Resurgent England bounce India out

England 153 for 7 (Pietersen 46, Harbhajan 3-30, Jadeja 2-26) beat India 150 for 5 (Pathan 33*, Sidebottom 2-31, Swann 2-28) by three runs

'You're not Singh-ing anymore,' chanted some English fans, and India certainly weren't as they were dumped out of the competition that they won two years ago, with one Super-Eight game still to be played. With Lord's bathed in brilliant sunshine, a capacity crowd watched as England held their nerve for a three-run victory which ensured that new champions would be crowned on June 21. Around half of them would have gone home happy. Kevin Pietersen shared a 71-run partnership with Ravi Bopara, before Ryan Sidebottom and Graeme Swann picked up two wickets apiece to derail India's chase. MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan added 63 from six overs at the end as the game wound to a frenetic finish, but India had simply left themselves with too much to do.

The turning point was the dismissal of Yuvraj Singh, superbly stumped by James Foster as he reached out to drive Swann. Yuvraj had smashed 17 - including two sixes - from eight balls prior to that, but Foster's quicksilver glovework ensured that India were left a Snowdon-sized peak to climb without their most explosive batsman. They whittled it down to 19 from Sidebottom's final over, but though Yusuf clubbed the fourth ball for a straight six to induce palpitations amongst the English support, a single off the next ball sealed India's fate.

Much of the credit needs to go to Pietersen, who came to the crease after Luke Wright had ballooned a pull to short fine leg. With Bopara rotating the strike, the runs didn't come in a torrent but they came steadily enough. There were some eye-catching strokes too. Bopara played a stunning pull for four off RP Singh, while Pietersen said hello to Ishant Sharma with a contemptuous flick for four over midwicket. When Ishant followed up with a short delivery, Bopara deposited him into the stands behind square leg.

With Pietersen then smearing RP down the ground for four, 40 came from the six overs of Powerplay. The entry of Yuvraj, who made a habit of dismissing Pietersen in India last winter, gave India no respite, as 20 came from his two overs. The cause wasn't helped by some poor fielding on the rope from Zaheer and a general air of listlessness. Harbhajan Singh managed to rein in the scoring rate, but by halfway, England had 71 on the board and nine wickets in hand.

The complexion of the game changed with the introduction of Jadeja right after. Bopara was bowled going for the cut after a run-a-ball 37. Pietersen continued to scamper between the wickets with real energy, and when he hit a massive six over midwicket off Jadeja in his next over, England seemed poised for a late onslaught.

It proved a bit of a false dawn though. The next ball arrowed into his pads, ending a 27-ball knock of 46, and Dimitri Mascarenhas and Owais Shah weren't quite Pietersen's match in the big-hitting stakes. Though Ishant proved expensive, Jadeja went through his spell for 26, and Harbhajan chipped in with the wicket of Shah to further stymie progress.

The final flourish never came. Paul Collingwood clipped Zaheer Khan for one four, but was then leg before trying to be too cute. And with Harbhajan picking up both Foster and Swann in the final over, it took five wides to take England beyond 150.

It was one of those in-between totals, and India's hopes took a hit early when Rohit Sharma played on while attempting a pull. By then, the English method was obvious, with nearly half the deliveries dropped short and directed at the body. And when Suresh Raina miscued a hook of Sidebottom minutes later, the tactics were further vindicated.

What followed effectively basted the Indian goose and put it in the tandoor. Neither Gautam Gambhir nor Jadeja could seize the initiative, and by the time Gambhir paddled Mascarenhas to short fine leg, the 38-run partnership had taken seven overs. Yuvraj tried to inject some life into the innings, and there was a late flurry from the impressive Yusuf, but it was all a bit too late.

Two years ago, Indian fans taunted Misbah-ul-Haq with chants of "Miss-ba five runs". On Sunday, it was their team that fell three short. No Singh-ing, no glory. Just time to go home, after playing the next game - against South Africa - for formalities' sake.

