Royal Challengers thump Chennai by 6 wickets

Vijay Mallya’s Royal Challengers will vie with Team Hyderabad for the IPL trophy in the final on Sunday after MS Dhoni’s gamble failed at a crucial moment on Saturday night, costing Team Chennai dear.

Dhoni threw the ball to Suresh Raina with 26 to get in 18 balls, hoping that the part-timer will again strike gold. It was not to be. Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli waited for the right deliveries, despatched them into the stands and it was all but over for Team Chennai.

Dhoni hadn’t given the ball to Jacob Oram till then, while Albie Morkel had one left and Balaji two. But the skipper believed in his instincts, and for once, he was proved wrong as the Royal Challengers won by six wickets with more than an over to spare.

If Kohli and Taylor put the icing on the cake, the spadework was done by Man-of-the-Match Manish Pandey and Rahul Dravid. A 72-run third-wicket partnership was just what Royal Challengers were looking for after losing two quick wickets.

Pandey looked like a veteran in his temperament, choosing the right balls to hit. There was nothing brutal about his efforts, two sweetly timed front-foot drives in the first over set it up for Vijay Mallya’s boys. And with Dravid joining him, it seemed the two were playing with ice-packs on their heads.

The crowd grew loud, the music louder, but not for once Pandey and Dravid lost focus. When the boundaries weren’t coming, they looked for the singles and the asking-rate hovered around the seven-mark.

Dhoni threw the ball to his magician Muttiah Muralitharan with the hope that something will happen. It didn’t.

Credits: TimesofIndia