rate down was singled out for special treatment. His third over cost him 15 runs as both Dhoni and Badrinath warmed up for the task in style. Shukla bore the blunt of Dhoni bat as his over went for 17 runs. Bond last over went for 17 over as Dhoni muscled him for a six and two boundaries in his last three deliveries. Ishant Sharma’s lack of variety at the death stood out as he was clipped for a six by Badrinath and Dhoni added more insult by depositing his slower delivery to the fence with brute power.

 

If the glum faced Ganguly blamed the ordinary bowling at the death for the cause of his team’s defeat, he wasn’t wrong as the last six overs of the Chennai innings produced a whopping 83 runs as Dhoni’s pyrotechnics made the difference between a respectable total and a challenging one.

 

The Kolkatan’s run-chase got off to a disastrous start. Hodge left in the first over mistiming a pull. Tiwary, the hero of the last match, started in style smacking two boundaries from Gony but the bowler had the last laugh. The flurry of short pitched balls kept Ganguly on the leash but Saha (22), relishing the dropped chance, rode his luck to strike five boundaries as Kolkatans sought some momentum for the chase. But Balaji cleaned up Saha and then snared the dangerous Owais Shah (5) with by a good delivery to put Chennai on top. Ganguly (11) tried to break the shackles by attempting the big shot but invited disaster while trying to attack Kemp and the big South African trapped Angelo Mathew in front. The Kokaltan’s innings went into a tailspin. Dhoni brought in his spinners Ashwin and Murali who were complimented well by the top class fielding inside the circle. There weren’t any easy offering and Rohan Gavaskar looked woefully sort of class at this level. His attempted swipe off Kemp ended in a good catch in the deep. It was all over bar the shouting when Shukla swept Murali straight to the throat of Morkel at backward square leg. Murali Karthik (21) played a few streaky shots to enable Kolkatans cross the hundred mark.