Chennai Super Kings completed a sweep of their three-match home leg after the Mumbai Indians’ batting fell apart in a rash of poor strokes following Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement due to dehydration. On a track where 467 runs were plundered three days ago, boundaries were hard to come by and, despite being hampered by dew, Chennai easily defended their moderate total.

Tendulkar was on his haunches and breathing heavily as early as the fourth over of the chase. However, he and Shikhar Dhawan provided their customary solid start, hitting a four an over in the Powerplay to take Mumbai to 46 for 0. Dhawan chopped on Thilan Thushara’s first delivery, but Mumbai progressed smoothly, if slowly, to 62 after nine overs when Tendulkar decided to retire.

After looking in control of the match till then, Mumbai imploded, losing a wicket in each of the next six overs. Ambati Rayudu was the first to go, stumped after tearing out of the crease and missing when looking to loft a short ball from Suresh Raina. When Chennai celebrated, Rayudu practised the stroke that would have served him better, a cut.

The potentially explosive Trinidad pair of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard have done little of note with the bat all tournament, and the trend continued at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Both looked to launch the ball into the crowds beyond the sightscreen but got more height than distance on their strokes, and a pair of well-held catches sent them on their way.

In between, the promising youngster Saurabh Tiwary who had looked the most assured of the Mumbai batsmen barring Tendulkar, also perished, slogging straight to deep midwicket off the impressive Shadab Jakati, whose solid tournament continued.

R Sathish and Ryan McLaren were involved in some nervy running before Sathish was caught out by a direct hit from S Badrinath at short cover. The only wicket the bowler can take credit for in the entire collapse was McLaren’s – offspinner R Ashwin trapping him lbw in front of offstump, so plumb that Chennai’s appeal was more a celebration than a question. Mumbai had lurched to 92 for 7 and even the return of Tendulkar couldn’t extend their winning run.

Their bowlers had done a better job earlier in the evening, shackling a powerful Chennai batting line-up. Opener M Vijay couldn’t complete a hat-trick of brutal innings in front of his home crowd, bottom-edging Harbhajan Singh onto the stumps early.

Matthew Hayden is supposed to be the bruiser at the top of the Chennai line-up, but yet again he couldn’t find the boundaries, dealing mainly in singles. After the lethargy in the Powerplays, Suresh Raina was just starting to catalyse the innings before failing in his attempt to clear midwicket off a short ball

Chennai were kept on their toes when Dhoni made a typical bustling start, and Hayden flicked and drove Bravo for ten runs in the next over. When Dhoni edged one past the keeper for four in the 12th over, 63 runs had come off the previous six. It was two overs later that the match swung. Pollard’s slow bouncer tricked Dhoni, and Hayden’s Mongoose bat wasn’t enough to clear long-on off the next delivery.

The home side slid to 119 for 4, after which boundaries again proved scarce, none coming in the next four overs. Michael Hussey and S Badrinath picked off the singles but struggled to hit top gear, before some innovative strokeplay from Badrinath lifted Chennai to 165, which ultimately proved enough for their third straight win.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo…

Matthew Hayden butchered Delhi Daredevils bowlers with a breathtaking 43-ball 93 to power Chennai Super Kings to a thrilling five-wicket win in their Indian Premier League match on Friday.

Chennai were chasing a competitive 186 to win but Hayden toyed with the Delhi attack and raised a crucial 78-run third wicket partnership with stand-in skipper Suresh Raina, who scored a sensible unbeaten 49.

Raina hit Tillakaratne Dilshan for a six in the first ball of the last over to notch up the win.

Hayden scored boundaries at will as his innings contained nine fours and seven sixes while Raina’s knock came off 34 balls with the help of three fours and as many sixes.

Earlier, it was Virender Sehwag’s blazing 38-ball 74 at the top and Mithun Manhas’s unbeaten 32 down the order that helped Delhi reach 185 for six, after electing to bat at Ferozeshah Kotla ground.

Rajat Bhatia (21) also played a good hand for Delhi after his side suffered a mini middle-order collapse following a good start.

For Chennai, Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan (2\25) and paceman L Balaji (2/21) took two wickets apiece.

