Michael Hussey took Chennai Super Kings to another home victory, hitting the winning runs and recreating a picture that fans over the years have become quite used to.
Declared Man-of-the-Match for his unbeaten 79, the southpaw later said that it was left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati's unlikely caught and bowled of Shane Watson that turned the match.
“There's nothing like hitting the winning runs, whether it's for Australia or Chennai Super Kings, and it's a great feeling. But it was Watson's dismissal that did it for us. He was looking good and we know how destructive he can be even when the field is spread. Although Watson creamed it, Jakati managed to hold on,” Hussey said.
Chennai's increasingly impressive home ground record, Hussey said, was something that visiting teams would find hard to tarnish.
“It's tough to play here if one is not used to the conditions. You can't just have a one-off match here and expect to do well. Our spinners have regularly pulled back and tied down the opposition and that's been the key to our success. But we're not taking it easy. There are a few games coming up and we have to continue playing as best as we can.”
Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne said his team had finished 15 runs short of what would have been a testing total for Chennai. Super Kings chased down Royals' 147 with eight balls to spare, upping its home record to five wins in five matches this season, but Warne said the story might have been different had the last 10 overs of Royals' innings yielded at least as much as the first.
“I thought we were 15-20 runs short. We lost it after (Rahul) Dravid and Shane (Watson) had got us off to a great start. Jakati's caught and bowled of Watson was the turning point. After that the batsmen took too much time to get in and there were just too many dot balls,” Warne said.
The leg-spinning great said that Chennai had a great chance to go deep in the tournament, since the play-offs and final were to be held at its home ground.
“Everybody, except possibly Deccan Chargers, does well at home. If Chennai does get to the final it has an unbelievable home ground advantage, but all that was known before the scheduling happened. It's always good to bowl on this track because of the spin it takes, and Chennai is pretty strong in that department,” Warne added.
