Hemang Badani struck a composed half-century that helped extricate Chennai Superstars from a precarious position and lifted it to one of strength.
Led by Badani’s neat 51 not out, Chennai coast to fourth win in five matches
GURGAON: Hemang Badani struck a composed half-century that helped extricate Chennai Superstars from a precarious position and lifted it to one of strength. The elegant left-hander scored 51 not out as his team registered a five-run victory over Delhi Giants in an Indian Cricket League 20s Challenge match here on Friday.
The Giants looked set to make it tough for the Superstars after a 60-run opening stand between Mohnish Mishra (36) and Marvan Atapattu (25), but could not keep up the good work and the target of 167 proved too much in the end.
A late onslaught reduced the margin of defeat but the Delhi side did not run the opposition as close as the margin of defeat would suggest.
This was the fourth win in five matches for the Chennai team, while the Delhi outfit went down for the third time in four outings.
Badani made batting look easy, slamming five fours and a pulled six off pace bowler Abid Nabi during his 45-ball knock. Badani, who played two Tests and 40 one-day Internationals, took control of the situation after coming in at 24 for three.
Badani produced some fine shots on either side of the wicket, adding 67 for the fifth wicket with Rajagopal Satish, who slammed 41 off just 28 balls. After Satish was trapped leg-before by left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza, Badani added 38 with skipper Stuart Law (28).
Earlier, Ganpathy Vignesh had looked promising during his 19-ball knock of 24 before being bowled by express pace bowler Shane Bond. The 27-year-old former Tamil Nadu batsman struck three fours and a pulled six to mid-wicket off Sudhindra.
Chennai Superstars fell to 60 for four with Vignesh’s dismissal. His opening partner Ian Harvey was the first to fall, in the first over itself, followed by Rajamani Jesuraj (5) and Sri Lankan player Russel Arnold (0). But Badani ensured there were no jitters as he produced the much needed partnerships.
In reply, Delhi Giants started well, but the quick dismissal of both openers threw them off track. A dangerous-looking Monish was bowled by Syed Mohammad after striking two huge sixes, while Atapattu was run out following a superb piece of work by Harvey in the cover region.
Nantie Hayward grabbed two scalps while the others chipped in with one each as the middle-order failed to show purpose. Dhruv Mahajan produced a cameo late in the day but the last-over assault could only narrow down the margin of loss.
Scorecard
Chennai Superstars
I Harvey c Nixon b Sudhindra 4, G Vignesh b Bond 24, R Jesuraj run out 5, R Arnold lbw Abid Nabi 0, H Badani not out 51, R Sathish lbw Murtaza 41, S Law b Yadav 28, J Syed Mohammad not out 1, Extras (B4, LB2, W6) 12; Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 166; FoW: 1-4, 2-19, 3-24, 4-60, 5-127, 6-165; Bowling: Sudhindra 4-0-35-1, Nabi 3-0-27-1, Bond 4-0-35-1, Yadav 4-0-33-1, A Murtaza 4-0-11-1, Mahajan 1-0-19-0
Delhi Giants
MS Atapattu run out 25, M Mishra b Mohammad 36, Abid Nabi b Jesuraj 25, S Abbas Ali c Shabbir b Hayward 3, A Bali b Sathish 10, P Nixon b Shabbir 24,
JP Yadav c Sathish b Hayward 1, D Mahajan not out 21, S Bond b Harvey 8, TP Sudhindra not out 1; Extras (b-1, lb-4, w-2) 7; Total (8 wkts; 20 ovs) 161; Fall of wickets: 1-60, 2-63, 3-71, 4-90, 5-112, 6-115, 7-133, 8-142; Bowling: Shabbir 4-0-29-1, Jesuraj 4-0-31-1, Vignesh 1-0-16-0, Hayward 4-0-25-2, Mohammad 4-0-20-1, Sathish 1-0-11-1, Harvey 2-0-24-1
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