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Superstars enters semifinals

GURGAON: Russel Arnold and Hemang Badani laid the foundation of an expected victory for Chennai Superstars over whipping-boys Ahmedabad Rockets on way to the semifinals of the Indian Cricket League’s Edelweiss 20s Challenge here on Thursday.

The 22-run victory was the fourth for Superstars at the completion of its league engagements in the eight-team contest.

With eight points from seven games, the defending champion became the second team to qualify for the semifinals. The defeat kept Rockets in the cellar with two points from six matches.

Electing to bat, Superstars reached a challenging 161 for five with Man-of-the-Match Arnold (69, 1x6, 6x4) and Badani (45, 1x6, 3x4) raising 120 runs for the fourth wicket.

The left-handers came together at 48 for three in the sixth over and kept the team on the right track before departing in the final over in search of big hits.

The cheap dismissals of Ian Harvey (5) and in-form G. Vignesh (11) and Stuart Law (10) did not prove costly for Superstars. Once Arnold and Badani got together, they dominated the proceedings without depending entirely on the big hits. When Rockets chased, Shabbir Ahmed struck four times and ensured Superstars did not lose the plot.

Ahmed provided the breakthrough by trapping dangerman Damien Martyn leg-before and later returned to account for S. Sriram (30, 1x6, 2x4), Sanjeev Martin and Jason Gillespie.

The scores: Chennai Superstars 161 for five in 20 overs (Russel Arnold 69, Hemang Badani 45, Jason Gillespie three for 25) beat Ahmedabad Rockets 139 in 19.4 overs (S. Sriram 30, Pervez Aziz 24, Wavell Hinds 21, Anshu Jain 20, Shabbir Ahmed four for 20, Ian Harvey two for 21).

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