Amit Mishra deprived Hayden of a well deserved century having him caught in the deep by Tillakaratne Dilshan. When the Australian started his walk to pavilion his side needed 44 runs from 39 balls to win.

Albie Morkel (0) departed early and Justin Kemp (4) too returned soon to raise the heartbeats of his teammates but Raina and Murali Vijay (14) ensured that the Delhi side do not end on the wrong side.

This was Chennai’s second successive win, while Delhi suffered their second defeat in row.

Chasing 186, Chennai’s start was far from ideal as diminutive Parthiv, who came in for injured skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was run out when with 21 runs on the board.

But Hayden was soon in full flow and it was Bhatia who first faced the fury, leaking 18 runs in the fifth over. The burly Australian hit him for three fours and a six to start the Chennai’s push for win.

Dilshan was the next to face the music as Hayden, using his long handled Mongoose bat, hit him for three sixes and completed his half-century in style.

Chennai finished at 190 for five.

Earlier, Sehwag began the match with a bang, dispatching South African paceman Albie Morkel for two boundaries in the very first over.

Raina shuffled four different bowlers in the first four overs but there was no stopping Sehwag.

The local hero welcomed Joginder Sharma with two boundaries and then lofted Balaji for a long-on six in the very first ball of his spell.

Sehwag’s knock was bejewelled with 10 fours and three sixes.

It was Muralitharan’s twin scalp in the 12th over that brought Chennai back into the match when Delhi looked set for a huge score.

Delhi raced to 35 inside four overs but Balaji cut short David Warner’s (6) stay in the middle.

With Sehwag in full flow, Chennai bowlers struggled to find line and length as there was only one over till the first strategic break in which the visitors did not concede a boundary.

Sehwag and Dilshan raised a 67-run partnership, off which the Sri Lankan’s contribution was 15.

Muralitharan then got into act and dismissed Dilshan, caught by Raina and two balls later Kemp took a stunner at straight boundary to bring curtains on Sehwag’s entertaining innings.

Ashwin then sent packing AB de Villiers (2) in the next over.

But Manhas’s 32 not out and Bhatia’s 21 off nine balls helped Delhi reach 185 for six, but the total later proved insufficient.

Source: NDTV

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

MS Dhoni’s Chennai thrash Mumbai by seven wickets and in the process end the Sachin Tendulkar-led side’s campaign in the IPL…

Matthew Hayden and skipper MS Dhoni have secured a semi-final berth for their side by beating Mumbai by a huge seven wickets in Port Elizabeth…

With five balls still to spare, the Australian big guy, Hayden, and Dhoni put the lid on the do-or-die match for Mumbai. Chennai were set a target of 148 runs.

Hayden got back to hitting the ball to the boundaries during his half-century once S Badrinath, who was looking to be headed for a big score, was packed off by Mumbai’s Dhawal Kulkarni. Dhoni supplemented the Australian well from the other side.

Badrinath, who was leading the Chennai charge with Hayden as more of a passive participant, played easily into Takawale’s hand.

Suresh Raina, who came in to partner Hayden after Lankan speedster Malinga sent Patel packing on the first ball itself, was caught and bowled by Mumbai’s West Indian recruit Bravo.

Earlier, with the help of JP Duminy’s quick half-century, Mumbai posted a target of 148 runs against Chennai in Port Elizabeth.

Duminy’s fifth IPL fifty led Mumbai to the defendable score after Suresh Raina sent back skipper Sachin Tendulkar cheaply on just 11 runs.

AM Nayar, who was supporting Duminy well from the other end till the latter got run out, contributed an unbeaten 33 to Mumbai’s kitty.

Earlier, Sudeep Tyagi struck to send back Sanath Jayasuriya after the left-handed veteran threatened to rip the Chennai attack apart.

Morkel sent Bravo back to pavilionafter skipper Tendulkar won the toss and put Chennai to bowl in Port Elizabeth.

JA Morkel bowled out Mumbai opener DJ Bravo on the first ball of his second over for Chennai. Bravo, who came in to open with Sanath Jayasuriya contributed five runs.

Mumbai went into the tie with no change in their squad from the previous match against Rajasthan. Channai called in Parthiv Patel in place of M Vijay.