All-round Bravo floors defending champions

West Indies 156 for 3 (Bravo 66*, Simmons 44) beat India 153 for 7 (Yuvraj 67, Yusuf 31, Bravo 4-38, Edwards 3-24) by seven wickets

An under-tested India ran into a red-hot West Indies, who didn't even need a significant contribution from Chris Gayle during a tense chase. Dwayne Bravo was his usual top-dawg self today, taking four wickets to keep India down and then resurrecting the chase after a subdued Gayle had got out early, with an innings that was both aesthetic and cruel.

By the time Bravo came out to bat, India had made a smart start to their defence of a fighting 151. After Zaheer Khan went for two boundaries in the first over, MS Dhoni chose to give Gayle no pace. Three of the Powerplay overs were bowled by spinners, and two by Irfan Pathan who didn't come on to the bat either. Harbhajan Singh, especially, fast-tracked Gayle's downfall, bowling a maiden to him to finish the Powerplays. Gayle had reached 20 off 23, after which frustration got the better of him, and he top-edged Yusuf Pathan, who had done well to keep him quiet in his first two overs.

Quietly, though, No. 3 Lendl Simmons, who had earlier taken a blinder, had quietly played himself in. And just when it seemed West Indies were out of it, having got off to a slow start, Bravo changed the pace of the game. With Bravo came more intent in the running and odd boundaries that kept West Indies with the rate. His batting was a treat for the eye. He often went inside-out to the spinners, stepping out and clearing extra cover in one fluid motion.

Pragyan Ojha, who was kept back until Gayle got out, got the treatment in the ninth over, and Yusuf was late-cut just as effectively in the 10th. There was nothing frenetic about this partnership, no undue risks or big hitting, even as the required run-rate stayed around nine and 10. It was almost as if they knew something that others didn't. When Bravo drove Harbhajan over extra cover in the 12th over, followed by more good running, West Indies had reached 80, and the target looked within reach.

When Dhoni brought back his fast bowlers, it was Simmons' turn to pick up the pace, as boundaries in the next two overs kept West Indies abreast. With the second four, a vicious pull off Ishant Sharma, Simmons moved into the 40s, almost unnoticed. When Ojha got Simmons for 43 in the next over, West Indies still needed 54 off 33. But it was also the time Bravo found another gear. The next ball he lofted for a six down the ground, ensuring there was no break in the momentum. Harbhajan bowled a tight next over, after which West Indies were left needing 39 off 24.

Even that couldn't get anything rash out of Bravo, who kept hitting straight, or over extra cover. With Shivnarine Chanderpaul joining in and hitting unorthodox shots like only he can, it became a stroll towards the end. Quite fittingly, Bravo ended it with a six off Zaheer Khan, over extra cover, elbow high for the pose.

West Indies shouldn't have been chasing 154 in the first place. Like the one against Australia, even this win was originally set up by fast bowlers relishing the lively conditions. But unlike then, their bowling was backed up by solid fielding today, but for just one lapse. It was that dropped chance off Yuvraj Singh, when he was 32 off 27, that made the game close.

This time it was Jerome Taylor's opening partner, Edwards, who put West Indies ahead. The tone, though, was set by Taylor in the first over, troubling Gautam Gambhir with the bouncers. Edwards took the cue, and removed his Deccan Chargers team-mate, Rohit Sharma, with a bouncer. He troubled Suresh Raina too with the short-pitched stuff until the latter played back to a full delivery and edged it to Denesh Ramdin.

It was now time for the fielders to stand up, as Simmons took a superb running-back-and-diving catch to send Gambhir back. It was a short delivery again, the first Gambhir faced from Bravo - 29 for 3 in the fifth over.

Yuvraj and Dhoni had no choice but to consolidate. Gayle and Kieron Pollard slipped in five overs for just 20 runs. Under pressure to get going, Dhoni cut Bravo straight to sweeper-cover. Two balls later, Yuvraj picked the same fielder out, but was dropped by Andre Fletcher. India would have been 71 for 5, but for the drop. Whereupon, Yuvraj played a little gem to pull India out of all sorts of trouble, but it would stay the second-best effort of the night.

His hitting was clean, there was no need to be cute as he and Yusuf threatened to run away with the game. But Edwards finished off what he started, taking Yuvraj with a bouncer in the 18th over, after which India got only 23 off the last 14 balls.

