Dwayne Bravo (46, 25b, 3x4, 2x6) allowed for the restoration of normalcy as Chennai Super Kings registered a four-wicket win over Cape Cobras to get its first points in the Champions League T20 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, here on Wednesday.
The home team needed 23 runs off 12 balls, when Steyn came on to bowl his last over. Albie Morkel took a single off the second ball, and then in a savage sequence that yielded 6-4-4-2, Man-of-the-match Bravo destroyed Cobras' aspirations of vanquishing the lion in its own den.
The six runs required from the last over, bowled by Charl Langeveldt, were dispensed with off just four balls, as Super Kings chased down 145 with two balls to spare.
Regular setbacks
The host was set back repeatedly by the loss of regular wickets to off-spinner J.P. Duminy (four for 20). It reached 40 for no loss in just under five overs, when Justin Kemp at short cover held a tough chance offered by M. Vijay to draw first blood.
Michael Hussey cruised along for 29 before charging Duminy, only to be beaten and stumped. Soon, off-spin prevailed from both ends with Duminy and Justin Ontong plying their trade.
Super Kings had barely crossed 50 when Duminy picked up another wicket (S. Badrinath sought to clear extra cover, failed to garner the necessary elevation, and was caught at short cover by Owais Shah) to leave the host three down.
Duminy wasn't finished just yet. Just when Super Kings was resurrecting its chase, the off-spinner clinched two more — Wriddhiman Saha and Suresh Raina — in the 12th over, to leave the home team stuttering on 77 for five. M.S. Dhoni was dropped by Duminy in the 17th over, bowled by Steyn, but Bravo blasted a six over extra cover off the first ball of the 16th to relieve the pressure.
Dhoni played on to Philander in the same over, leaving his team 26 to get off 14 balls, which Bravo single-handedly took care of with a brutal assault on Steyn.
Implosion
Earlier, Cobras, having elected to bat, committed suicide from what had appeared to be a reasonable launching pad.
The visitor was sitting pretty on 124 for three in 16 overs — Owais Shah and Duminy in the middle — before a cascade of wickets brought it to a screeching halt.
After R. Ashwin, coming on in the second over of Cobras' innings, had trapped Richard Levi lbw off his first ball, Gibbs followed suit when his attempted pull off Doug Bollinger lobbed up to Michael Hussey at mid-on.
Cobras was 48 for two at the end of the Power Play, before Dane Vilas was hoodwinked by a Dwayne Bravo slow ball that disturbed the furniture, leaving the stage clear for Shah and Duminy. The two added 57 off 43 balls for the fourth wicket.
Morkel strikes
In the 16th over, left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati dropped Duminy's leading edge off his own bowling when the batsman was on 28, but the lapse did not prove costly as Albie Morkel bowled a potentially game-changing over — the 17th of the innings — that saw Cobras lose both well-set batsmen with just five added to the total.
Morkel first removed Duminy (the batsman went for glory and his leading edge was taken stunningly by Jakati running backwards from short fine-leg) and two balls later brought to a halt Shah's neat little 45 (38b, 3x4, 1x6).
The Englishman, looking to flick through the onside, hit it straight into mid-wicket's hands.
The next over, bowled by Bollinger, solidified Chennai's position: four runs conceded and another wicket pouched when Ontong's pull culminated in a costly top-edge, taken comfortably by Raina at point.
More distress awaited Cobras. In the penultimate over, Bravo forced one through Peterson, whose failed slog-sweep cost him his stumps. Cobras could muster just 21 runs in the last four overs and lost four wickets in the bargain.
The scores:
Cape Cobras: R. Levi lbw b Ashwin 6 (4b, 1x4) , H. Gibbs c Hussey b Bollinger 18 (14b, 3x4) , D. Vilas b Bravo 18 (19b, 1x4, 1x6) , O. Shah c Hussey b Morkel 45 (38b, 3x4, 1x6) , J.P. Duminy c Jakati b Morkel 29 (24b, 2x4, 1x6) , J. Ontong c Raina b Bollinger 3 (4b) , J. Kemp (not out) 5 (9b) , R. Peterson b Bravo 5 (5b, 1x4) , V. Philander (not out) 2 (3b) ; Extras (b-1, lb-4, w-9): 14; Total (for seven wkts. in 20 overs): 145.
Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-35, 3-67, 4-124, 5-126, 6-133, 7-140.
CSK bowling: Morkel 3-0-26-2, Ashwin 4-0-26-1, Bollinger 4-0-25-2, Bravo 4-0-23-2, Jakati 3-0-21-0, Raina 2-0-19-0.
Chennai Super Kings: M. Hussey st. Vilas b Duminy 29 (24b, 4x4, 1x6) , M. Vijay c Kemp b Philander 14 (10b, 2x4) , S. Raina c & b Duminy 20 (23b, 1x4) , S. Badrinath c Shah b Duminy 2 (6b) , W. Saha c Peterson b Duminy 6 (8b) , M.S. Dhoni b Philander 15 (17b) , D. Bravo (not out) 46 (25b, 3x4, 2x6) , A. Morkel (not out) 6 (5b) ; Extras (lb-2, w-6): 8; Total (for six wkts. in 19.4 overs): 146.
Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-47, 3-53, 4-76, 5-77, 6-120.
Cape Cobras bowling: Steyn 4-0-29-0, Langeveldt 1.4-0-21-0, Peterson 2-0-14-0, Philander 4-0-36-2, Duminy 4-0-20-4, Ontong 3-0-15-0, Kemp 1-0-9-0.