Stung by their two-wicket loss at the hands of Bangalore, wounded Chennai were expected to come out all guns blazing in a bid to advance towards their semifinal goal.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men were sitting pretty at second spot with 13 points in their kitty from 11 matches while Sachin Tendulkar had a tough task in his hands with mere 11 points from their 12 appearances in the high-profile tournament so far.

Mumbai, on their part, were under pressure as none of their tactics paid off against Rajasthan with Shane Warne-led side edging outing them by two runs.

With frequent chopping and changing in their batting order, Mumbai’s star studded line up buckled under pressure in the last few matches.

The teams:

Chennai: ML Hayden, PA Patel, SK Raina, MS Dhoni, JDP Oram, S Badrinath, JA Morkel, SB Jakati, L Balaji, M Muralitharan, S Tyagi

Mumbai: SR Tendulkar, ST Jayasuriya, DJ Bravo, YV Takawale, JP Duminy, AM Nayar, AM Rahane, Harbhajan Singh, DS Kulkarni, SL Malinga, C Nanda

20 overs Chennai Super Kings 141 for 3 (Badri 59, Hayden 48) beat Rajsthan Royals 140 for 7 (Muralitharan 2-22) by seven wickets…

Matthew Hayden and Shane Warne. Sixty-nine Tests together, the last 12 of them wins. Today they decided who won this IPL game, and went to the top of the table. Unfortunately there could be only one winner, and on the night it was Hayden. Chasing 141 Chennai Super Kings were in for a tough one, with the pitch turning square, staying slow, and the menacing Warne looking like pulling off something special. Hayden, though, attacked clinically, played like a workman in between those assaults, and Chennai beat Rajasthan for the second time in this IPL. He had with him S Badrinath for company who went from a supporting act to a lead role towards the end.

Until Hayden came face to face with Warne, the two teams seemed inseparable. A disciplined Chennai, with a varied attack and well led, had kept Rajasthan down to a total that – at the half-way mark – they would have fancied themselves to chase. But Rajasthan were equally disciplined, smart, and well led. In the first eight overs, they had kept Chennai down to 49 for 2, including Suresh Raina’s wicket. Yusuf Pathan was bowling big turners at 95kmph.

More importantly Hayden had faced just 15 of those 48 deliveries. Even more importantly Warne had bowled an over of dip, drift and break when Badri couldn’t even lay bat to ball. In the ninth over Warne bowled to Hayden for the first time, throwing the first ball wide, which was called wide despite big turn. The next one was flighted wide again, and Hayden decided to reverse-sweep late but perfectly. He then walked down to Warne, as if the keeper was standing back, and got to the pitch and hit him flat over long-on.

That over may have got Chennai only 12 runs, but the statement that Hayden made was huge. Warne was playable again, the required run-rate came back within manageable proportions, and soon Badri became comfortable too.

It showed in how Badri overtook Hayden’s pace in the 16th over, bowled by Shane Harwood. The first ball he scooped over fine leg for six, steered one wide of point for four, whipped another over fine leg, and then upper-cut one over the keeper. This was a man, bracketed as a Test batsman, improvising to each and every delivery of an over, and providing the final game-breaker. He had come a long way in one innings, from looking out of sorts against Warne to finishing the game off.

Warne finally got Hayden with a stumping down the leg side when Hayden walked down once again, but by then – in the 17th over – the game had been decided.

This was also a battle between the two best captains in this tournament. And they had set the tone by exchanging indirect sledges at the toss. Warne had a go at Chennai, saying they were not good chasers. Dhoni retorted, saying given his strong batting line-up, the Rajasthan batsmen would be under immense pressure to set a defendable total.

The Chennai bowlers did their bit in accentuating that pressure. Ever since Albie Morkel struck in his first over – for the third time in three matches now, Rajasthan struggled for momentum. Dhoni rotated his bowlers around smartly, using seven of them in first 10 overs, who gave away only five boundaries.

Swapnil Asnodkar and Graeme Smith added 53 in 50 balls, but there was no sense of restlessness because of the slow run-rate. The key moment came in the third quarter of the innings, when after both Asnodkar and Smith had wasted those slow starts, Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja looked to open up, hitting Shadab Jakati for a six each in the 14th over, but Chennai accounted for both of them in the next two overs.

