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Johannesburg:  The Warriors were confident of posting a big score after having won the toss at the Wanderers and had posted 45 runs in the sixth over when R Ashwin got Jacobs out lbw while he attempted a reverse sweep and that wicket at that stage cost Warriors the match. Davy Jacobs was going great guns till then and his team was sighting a total of 170 – 180 runs. But the collapse was soon to follow and they could manage only 128 for 7 wickets in the 20 overs.

Murli Vijai

Jacobs took the attack straight away to the opposition, hitting two boundaries off Doug Bollinger in the very first over. The Warriors’ skipper followed it up with a cover drive in the next over of Albie Morkel.

After Jacobs fell, Muttiah Muralitharan throttled the Warriors with his skill, and L Balaji maintained the pressure with a disciplined spell in the middle, keeping the Warriors to 128, which was never going to be enough. And it wasn’t. This is the last time this group of players will turn out for Chennai, and they gave themselves a nice farewell present.

The frequent fall of wickets, after the prized scalp of skipper Davy Jacobs, at regular intervals, derailed the once steady-looking Warriors’ innings as the home side struggled to put up a challenging total in the final.

The only chance for Warriors after that effort was take early wickets. They didn’t. M Vijay and Michael Hussey did not give them any success with the ball and did not allow them to take quick wickets. Both play spin well. Vijay used his feet to repeatedly drive inside out while Hussey played superbly.

 L Balaji, bowled confidently and the Warriors’ gave him the respect he deserved and he sent down few quick overs with steady line and length. Ashwin continued to tease them with his variations and Muttiah Muralitharan came on in the 10th over to harass them with his ability.

After Jacobs’ wicket, the tussle for survival started for the Warriors’ batsmen as they struggled to negotiate the spin of Aswhin and seam-up deliveries of L Balaji.

The pressure did the trick for Chennai as Colin Ingram (16 off 23) lofted a full-length delivery of Morkel which was neatly taken by Suresh Raina while running backward.

Warriors would have expected a lot from Mark Boucher (5 off 11), but he got stuck in the web created by Muralitharan.

Raina fielded exceptionally well and took the second catch of the day as he dived in the mid-wicket region to sent Justin Kreusch (17 off 17) back to the dug out.

Craig Thyssen spoiled the bowling figures of Balaji as the right-handed batsman hit two fours and a six off the medium pace bowler. He was deceived in flight by Muralitharan and the Warriors innings finished with 128/7.

Mutaiah Muralitharan captured 3 wickets for 16 runs and  Ashwin bagged 2 for 16 runs.

In reply, the Chennai openers made a solid start and once seeing off few early overs, both Vijay and Hussey started tearing Warriors’ bowlers apart with their free flowing play.

While Vijay was aggressive, Hussey always kept the required run-rate under control and ensured a thumping win for his side. He managed to rotate the strike by stealing singles at will and in the last two overs of the match the equation stood at just 13 runs required of two overs and Dhoni was in no mood to let the tension boil till the last over.

There was a brief moment in the 17th over when things stirred at the Chennai’s nest. Thyssen went after Balaji to pick up three boundaries – a pulled four, a delicate late steer and a six over midwicket.

The home supporters started shouting for the local team, but Thyssen’s cameo was too late and too little to matter.  Ashwell Prince got out while his off-stump was uprooted from a full toss from Doug Bollinger.

The Chennai Super Kings created history by winning the Champions League Twenty20 event, the first by any Indian side, after beating the Warriors by 8 wickets in the final clash on Sunday.

Murali Vijay scored 58 runs and Michael Hussey  was 51 not out  chased down the 129-run target set by the opponents with an over remaining. In the end  Chennai Super Kings were 132 for 2 wickets thanks to a quick fire 17 runs by Skipper M.S.Dhoni, who slammed a six in the 19th over, followed it up with two boundaries.

Super Kings’ skipper MS Dhoni (17 not out off 12) provided the finishing touch as he hit a huge six and two fours in the penultimate over of Juan Theron.

PRESENTATIONS.

Highest run getter of the tournament –  Murli Vijai – $2,500

Airtel Man of the Match                           –  Murli Vijai – $2,500

All referees and Match Referee            –  Medellions

Man of the Series                                       –  Ravi Chandran Ashwin – $25,000
                                                                             and a Trophy

Golden Bat                                               –  Murli Vijai

Golden Wicket                                         –   Ravi Chandran Ashwin

Players of the losing Team                –  Silver Medallions

Cheque to the losing team                  –   US $1,3 million.  –  Davy Jacobs

Players of the Winning team             –  Golden Medallions

Cheque to the Winning Team             –  US $ 2.5 million – M.S.Dhoni

Tags: Champions League T-20, Chennai Super Kings, Davy Jacobs, Johannesberg, M.S.Dhoni, Murlli Vijai, Presentations and Awards, Ravi Chandran Ashwin, Wanderers, Warriors

This entry was posted on Monday, September 27th, 2010 at 11:28 am and is filed under News, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.