Chennai Beat Bangalore in Last Ball Thriller
CHENNAI: Ravindra Jadeja struck an unbeaten 20-ball 38 while skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni also chipped in with useful contribution as Chennai Super Kings pulled off a nail-biting four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in a thrilling Pepsi Indian Premier League match on Saturday.
In a contest which saw fortunes fluctuating from one team to another till the very end, Chennai chased down the 166-run target on the final ball of the last over bowled by R P Singh, leaving the packed MA Chidambaram stadium gasping for more.
With 16 runs required off six balls, Jadeja hit the first ball for a four followed by a huge six over long-on to bring down the equation to six needed off four.
After Jadeja picked up single off the next, Morris got two and then a single off the next to make it two off the final delivery.
Jadeja edged the ball straight to third man as he tried to cut where an alert RCB skipper Virat Kohli completed a clean catch but the visitors' joy remained short-lived after umpire signalled it a no-ball.
Chennai got a run for the overstepping and another one for the single they snatched as the catch was taken, thus resulting in their sensational win over 'Southern' rivals.
Rampaul had struck two crucial blows in the 19th over to make the life difficult for CSK batsmen but Jadeja had other ideas as he again proved his million-dollar worth for the two-time champions.
Earlier, Kohli and AB de Villiers struck fine half centuries and shared 82-run stand between them to help Royal Challengers Bangalore post 165 for six.
De Villiers blazed his way to a 32-ball 64, laced with eight fours and one six, while Kohli cashed on a dropped chance and caught-behind appeal to score 47-ball 58 as the visitors put up a sizeable total after invited to bat.
Chennai got off to a disastrous start as they lost both their openers Mike Hussey and Murali Vijay with just 10 runs on board.
RCB bowlers kept a tight leash over CSK's scoring rate as they did not allow the pair of Raina and Badrinath to play their shots freely.
Dhoni found an ably ally in Jadeja as both mixed caution with aggression to keep the scoreboard ticking. Both ran hard for ones and twos to build pressure on the RCB fielders, bringing down the equation to 65 runs off last five overs.
Just when it looked like that Dhoni can pull CSK out of the woods, Rampaul struck two crucial blows in the form of Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo. Dhoni hit two sixes and a four in his 23-ball knock.
