Matara Mauler steals the show

15th May 2008

The match between the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings was always in the news for the return from injury of their icon Sachin Tendulkar. But on D-Day, it was yet another old hand who stole the show.

Sanath Jayasuriya (114*) slammed the second fastest hundred in the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) and led the Mumbai Indians to their fourth consecutive win in the tournament. Chasing a rather simple target of 157, the Mumbai Indians got there with 9 wickets in hand, and more than six overs to spare.

En route to his first hundred in Twenty20 cricket, Jayasuriya slammed eleven sixes and nine boundaries and dominated the run-chase. He was the major contributor in his partnership with Tendulkar (12), while in his association with Robin Uthappa (16*) the southpaw added 55 runs. While no bowler really escaped punishment at the hands of the Matara Mauler, his Sri Lankan compatriot Chamara Kapugedera suffered most; Jayasuriya got stuck into him and hit him for 26 runs off the five deliveries Kapugedera bowled to him.

Earlier in the day, Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and opted to field first. His bowlers vindicated their skipper's decision, when they bowled the right lines and lengths, and kept the run-scoring opportunities under check. The Chennai Super Kings only managed 28 runs in the first six overs when the field restrictions were in force, and further managed just 38 runs in the next six overs.

It was around this time that S Badrinath (53, batting at number 4), and captain MS Dhoni (43*, batting at number 6) got together and started taking a few chances. The duo, who initially kept the scoreboard moving with ones and twos, started to take chances in the final few overs of the innings and that strategy seemed to come off. The two were involved in a 95-run partnership, of which the last 55 came in the last four overs, and it was that effort in the last quarter that saw the Chennai Super Kings post a competitive total of 156.

It was the lesser-known Dhaval Kulkarni who would once again be the pick of the bowlers, while Shaun Pollock (1 for 9) and Dwayne Bravo (2 for 37) also chipped in with wickets.

Sanath Jayasuriya won both the awards for the night - the DLF Award for Maximum Sixes, and the Player of the Match award.

The Mumbai Indians now have four wins from their last four matches, and next take on the Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday. The Chennai Super Kings' next outing too will be against the Knight Riders, but this time it will be an away game which they will desperately want to win.