The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Chennai Superstars registers win

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Sunday, Dec 02, 2007
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Chennai Superstars registers win

Vijay Lokapally

PANCHKULA: Brian Lara at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium; also Inzamam-ul-Haq; Heady stuff, for those who shared the dressing room with them, and for those who watched them from the galleries. The Indian Cricket League, on its second day, made steady progress in terms of intensity, if not competitive flair always.

“Just see how every dismissal is celebrated with 10 men converging on the bowler or the fielder. It is so natural,” said Kiran More, looking after the technical aspects of the ICL. True, even Inzamam was sprinting!

But Hyderabad Heroes seamer Azhar Mahmood spoilt the evening for the spectators when he trapped Lara leg-before off the first ball. This was Lara’s second match after the World Cup, having played a game in the Hong Kong Sixes recently.

Azhar might have become the most unpopular man on the field but he was a delight for his mates, having scalped Mumbai Champs opener Robin Morris off the preceding delivery. In pursuit of 122 to win, Mumbai Champs lost by 33 runs following a miserable batting performance.

Good contest

Chennai Superstars and Kolkata Tigers had set up a good contest in the afternoon with some brilliant catches and shots reminding the spectators that it was serious cricket. Chennai Superstars scraped home by seven runs. “It was as good and entertaining as any other match you would see,” said Superstars coach Karsan Ghavri.

Lara, expectedly, was a hit; his movements, when fielding, cheered every moment by his admirers even as Inzamam increased his fan-following with his commitment at the crease. Typically, the burly Pakistani was almost run out off the first ball he faced but he kept his composure to whack the ball as is his wont. Inzamam carved 42 quality runs with three fours and two towering sixes; enough to whet the appetite of the spectators on a cold evening.

One of the floodlight towers stopped functioning just as the first ball of the second match was to be bowled. But the game went on. The pitch was not a deterrent either in the first match when it was two-paced. As Superstars skipper Law noted, “the ground is in its infancy but the players will get used to the conditions as the tournament progresses.”

Shaky start

A shaky start left Superstars struggling at 13 for two but Russel Arnold and Stuart Law restored respectability to the total.

The finish was decent with R. Sathish (22 not out) and Vasanth Saravanan knocking off the Kolkata bowlers with a flurry of shots, each hitting two sixes.

“The new ball was a challenge. There was pace and bounce and movement. I think the last four overs of our batting were crucial,” said Law. His counterpart, Craig McMillan, admitted, “the last three overs cost us. We were always a bit behind against two quality bowlers (Ian Harvey and Shabbir Ahmed).”

The players have been enjoying the opportunity to compete in the company of some legends of the game.

“Travelling in the same bus as Lara and interacting with him gives a youngster an experience to remember. How many of us would have thought some day we would play along such giants like Lara, Inzamam and (Chris) Cairns,” said former international Dinesh Mongia.

The scores: Chennai Superstars 141 for five in 20 overs (Russel Arnold 37, Stuart Law 32) bt Kolkata Tigers 134 for seven in 20 overs (Subhomoy Das 35, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala 30).

Hyderabad Heroes 121 for six in 20 overs (Inzamam-ul-Haq 42 not out, Avinash Yadav three for 22) bt Mumbai Champs 88 in 19 overs (Nathan Astle 31).

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