Zaheer, Rohit hand India clinical win

India 113 for 2 (Rohit 52*, Gambhir 37) beat Ireland 112 for 8 (Zaheer 4-19, Ojha 2-18) by eight wickets


India's bowlers were clinical in their demolition of the Ireland batting, the batsmen were equally solid in chasing down the moderate total, thus consigning Ireland to their first defeat in Twenty20 internationals. Zaheer Khan ran through the top order full of left-hand batsmen, Pragyan Ojha took a first-ball wicket in his second Twenty20 international too, and the new opening combination of Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma got India off to another solid start.

Zaheer, who made his comeback from his shoulder game only in the last game, was fast and accurate today, getting the ball to shape away from the left-hand batsmen. He didn't swing it as much as his opening partner Irfan Pathan did, but his pace and accuracy did the trick. Jeremy Bray was the first one to go, on the last ball of the second over, playing all around a yorker. Soon Zaheer was on a hat-trick when William Porterfield chased the first ball of the fourth. Andre Botha survived the hat-trick, but guided one to slip in the same over.

Something strange happens when the batsmen sight Ojha. On Ojha's debut, Shakib Al Hasan tried to pull a delivery too full for the shot and paid the price. Today Kevin O'Brien, Ireland's saviour against Bangladesh, walked across and went to pull, and dragged it from way outside off onto his leg stump. There must be something.

Just into the seventh over, Ireland were four down for 28, with the small matter of Harbhajan Singh's topspinners and Ishant Sharma's sharp seam movement to negotiate. Gary Wilson got a doosra in Harbhajan's second over, which took the off stump, and from 48 for 5 it seemed they could only go up.

John Mooney and Andrew White went about rebuilding sensibly, but it was extremely difficult for them to accelerate even though they managed to kept their wickets. The 24-run partnership ended when Mooney tried to reverse-sweep Ojha in the 15th over. In a way the stroke gave credit to the tight bowling that didn't allow runs with orthodox cricket.

A 15-run 16th over from Irfan Pathan took Ireland close to 100, but Zaheer came back to remove White for a 25-ball 29. Alex Cusack and Kyle McCallan got two more boundaries as Ireland got 39 in the last three overs to reach 112.

In the chase India didn't set Trent Bridge alight. Although Gambhir cut the first ball of the innings for four, they didn't look in any undue hurry. Only one six and six fours were hit in the 77-run first-wicket partnership. In the five overs of Powerplay - five because the rain had cut the match short to 18 overs a side - India got to 38 without taking any unwise risks.

Rohit looked solid, Gambhir still not at his best. But Ireland never looked like getting a wicket. The highlight of Gambhir's innings was an inside-out drive off offspinner Regan West in the ninth over. In West's next, though, Gambhir sliced to short third man and missed out on consecutive half-centuries. Quite inconspicuously Rohit had moved to 35 by then.

MS Dhoni walked out at No. 3 again, but Rohit picked up the pace. A trademark slog, which incredibly doesn't look unwieldy, off Boyd Rankin took him into the 40s. Ireland, to their credit, stuck to their task in the field. Case in point being sliding saves to delay India's win, and a good diving catch by Bray at deep square leg to send Dhoni back.

Rohit got to his fifty with another trademark shot, which is at the other end of the spectrum when in terms of aesthetics. He took a step outside the line of a McCallan offbreak, and nonchalantly drove it over extra cover. With a late-cut single, he took India to the win. It was a fitting final shot, because India had hardly taken any chances on the night.

Yuvraj and Ojha fashion strong win

India 180 for 5 (Gambhir 50, Yuvraj 41) beat Bangladesh 155 for 8 (Siddique 41, Ojha 4-21) by 25 runs

It took Yuvraj Singh 18 balls to undo 10 overs' hard work by Bangladesh that had pulled India back after another solid start from Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma. It took Pragyan Ojha five balls to undo their eight overs of keeping pace with a stiff total and eventually India became the first side in this tournament to successfully defend.

The crisp sound from Yuvraj's bat resonated regularly at Trent Bridge, with sixes flying here and there as India managed 59 runs in their last four overs. Ojha came on and removed Junaid Siddique and Shakib Al Hasan in his first over, after which a promising chase stumbled.

