Ohja sets up Rajathan’s fourth consecutive win. by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Ground:	Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Scorecard:	Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings
Player:	SB Jakati, MTT Mirando, JA Morkel, NV Ojha
Event:	Indian Premier League 2009/10

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DateLine: 28th March 2010

 

Naman Ojha is a man with few words but at the Motera his bat did all the talking as Rajasthan Royals rode on his brilliant knock of 80 to floor Chennai Super Kings in the DLF IPL3 here on Sunday night.

 

Rajasthan Royals showed a lot of character to record their fourth consecutive win in the league.Ojha, who had regularly failed to convert his starts in the tournament, scored his first half-century of the tournament as Rajasthan Royals made a competitive total. Chennai messed up their chase and after two crucial runs outs didn’t also help their cause. Yusuf Pathan, failed with the bat but made amends with the ball and with his electric fielding. Pathan removed the danergous Mathew Hayden to a brilliant one-handed return catch to push the Chennai Super Kings on the backfoot and later ran out Murali Vijay when the batsman was looking dangerous. On a pitch which offered turn and bounce to the spinners, Rajasthan bowlers choked the flow of runs. Siddharth Trivedi bowled an inspired spell and used the change of pace well to flummox the batsmen. After Hayden’s departure, Murali Vijay threatened for a while and biffed 24 runs off an over from Narwal. Chennai appeared to be cruising at 75 for one when disaster struck. Murali couldn’t beat a Pathan’s throw from square leg and in the next over Warne bowled Raina to derail the Chennai chase.

 

Badrinath and Dhoni struggled as Trivedi and Warne were hard to get away and the run-rate climbed. The Chennai skipper appeared to have broken the shackles when he dispatched Trivedi for a four but ran-himself out in the next over when he collided with his partner Badrinath while taking a second run. Morkel struck Warne nonchalantly for three sixes to take 20 runs from the bowler’s last over to set up an intriguing finish. But Shaun Tait returning for his second spell had Badri caught hooking a short ball. Tait then had Morkel caught by Fazal at mid-wicket off another bounce to snuff out the chase.

 

Earlier, Rajasthan Royals got off to a flyer. Lumb and Ojha flayed the Chennai attack. The attack was so savage that Dhoni had to bring in Muralitharan in the third over. Lumb was severe on Morkel as the medium pacer leaked runs. The opening pair had added 47 in just four overs when Lumb was dismissed for 30.Ojha settled down and played audacious strokes. He was comfortable against both pace and spin and picked up the length quickly to score runs. He chose the arch between mid-wicket and long on to score majority of runs. Left-arm spinner Jakati struck twice in succession to dismiss Fazal and Yusuf Pathan to slow the proceedings. Morkel and Thushara bowled quite well in their second spells. Ojha fell trying to force the pace and the innings lost the momentuem. Wickets fell in a hurry including three in the last over bowled by Thushara as Chennai did well to restrict Rajasthan to 177 for eight.