Dhoni made two smart moves then – he brought in L Balaji from the other end, and let Jakati continue despite that over. Balaji, helped by a superb diving-in-front catch by Suresh Raina at point, accounted for Jadeja, and Jakati got Yusuf who went for a repeat of the six in the next over. Again this dismissal was made possible by smart work from Jacob Oram at the long-on boundary.

Dhoni went back to rotating his bowlers, the fielders stayed sharp, and Rajasthan struggled to get going again. Dhoni himself made two stumpings. Warne hit 21 off 11 deliveries to give Rajasthan something to bowl to. As far as the battle of captains goes, they were probably locked, but Dhoni was leading the better side on the night.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo

Chennai Super Kings (Hayden 89, Dhoni 56*) beat Kings XI Punjab 174 for 3 (Yuvraj 58*, Katich 50, Jayawardene 44*) by 12 runs (D/L method)…

Kings XI Punjab made Chennai Super Kings really sweat in a spirited chase towards a Duckworth-Lewis revised target of 187, but when it mattered most tactical nuance won it for Chennai. Simon Katich had set the tone for Punjab’s bravado and Yuvraj Singh and Mahela Jayawardene batted superbly in the face of adversity, adding 90 in just 8.5 overs under lights. Then, with 30 left to defend off 12 balls, MS Dhoni took pace off the ball by calling on Suresh Raina’s part-time offspin, and that six-run over provide definitive.

Chennai’s big total was set up by Matthew Hayden’s belligerent 89, either side of an hour-and-half’s rain delay, and Dhoni’s sparky 56 from 27 balls. Up against the strongest batting line-up in the tournament, they were pummeled into submission for the second match running.

Chennai Super Kings (Hayden 89, Dhoni 56*) v Kings XI Punjab…

Either side of an hour-and-half’s rain delay, Matthew Hayden bludgeoned his third and most dismissive half-century of the IPL to biff Chennai Super Kings to 185 in 18 overs. Hayden was rude to Kings XI Punjab’s bowlers from the time MS Dhoni opted to bat, but his assault after the rain hold-up was stunning, with Sreesanth feeling the brunt of his power. Punjab may have thought they’d done damage control by getting Suresh Raina shortly after play resumed, but Hayden and Dhoni, who walked in and smacked an unbeaten 56 from 27 balls, compounded their woes and then some. Pace has been Punjab’s main bowling weapon, but the bowlers were taken to the cleaners by Rajasthan Royals last game. Up against the strongest batting line-up in the tournament, they were pummeled into submission.

Chennai’s decision to use S Badrinath as opener flopped. One of two changes in the team, Badrinath uppercut the first ball of the match straight to VRV Singh at third man. But it ended up being bad news for Punjab because the two highest run-getters this season, Hayden and Suresh Raina, came together for a bruising.

Sreesanth, after taking a pasting in his last two overs of Punjab’s miserable loss to Rajasthan Royals, wasn’t allowed to settle. Hayden muscled him for four and though his attempts to swing away didn’t always come off, the intent was clear. Hayden constantly shuffled around his crease or walked down, opening his shoulders repeatedly.

Both batsmen gave chances – a hard smack by Raina being palmed off point’s fingertips and a leaping Yuvraj Singh from mid-off just failing to latch on to a chip over Sreesanth’s head. Raina continued to smack anything even marginally astray outside off stump. One cut off Yusuf Abdulla bisected two close fielders and sped past the sweeper in the deep. A length ball was drilled past mid-off.

Another force then struck. Dark clouds had loomed from before the toss and it was only a matter of time before play was held up. Three balls into the eighth over and the covers were rushed on, and it after that extended delay Hayden and Raina resumed on a sluggish track. The match was now 18 overs.

Raina didn’t last long, lofting Piyush Chawla’s first delivery to deep midwicket. At this stage Hayden was 43 from 34 balls. With the advantage clearly Chennai’s way, Hayden turned belligerent. Chawla’s second over cost 16 as Hayden slammed sixes either side of the ground.