If the defining moments of this Group A match were easy to identify, it was hard to not recognise the hard work Bangladesh put in to stay in the match and force India to come up with something special. The match started with Gambhir and Rohit continuing to ensure that India didn't miss the injured Virender Sehwag.

Rohit batted like a seasoned Twenty20 opener and took charge after Gambhir had got off to a quick start with a square-cut boundary off the second ball of the match. The first ball he faced today, he leant into a good-length and creamed Mashrafe Mortaza through extra cover. Bangladesh were apprehensive about using their spinners in the Powerplays, and Rohit capitalised on the medium-pace coming on to his bat. He drove well off either foot, clipped off his pads, and played only one slog shot.

Although Gambhir slowed down, India reached 54 in the first six overs, with Rohit scoring 32 off 18. Mohammad Ashraful immediately introduced spin, and Rohit got out trying to dominate them.

MS Dhoni came out first drop, but at the same time Shakib slowed things down, giving the batsmen no pace to work with. Shakib was exceptional with his control, making sure India stayed in that consolidation mode for a considerable period.

Shakib's three-over spell went for 17 and included Rohit's wicket, and India managed only 44 - with one seix and one four - between the seventh and 13th over. Mortaza came back to bowl one more tight over, and the pressure resulted in Dhoni's wicket in the next over. With Shakib finishing off strongly, India had got only 62 runs in the middle 10 overs. Gambhir managed a laboured 50 off 46 balls.

But Yuvraj carried out an assault that broke Bangladeshi hearts - and resistance. Just like lightning he struck after seven quiet deliveries. He took an impressive Naeem Islam for back-to-back sixes, and one more two balls later. He welcomed Rubel Hossain back with a six and consecutive boundaries before being dismissed for 41 off 18.

Bangladesh then clawed their way back, keeping Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan quiet. Rubel had bowled a superb first half of the 20th over, giving away only two and cleaning up Raina. But in walked Irfan Pathan and smote a six and a four to post a challenging total.

That final assault wasn't enough to deflate Bangladesh's confidence. Tamim Iqbal and Siddique came out swinging, tasting some success against the left-arm opening bowlers, Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan. Both the bowlers bowled length, and that's where most Bangladeshi batsmen love it. Especially spectacular was Siddique's approach - he pulled the first ball he played for six.

In the first two overs Bangladesh got 20, and although Tamim fell to Yusuf in the third, Siddique didn't slow down. He hit Zaheer for back-to-back boundaries, and then Yusuf for a six before Ashraful got out in an unfortunate manner in the sixth over. He played a crunching cover-drive off Ishant Sharma, backing away, but found Gambhir at cover.

Out came Bangladesh's best player, Shakib, but it was Siddique who kept the pace up even as Shakib looked to rebuild. He set the agenda by stepping out and hitting Harbhajan Singh for a six in his first over. Once again, just when it seemed Bangladesh had done well to stay with India, the defending champions produced another game-breaker: Ojha, making his Twenty20 international debut.

Shakib looked to pull the first ball he bowled, but it skidded on, and took the top edge. Siddique chose an inopportune time to hit Ojha out of the ground, and holed out to wide long-on four balls later.

India could sense from there on that the chase had died, and so it turned with the inexperienced lower-middle order. Ojha took two more wickets and Yuvraj took two diving catches. Bangladesh managed only 81 runs from the time that Ojha came on to bowl, and India closed the game out professionally.

McCullum and Hodge gun down Chennai

May 18, 2009

Kolkata Knight Riders 189 for 3 (McCullum 81, Hodge 71*) beat Chennai Super Kings 188 for 3 (Raina 52, Dhoni 40) by seven wickets

Kolkata Knight Riders, powered by fifties from Brendon McCullum and Brad Hodge, staged one of the most thrilling chases in the tournament and showed why the bottom-placed team may still prove to be the king-makers in this crucial last phase of the league games. Chennai Super Kings, who looked set to seal a semi-final spot with their mammoth total batting first, will now have to put the celebrations on hold.

The run-chase owed its success to three partnerships: the opening stand totally dominated by McCullum, his association with Hodge, where he took charge initially before letting his partner step up, and Hodge's match-winning association with Wriddhiman Saha, whose calm presence combined well with the timely acceleration to stun Chennai.

