The Hindu : Sport : Sathish is Chennai’s Superstar

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Saturday, Dec 15, 2007
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Sport

Sathish is Chennai’s Superstar

Vijay Lokapally

— Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

TWINKLING STAR: R. Sathish shone in Chennai Superstars’s win over Kolkata Tigers in the first semifinal of the ICL-Twenty20 tournament.

PANCHKULA: Icy winds swept the Tau Devi Lal Stadium here but Chennai Superstars warmed the hearts of their supporters with a show that lit up the venue even though the finish was anti-climatic.

Superstars won by 93 runs and stormed into the final of the Indian Cricket League.

It was a truly team effort by the Superstars but R. Sathish was an exceptional performer, lifting the spirits of the team with a brilliant 51 and then an incisive spell pushed Kolkata Tigers on the back foot.

Ian Harvey, Thiru Kumaran, Tamil Kumaran and Sathish took two wickets each after a superb opening spell by Shabbir Ahmed to cap a wonderful performance by Superstars.

One-sided match

The one-sided match was disappointing for the audience who braved the cold and turned up in a good number but Superstars looked worthy of the win.

“We expected Sathish to perform and we are all so happy he came good tonight,” said Thiru Kumaran.

A target of 168 was not beyond Tigers’ reach but then team failed to produce a partnership at the start. Superstars established an early hold and never let the pressure ease with some excellent fielding making the task tougher for Tigers.

The best for Tigers was an effort of 18 each by Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Anshu Jain.

Sathish had made waves with his electric fielding and he brought a touch of it to his batsmanship too as he created a competitive score for the Superstars.

It was not that Satish tried heaving every ball. He waited and once he spotted a loose ball early his bat did the talking as three sixes and six fours adorned his 24-ball pyrotechnics. The shot that stood was a sliced drive that disappeared into the stands over point.

Electing to bat, Superstars suffered an early blow when G. Vignesh failed to connect an ambitious drive but Harvey and Chris Read gave the innings the necessary thrust with some sensible batting.

The in-form Harvey cracked 23 off 20 balls and Read kept pace with an 18-ball 28.

Abu Nacheem, playing his first match, brought Tigers back into the game when he scalped Harvey and then Sujay Tarafdar added the wicket of Read to his tally. Tarafdar had made the first dent too.

The Superstars lost its direction when Russel Arnold attempted a suicidal run and failed to beat compatriot Upul Chandana’s throw

When skipper Stuart Law fell cheaply the Superstars faced a rout at 78 for five.

It was now the experienced Hemand Badani and an inspired Sathish who carried the responsibility to give the team a total to fight.

Revival

A stand of 61 runs between Badani and Sathish, dominated by the latter, led to a revival among the Superstars ranks.

Badani hit a few rousing shots but Sathish, 27, clouted the ball with some sensational timing.

His effortless strokeplay stood out for his team and Superstars ended with a total that gave the bowlers a decent chance to defend.

Vasanth Saravanan took over the onus after Sathish’s departure and his knock gave Superstars priceless runs towards the end.

A 16-ball 24 was a welcome contribution for the Superstars as Tigers failed to capitalize on the initial advantage.

The scores:

Chennai Superstars 167 in 19.5 overs (R. Sathish 51) beat Kolkata Tigers 74 in 15.3 overs.

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