Dhoni came out and was immediately busy with flat-batted swipes and superb use of the feet, smacking VRV for 24 in the 15th over. Each shot just improved on the last in those six balls as Dhoni pinged long, square leg and midwicket.

The penultimate over, bowled by Sreesanth, cost 22. First Hayden walked across to Sreesanth and hooked him, one hand, for six over fine leg. Then he swung two more sixes with ferocity, both balls landing well over the ropes. Hayden was 89 from 57 balls when he lofted the last ball to long-on.

Dhoni needed just 24 balls to raise a hyper fifty, his second outstanding innings of the tournament. The target for Punjab will be 187, adjusted upwards by two runs because of the loss of two overs.

Jamie Alter is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo

20 overs Delhi Daredevils 189 for 5 (de Villiers 105*, Dilshan 50, Balaji 3-19) beat Chennai Super Kings (Hayden 57, Raina 41, Sangwan 3-28) by nine runs….

Delhi Daredevils, inspired by AB de Villiers’ superbly-paced century, held their nerve in the field to beat Chennai Super Kings in the first close game of IPL 2. de Villiers’ century, the first of the tournament, came after Delhi’s innings started in catastrophe and powered them to the highest total this season. Matthew Hayden charged a stiff chase with another aggressive innings and Suresh Raina’s cool head kept Chennai on par with the asking rate, but Delhi won the battle of the death overs to sneak a thriller. Leading, expectedly, was the parsimonious Daniel Vettori who, after striking after the seven-and-a-half minute tactical break, bowled a decisive penultimate over.

This was a win fashioned with the bat. Tillakaratne Dilshan and de Villiers added 68 at a frenetic clip after Delhi were struggling at 8 for 2 with Gautam Gambhir – out to the very economical L Balaji first ball – and Virender Sehwag – pulling needlessly – out early. Dilshan started like a man with a train to catch, slashing 11 fours and a six in his first 15 balls. Taking a cue from de Villiers, who pulled Manpreet Gony for an easy six over midwicket, Dilshan picked the same bowler off his pads for six. Then he welcomed Albie Morkel into the attack by thumping three successive boundaries in a 17-run over. Dilshan slashed Andrew Flintoff over slip and then pulled him for a flat six. Fourty-five had been crashed off three overs and Dilshan’s fifty took 24 balls. He fell slapping a full toss to extra cover.

While Dilshan was going berserk, de Villiers looked briefly like he was at the wrong party, simply scurrying down the other end with open-faced steers behind square. But once Dilshan departed de Villiers had to play host. The pattern of scoring changed from boundaries to nudges, flicks and cuts to third man. It appeared, as Chennai sneaked in 29 boundary-less deliveries and Balaji returned to dismiss Dinesh Karthik, that Delhi may have squandered Dilshan’s platform.

Then Morkel drop a sitter off de Villiers the ball after he had raised his half-century and all hell broke loose. Clearing his front leg and relying on amazing hand-eye contact de Villiers thumped three sixes and three fours before clipping his 51st delivery to raise an amazing century. His second fifty needed just 19 balls.

It was a power-packed innings, highlighted by de Villiers’ stunning assault in the last four overs: nothing matched the 20 he smashed in four successive balls off Flintoff. The fifth-wicket stand between de Villiers and Manoj Tiwary was worth 74 in 5.5 overs, Tiwary’s contribution being nine.

Chasing the highest target set this season, Chennai needed something special. Hayden sparked it, with ten in the first over of the chase. Ashish Nehra looked like a man who hadn’t played international standard opposition in months, dragging the ball short to allow a pumped Hayden clip runs through midwicket. Avishkar Salvi struggled to locate his line – either serving full or dropping short – and Hayden merrily ransacked him to the leg side in a 24-run over. Hayden raised his fifty from 22 balls.

Domination led to his dismissal and gave the impressive Pradeep Sangwan his second wicket. Having got Parthiv Patel driving to de Villiers at cover with a full one, Sangwan opted for a shorter length and Hayden miscued a pull to the deep.