The return of the seamers at the death heralded a decisive shift in the game as Hodge found an unlikely foil in Saha, who smote a six and a four in the 17th over from L Balaji that went for 14. The next over from Albie Morkel bled 13, with Hodge collecting two fours, one slapped back past the bowler and the other swung behind square leg.

With Chennai short of options, it was hoped that Balaji would be able to hit the blockhole but he was guilty of the same slip-up that cost Kolkata their previous two games. He gifted Hodge length balls, two of which were struck clean and straight over long-off, and a generous full toss to Saha off the final ball, who duly obliged to smack it over midwicket to bring it down to six off the last over. Suresh Raina tried his best, but despite an attacking field and a dot ball first up, the wave was against him. Hodge and Saha stole singles off the second and third deliveries, a tight run to cover on the fourth, before a swat to long-on with a deep enough Jacob Oram allowed them to scamper back for the second and level the scores. With the field brought up, an incredibly calm Saha chipped Raina over cover to seal a comeback win.

McCullum threatened to wrest the game with his blistering innings, displaying the same destructive batting that was on view in the first match of the IPL's inaugural version. His dominant innings today was as much a reflection on his brilliance as the lack of support from the other end, especially in the initial stages.

McCullum announced his intent from the first over, slashing one past slip, and clipping Morkel past square leg. Keeping him off strike became Chennai's immediate objective and Sourav Ganguly made their job far simpler, struggling to get bat on ball, a stark contrast to McCullum's free flow. McCullum feasted on Morkel, smashing him for 16 in the third over, while Ganguly was made to look like an irritable fly-swatter by Sudeep Tyagi. He was eventually put out of his misery, chopping one on from Muttiah Muralitharan, though Chennai, in hindsight, would have wished he had continued.

The dismissal did not deter McCullum; the run-chase received a massive boost in Tyagi's next over, as Chennai were suddenly made to grapple with the possibility of an upset. Tyagi was clattered for four consecutive fours - two over cover, one through fine leg and the other over midwicket - before gifting a freebie that was promptly dispatched into the stands. Kolkata had made 56 in the powerplay of which 50 had come off McCullum's blade.

Hodge has been Kolkata's best batsman in the tournament, and adapted to his subordinate role superbly, allowing McCullum the bulk of the strike, something his predecessor had appallingly failed to do. The scoring dipped with Murali and Shadab Jakati doing their utmost to restrain Kolkata, but McCullum's determination to put the horror of his team's run behind him bode ominously for Chennai. If the Powerplay was lit up by his brute force, his handling of spin exhibited his subtle touch, as he opened the face to Murali's doosra, chopped him through point and shared the floor with Hodge, who cut loose himself, thumping Jakati for two sixes.

McCullum survived a chance on 66, dropped by Oram, who palmed a catch over the ropes at long-on, leaving Chennai with a sense of foreboding as the match slipped away. However, the lapse did not prove too costly, as Jakati just managed to squeeze one through his attempted swipe to just kiss the offstump. When the in-form David Hussey was run out seven balls later, Chennai had fought back to steal the advantage which seemed to hinge on the fortunes of one batsman, but as they were to find out, it wasn't quite so simple.

Chennai were missing Matthew Hayden, their most prolific batsman this season, but his team-mates made up for that by posting a formidable score. The effort owed to a calculated performance by Raina and an equally shrewd effort by MS Dhoni, who built on a solid opening stand to put Kolkata Knight Riders under pressure.

Raina shrugged off a relative slide in form - he had managed just 48 in his previous three innings - to quickly slip into his natural mode of play, using the flicks, dabs and cuts that characterize his batting with relentless frequency and opened up in timely fashion to retain the tempo set by the openers. Dhoni, meanwhile, proved again that he remains Chennai's best middle-order batsman. He had been involved in four 50-plus stands before this, and added another to his tally, mixing up his raw power and rotating the strike. The innings was set up by an admirable display by the openers Parthiv Patel and George Bailey who put together a busy stand of 59, attacking the seamers early on and retaining the momentum once the spinners came on, scoring a boundary virtually every over amid a spate of singles and twos which never allowed the bowlers to settle into a rhythm.

