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Chennai Super Kings v Pune Warriors, Chennai

Chennai hold nerve in tight game

Report By Anoop Dubey

April 20,2012

Chennai Super Kings 164 for 5 (du Plessis 58, Badrinath 57, Samuels 3-39) beat Pune Warriors 151 for 7 (Mathews 27, Kulasekara 2-10) by 13 runs

Chennai Super Kings raised their game in front of their home supporters to even the score with Pune Warriors, to whom they had lost five days ago. Warriors needed 21 off the last over, achievable by this tournament's standards, but couldn't finish the job. The Warriors had their moments with the bat but couldn't sustain their partnerships, thanks to some sharp catching and miserly death bowling by the hosts.

On a pitch with variable bounce, and the sapping humidity to deal with, it was a commendable effort by Super Kings' Faf du Plessis and S Badrinath to stage the first century opening stand of the season, 116. The surface was slow, and as a result, the openers used their feet against the seamers to get to the pitch of the ball.

Du Plessis was dropped early in his innings - albeit a tough chance - but he continued to look positive, lofting Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the second tier over long-on and then chipping down the track in a 14-run over, the costliest in the first half of the innings. He had another let-off on 40, when he went down the track to Marlon Samuels and was beaten by the low bounce, only for the wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa to fluff a stumping. Luck was on his side again the following over, when on 51, he attempted a quick single to cover, turned back and dived at the crease. The third umpire studied several replays but gave du Plessis the benefit of the doubt as he wasn't convinced that the bail was completely off the groove before he made his ground.

Badrinath vindicated the decision to replace the out-of-form M Vijay at the top by getting a fifty of his own. He was circumspect against the spinners, and didn't always find the right timing, especially with the slog. But three consecutive boundaries off Bhuvneshwar fast-tracked him to his half-century.