At the half-way mark Chennai were 106 for 2, well on track thanks to Hayden. Vettori varied his pace and length to stifle MS Dhoni and drew a nick through to Karthik. Suresh Raina kept the flame burning with another gem – finding the boundary every over – before he sent a Sangwan full toss down long-on’s throat for a 27-ball 41. Sangwan bowled well and picked up three wickets.

It was still anyone’s game with Flintoff at the crease, 42 needed and Nehra called back for the 16th over. Flintoff worked a single, Morkel clipped four, but when Flintoff got back on strike Nehra forced him to hole out to long-off.

Salvi returned to bowl a five-run 17th over but thanks to Chennai’s good work the asking rate was under ten. It was nerve-racking as both teams battled for a decisive edge. Nehra kept it very full and straight, Karthik missed a run out, Morkel survived another tight over. With 24 needed from 12 Sehwag tossed the ball back to Vettori, who immediately dismissed a sluggish S Badrinath. Vettori’s over included a six by Gony and a run out to set pulses soaring, but by then the match had been decided. David Warner may not have gotten a game yet but he made his presence felt with two catches in the deep and a direct hit in the last over. A chase that had started with power ended in a panic.

Three overseas stars showed there was more to Delhi than Sehwag and Gambhir, further indication that this is the team to beat in the IPL.

Jamie Alter is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo

Chennai Super Kings have managed to bundle out Bangalore Royal Challengers for a mere 87 to register a 92-run victory.

Chasing a huge target, Bangalore Royal Challengers kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

They lost their first wicket in the form of Praveen Kumar early, then Albie Morkel claimed the prized wicket of Jacques Kallis to put Chennai Super Kings in a commanding position.

None of the batsmen could spend time in the middle and they simply kept losing wickets.

More than half of the Royal Challengers side were back to the pavillion for less than seventy runs.

Australian Matthew Hayden cracked a blistering 65 to help Chennai Super Kings post a commanding 179 for five in their Indian Premier League match against Bangalore Royal Challengers on Monday.

The Chennai side began on a rollicking note with Hayden and Parthiv Patel sharing an opening stand off 106 after captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni elected to bat and that set the momentum of the innings.

The duo breezed away to 50 runs in just 29 balls with 20 runs coming from the fifth over bowled by Jacques Kallis with Hayden hitting three fours and a six.

Royal Challengers gave away too many boundaries for their comfort with the run rate rising more than 10 and Chennai reaching 106 for no loss after 10 overs with the help of 11 fours and three sixes.

The run rate slowed down latter on with some intelligent bowling by Bangalore bowlers but they failed to stop the Super Kings from posting the highest score of IPL second season so far, which was studded with 15 fours and six sixes.

Praveen Kumar takes two wickets

Praveen Kumar was the most successful Bangalore bowler, who took two wickets and conceded 37 runs.

Patel had some mishits to his credit but survived with his lofted shots falling either just short or ahead of fielders.

None of the Bangalore bowlers could make an impact before the strategy break time out.

It was left to skipper Kevin Pietersen himself to bring his team back into the game with two dramatic dismissals in two consecutive balls he bowled.

The former England captain first broke the opening partnership bowling Patel from his first ball for 30 (2X4; 1X6) before orchestrating run out of Hayden for 65.

The retired Australian, who entertained the St George’s Park crowd with nine fours and six sixes, failed to beat a Rahul Dravid direct throw to see his side reduced to 106 for two.

Dhoni did not stay for long as he was out for 16 after facing 14 balls to give the first wicket to Praveen Kumar who also scalped Suresh Raina (28; 1X1 1X6), who was dropped by Dale Steyn when on 12.

Andrew Flintoff (22 off 13) gave some fireworks towards the end to take 14 runs off last over which also saw Albie Morkel dismissed last ball of innings off Steyn.Hayden, whose uppish drive before opening his account fell just short of a fielder, was at his dominating best picking gaps at will to reach his third IPL fifty in just 22 balls.

Teams:

Bangalore Royal Challengers: JH Kallis, RV Uthappa (Wk), LRPL Taylor, KP Pietersen (capt), R Dravid, V Kohli, R Bishnoi, R Vinay Kumar, P Kumar, A Kumble, DW Steyn.