However, their efforts were in vain as McCullum's blistering knock and Hodge's reliability produced an upset which has made Chennai's hold on the No.2 spot in the points table a little shaky.

Rohit breaks Kolkata hearts

May 16, 2009

Deccan Chargers 166 for 4 (Gilchrist 43) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 160 for 5 (Hodge 48, Hussey 43) by six wickets

A day of great political change in Bengal, with three decades of Communist domination coming to a dramatic end, was almost matched on the field by the team from Kolkata - almost but, yet again, not enough to end the Knight Riders' losing streak. They have lost several close games this season, but few have been as heart-breaking as this last-ball defeat against the Deccan Chargers, where in an incredible final over Mashrafe Mortaza went into meltdown and Rohit Sharma slammed the 21 runs to script a sensational victory. The success gives Deccan a boost in the intense scrap for the semi-final places, lifting them to third place with 14 points.

It was a match filled with talking points but none more so than the no-ball called on the first ball of the final over of the match with Kolkata deemed to have only three fielders in the circle. Brendon McCullum was livid with the umpire but, after lengthy discussions between him and the umpires, the decision stood. It had been hit for four past square leg as well, which meant that Deccan needed only 16 off the over, far more gettable than the initial 21.

The expensively acquired Mortaza, getting his first game of the tournament after an increasing clamour for his inclusion, kept the batsmen to two off the next two deliveries before giving the game away. A full toss on middle stump was swiped over midwicket for one of the biggest sixes of the tournament, and then there was a wide. Seven needed off three.

Rohit coolly punched one to long-on for two, then crashed the next ball wide of cover for four. One needed off the last ball, and Rohit completed the turnaround in high style pulling it for six to leave Mortaza with the unflattering figures of 4-0-58-0.

It undid all the good work of the previous two overs, when Kolkata relentlessly built up an advantage. Mortaza himself gave away only seven runs in the 18th and dismissed danger man Andrew Symonds with an agile run out. Ajit Agarkar, who had gifted away Kolkata's previous game, was also superb, with a mix of yorkers and low full tosses that Deccan found hard to get underneath.

It hadn't seemed that it would get this close when Adam Gilchrist provided Deccan his customary blistering start, swinging sixes over midwicket and peppering the off-side boundaries as well. The introduction of spin stemmed the runs, with Murali Kartik troubling the batsmen with his sharp turn and bounce. The part-timers Brad Hodge and David Hussey also put the squeeze on, and after Gilchrist holed out in the 10th over, the asking-rate started steadily spiraling upwards, till Rohit's heroics settled the matter.

It had been a cameo almost as incandescent as Rohit's that lifted Kolkata towards a defendable score. When Hussey walked out after 14.5 overs, Kolkata had plodded along to 85 for 2. He hurtled to a 17-ball 43 which nearly doubled their total by the end.

There was an over almost as dramatic as Mashrafe's final one when Deccan were bowling as well. The penultimate over was started off by RP Singh, who was forced out of the attack after sending down two above waist-high full tosses and just one legitimate delivery. Eight had already been taken off the over but worse was to follow when Harmeet Singh was brought on to complete it. Hussey swatted a short ball for four, then collected a couple of hard-run twos, before bludgeoning two sixes to round off the over. Twenty-eight came off it, the most expensive one of the tournament.

Despite Hussey's efforts, Kolkata only reached a middling 160 because of the go-slow of the earlier batsmen. Hodge and Sourav Ganguly couldn't get any sort of momentum going after the McCullum dismissal in the fifth over, only 25 runs coming in the six overs before the strategic break.

Ganguly, in particular, had a torrid time. One of his signature strokes during his high noon was the dance down the track to deposit the left-arm spinner over long-on. He attempted that shot off Pragyan Ojha's first over; not only did he miss the ball, he was struck a painful blow to the groin, and spent a few moments on his knees to get his breath back.

There was a controversial moment in the seventh over, when he stuck out his left hand to stop the ball as he was completing a single. Deccan appealed for 'obstructing the field' and when it was turned down, they were not too pleased with the decision, Gilchrist letting the umpire S Ravi know that the throw had been heading for the stumps.

