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Hayden, Harbhajan bury the hatchet

Special Correspondent

— Photo: M. Vedhan

IT’S MINE... NO IT’S MINE! Chennai Super Kings’ skipper M.S. Dhoni playfully tussles with Matthew Hayden for the cheque, as Suresh Raina looks on, in Chennai on Wednesday.

Chennai: Happily, the wounds of the past appear to be healing. Matthew Hayden and Harbhajan Singh were seen sharing a lighter moment during the prize distribution function after the humdinger in Chepauk on Wednesday.

Unthinkable scenario

Such a scenario would have been unthinkable only months ago down under when Hayden and Harbhajan figured in more than one acrimonious on-field clash. The two were also involved in verbal duels off the field.

The DLF-Indian Premier League appears to have brought the two closer. The two famous cricketers were in different outfits this time; Hayden was the senior cricketer for Chennai Super Kings while Harbhajan was the stand-in skipper for Mumbai Indians.

In the Super Kings’ innings, Hayden punished Harbhajan with the willow before the latter ran the Aussie out. By then, Hayden’s well-constructed 81 had done the damage.

Harbhajan had a largely forgettable outing on the field in the first half before he blitzed with the willow to bring his team desperately close to the target along with Abhishek Nayar. Hayden was seen applauding the effort from the Mumbai pair.

Different version

This is a very different version of Hayden that we are witnessing at the IPL. He is lavish in his praise for the Indian cricketers, is enjoying his cricket in the Twenty20 version.

Talking to the media after the match, Hayden highlighted Suresh Raina’s innings while under-playing his own Man-of-the-Match effort.

“You need talent to play the way he did,” said Hayden about Raina’s innings. The Aussie added, “His was a better innings than mine. He played some tremendous shots.”

The powerful left-hander acknowledged the game was close but added the Twenty20 matches were bound to throw up tense finishes. Hayden was confident about the Super Kings continuing its good run.

The Super Kings coach Kepler Wessels was also impressed with Raina’s knock. “He has talent, has made important contributions in both our matches so far.”

Larger role for Raina

In fact, Raina will have a larger role to perform when Hayden and Michael Hussey depart for the West Indies after the first four games. So far, the southpaw has been in fine touch.

Super Kings has four points from two matches and awaits Kolkata Knight Riders in a crucial match between two in-form sides on Saturday. The organisers, pleased with the turn-out on Wednesday, expect an even bigger crowd on Saturday.

Meanwhile, most of the Super Kings cricketers enjoyed a quiet Thursday of rest after Wednesday’s hard-fought victory. Among the frontline cricketers, only Stephen Fleming and Parthiv Patel had a practice session at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.

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