Chennai Super Kings: ML Hayden, PA Patel (Wk), SK Raina, A Flintoff, MS Dhoni (capt), S Badrinath, JA Morkel, Joginder Sharma, L Balaji, MS Gony, M Muralitharan.

20 overs Chennai Super Kings 179 for 5 (Hayden 65) against Bangalore Royal Challengers

After a weekend when the bowlers mostly held sway, the batsmen took over at Port Elizabeth. Led by Matthew Hayden’s blistering start, the Chennai Super Kings’ imposing batting machine piled on 179 in overcast conditions. Kevin Pietersen may have been paid the big bucks for his batting and captaincy, but it was his amiable offspin which kept Chennai from putting on even more.

Hayden and Parthiv Patel provided just the start MS Dhoni would have wanted after he won the toss, sprinting to 106 in 10 overs. Hayden was at his bullying best, and the hallmarks of his batting were on view: the walk-down-the-track to club the quicks, the muscular sweeps against the spinners. There was plenty of finesse among the fireworks as well, gentle glides to third man, and some caressed drives through cover.

Jacques Kallis, surprisingly picked ahead of Jesse Ryder, bore the brunt of Hayden’s hitting. His first three deliveries disappeared for boundaries, and Hayden rounded off the over with a blast over long-off for six, 20 runs in that fifth over had Chennai flying at 56 for 0.

Pietersen rang in the changes but they were to no avail. Vinay Kumar was taken for two fours in the next over, and part-timer Virat Kohli gifted a couple of fours in the seventh, which had Hayden racing to his half-century.

Parthiv was not quite as fluent, always keen to throw his bat and loft towards midwicket. There were plenty of mishits while he attempted that stroke, but there was one glorious pull off Dale Steyn which sailed over the square-leg boundary. By the time the tactical time-out came around, 200 was a distinct possibility.

Much has been made of the extended mid-innings break, but it worked wonders for Bangalore Royal Challengers. Parthiv made a meal of a slog-sweep to be bowled off Pietersen’s first ball after the interval, and Hayden was run out by a direct hit from Rahul Dravid at point off the next delivery. Only eight runs came off the next three overs.

Suresh Raina and Dhoni slammed a six each, but there were too many singles and dot balls to keep the run-rate at the stratospheric levels set by the openers. It was left to Andrew Flintoff to make a 13-ball 22, including a flat six over square-leg off Steyn, to push the scoring in the final overs.

The boundaries are short in Port Elizabeth, but with the track expected to assist spin under the lights and with Muttiah Muralitharan in the Chennai ranks, Bangalore have a tough task ahead.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo

Former Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden arrived here last night and will be joining the Chennai Super Kings practice session on Friday in preparations for the 2009 Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament commencing in South Africa on April 18.

An obviously tired Hayden after the long flight across several time zones, preferred to rest today, said VB Chandrasekar, director-cricketing operations, Chennai Super Kings.

“He arrived in Chennai late last night and opted out of practice session today. But Hayden will be joining the team at their practice session tomorrow morning,” he said.

Meanwhile, player-coach Stephen Fleming, the former New Zealand captain, is expected to join the team at the weekend ahead of their departure to South Africa on April 8.

Hayden played a crucial role in the inaugural tournament last year by scoring 189 runs in the four matches with a strike rate of 144 and averaging 63.

His performance at the top of the batting order helped Super Kings to win their opening four games that laid a strong foundation for their entry into the knock-out rounds.

Hayden was available for only four games in view of his international commitments with Australian team and the 37-year old Queenslander is yet again expected to play a lead role in the team’s campaign in South Africa.

He announced his retirement from international cricket after a 15-year career early this year and hence is expected to be available for all the matches in the 2009 IPL.

Hayden, nicknamed Haydos, played 103 Tests scoring 8,625 runs (av: 50.73) and 161 ODIs (6,133 runs, av: 43.80) for Australia.

Hayden is one of 10 foreign players that the Super Kings have signed up, the others being: Michael Hussey and George Bailey (Australia), Andrew Flintoff (England), Makhaya Ntini and Albie Morkel (South Africa), Muttaiah Muralitharan and Thilan Thusara (Sri Lanka), Jacob Oram and Stephen Fleming (New Zealand).