At the other end, Hodge wasn't at his best either, only able to knock around the singles, and was especially uncomfortable against the spinners. Ganguly tried to get a move on after the time-out, but his struggle continued before the misery ended when he found the fielder at long-off in the 15th over. Hodge managed to string together some fours before Hussey's frenetic intervention, but a nerveless Rohit consigned them to another defeat.

Hayden struggles, but pushes Chennai over the line

May 16, 2009

Chennai Super Kings 151 for 3 (Hayden 60*) beat Mumbai Indians 147 for 5 (Duminy 62, Nayar 33*, Jayasuriya 30) by seven wickets

Some of the most bizarre stats you will ever see in Twenty20 games added excitement to the chase, but in the end Chennai Super Kings pushed Mumbai Indians out of the tournament - barring even more bizarre permutations later on. Chasing 148 Matthew Hayden had scored at various points in his innings 5 off 16, 9 off 23, and 20 off 33. His first boundary came off the 34th ball he faced (better believe all this), but he hung in till the end as Mumbai lost yet another close game after having bowled exceptionally well in the first half of their defence. Chennai now are formalities short of making it to the semi-finals.

One of the litmus tests of exceptional players is how well they do when they are performing below themselves. Hayden passed that test today. The Mumbai bowlers were effective in keeping him down, especially Lasith Malinga and Dwayne Bravo who set the tone, not giving him the length balls at all. In their first spells Malinga and Bravo bowled 11 balls to Hayden for just one run. But for a wide, Malinga even bowled a maiden. He also took Parthiv Patel's wicket first ball, the 10th time a wicket has fallen to the first ball of an innings in this IPL.

It would have been easy then for Hayden to try something outrageous to either hit out or get out. But he swallowed his ego, waited for his opportunities. How he looked during the struggle didn't seem to matter. Following Malinga and Bravo, Harbhajan Singh and JP Duminy kept it tight too, giving away 21 in overs 7 to 10.

At the strategy time-out Chennai needed 92. S Badrinath gave them a six in the first over after, but he fell in the same over. And Hayden went back to the grind again. Finally, in the 13th over, Hayden hit a four, off a short one from Chetanya Nanda, and then three more to never let the asking-rate cross 10. He got good support from MS Dhoni, who scored 23 off 22, and ran superbly between the wickets.

That the win came with five balls to go takes away from how close the teams were. They needed 27 off the last three overs when Harbhajan was brought back. A sloppy throw from Yogesh Takawale meant Hayden retained the strike, and Hayden hit a six next ball to provide the final twist. That six took him to 51 off 51, 31 runs coming off the last 18 balls. Now we're talking.

Mumbai, who have become the embodiment of "so near and yet so far", will look back at the final few overs of both innings as the ones that made the difference. Duminy, their most consistent batsman this season, got to his IPL best, but the Mumbai batsmen couldn't get the big hits then that would have taken the total from the realms of the competitive to the challenging. At 105 for 3 after 16 overs, they looked primed for a big assault, but could manage just 42 more, and 16 of them in the last two.

In a must-win game for Mumbai, Jayasuriya had answered the call early. A move up the order seemed to have worked. After two quiet overs the vintage Jayasuriya was on display, short-arm-jabbing fours and sixes to the leg side, and lofting a six over point. But just when it seemed one of those famous Jayasuriya innings that end the match in the first quarter itself was on, he skied one from Sudeep Tyagi, but not before he had put the Mumbai innings on its way. In two overs, the score went from 16 for 1 to 49 for 2, and Jayasuriya went from 2 off 7 to 30 off 17.

Duminy capitalised on that start, setting Mumbai up, despite tight bowling by spinners in the middle overs and the loss of Sachin Tendulkar in the 11th over for the second time this tournament. Abhishek Nayar and Duminy batted sensibly till the 16th over, adding 31 in the next 5.1 overs. In the 17th over, Duminy, who had until then relied mainly on his exceptional running between the wickets to get 35 off 40, opened up, but a smart 19th over from L Balaji robbed them of the momentum. Chennai scored 30 off the last 13 balls they faced, Mumbai 17.