Kochi Tuskers Kerala pulled off another upset as it defeated holder Chennai Super Kings by seven wickets at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here.Chasing a target of 135, reset as per the Duckworth/Lewis method, KTK was always in the race as Brendon McCullum and skipper Mahela Jayawardene kept up the required pace initially. The Kiwi batsman was severe on Albie Morkel, hoisting the bowler twice while the Sri Lankan was also in his element.
The fall of Jayawardene after putting on 39 runs for the opening wicket due to his own discretion did not in any way alter the script as the local team was given the required momentum by Parthiv Patel, who together with McCullum ensured that KTK was always ahead of the required run-rate.
Though both these batsmen fell in almost quick succession, KTK was led to its back-to-back giant-killing act by its utility players Brad Hodge and Ravindra Jadeja with 12 balls to spare.
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This was the second defeat for Dhoni's men in four matches. The decision of KTK skipper Mahela Jayawardene to insert CSK seemed to have been prompted by two factors — the win against Mumbai Indians coming while chasing and then the threat of rain that loomed large prior to the start.
Thick brown clouds had gathered above the stadium and rain seemed to be imminent any time before heavy winds luckily, albeit at least temporarily, blew away the threat.On the field, it also proved to be a wise decision too to let CSK bat first as R.P. Singh removed the dangerous Mike Hussey in the third over, caught by Parthiv Patel behind the stumps.
The Australian seemedto be a man in a hurry as he scored two well-executed boundaries off R.P. Singh in the first over before he fell, edging the medium-pacer straight into the waiting gloves of Parthiv.
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Suresh Raina joined Murali Vijay to stem the early rot as the pair added 37-runs, the bulk of which came from Vijay's bat, was graceful with his shots, sparing none of the KTK bowlers.
Two consecutive cover drives came off Vijay's blade as Thisara Perera replaced Vinay at that end; each was a gem that had the CSK supporters on their feet.
However, Perera made a good comeback in his very next over and accounted for Vijay (28) as the opener tried to turn the bowler to the leg and was plumb in front. Raina, though a bit slow and tentative to begin with, was soon his usual aggressive self in the company of S. Badrinath. The duo seemed to be in full control as it pushed the score to 65 for two before a slight drizzle drove the players off the field but not before Badrinath was dropped by Hodge off Ramesh Powar at short third-man.
Raiphy Gomez was ready to come on in place of Perera as the rain came down and it was a long wait for over an hour and thirty-five minutes before the covers were removed and the match reduced to 17-overs-a-side.
The eight overs which formed the second part of the essay was memorable for the half-century completed by Raina, his 48-run partnership with Badrinath for the third, and the final flourish of skipper M.S. Dhoni and Morkel which pushed CSK's total to 131 for four.
The Kochi bowlers applied themselves to the task of containing the rival batsmen.
Supported well by the fielders and in the end, this heart-warming display too had a big bearing in the final outcome.
Scores:
Chennai Super Kings : M. Hussey c Parthiv b R.P. Singh 8 (10b, 2x4), M. Vijay lbw b Perera 28 (18b, 6x4), S. Raina (run out) 50 (40b, 5x4, 1x6), S. Badrinath lbw b Gomez 19 (17b, 1x 4), M.S. Dhoni (not out) 14 (13b, 1x4, 1x6), A. Morkel (not out) 9 (4b, 1x6), Extras (lb-1, w-2): 3. Total (for four wkts. in 17 overs): 131.
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-48, 3-96, 4-109.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala bowling: R.P. Singh 4-0-24-1, Vinay Kumar 3-0-16-0, Perera 4-0-32-1, Powar 3-0-24-0, Gomez 2-0-20-1, Jadeja 1-0-14-0.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala(target revised to 135 in 17 overs under D/L method): B. McCullum c Morkel b Ashwin 47 (33b, 4x4, 3x6), M. Jayawardene c Anirudha b Ashwin 16 (11b, 2x4, 1x6), Parthiv c Anirudha b Bollinger 34 (26b, 4x4, 1x6), B. Hodge (not out) 19 (14b, 2x4), R. Jadeja (not out) 16 (6b, 2x6), Extras (lb-1, w-2): 3, Total (for three wkts. in 15 overs): 135.
Fall of wickets: 1-39, 2-90, 3-110.
Chennai Super Kings bowling: Morkel 2-0-17-0, Bollinger 3-0-18-1, Ashwin 4-0-31-2, Southee 3-0-38-0, Jakati 3-0-30-0.
Man-of-the-Match: B. McCullum.